Zahara Jolie-Pitt is the first adopted daughter of former celebrity couple Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. She is part of the multicultural Jolie-Pitt family since she was six months old, along with her three brothers and two sisters.
In 2006, she arrived in the episode ’20 Cutest Celebrity Babies’ of the TV series’ VH1: All Access. She had a short uncredited role in her mother’s 2014 dark fantasy film ‘Maleficent.’ In 2016, she voiced the character of Meng Meng in the animated movie ‘Kung Fu Panda 3’.
Considering that her elder brother Maddox recently acted alongside their mother in the film ‘First They Killed My Father,’ which Jolie also wrote, produced, and directed, likely, Zahara might also begin her professional career in a family project.
While talking about where she sees her children in the future, Jolie said that they would probably be scattered around the world, continuing her international humanitarian work.
Siblings of Zahara Jolie-Pitt
Zahara is one of six children among both adopted and biological, in the Jolie-Pitt family. Her older adopted brother Maddox just turned 18. While another adopted brother, Pax (aged 15), acted alongside her in Maleficent. She also has three younger siblings: Shiloh (Brad and Angelina’s first biological child) and twins Knox and Vivienne.
Zahara Jolie-Pitt: The Rise to Stardom
Zahara Jolie-Pitt has been a regular face on media since her high-profile parents adopted her. According to Jolie, she is known for giving photographers the ‘death stare,’ but is very girlie, “maternal,” and “full of joy.” She has made various appearances at different events along with her family. However, she recently comes into the news headlines after her biological mother surfaced in the media, showing her eagerness to contact her.
Films Have Zahara Jolie-Pitt Been A Part Of?
Zahara has already had named few credits to her, even at such a young age. According to her IMDb page, Jolie-Pitt first appeared in the 2006 VH1: All Access series about the 20 Cutest Celebrity Babies as herself.
But her film career did not begin until 2014 when she performed in an uncredited role in the Disney movie Maleficent, where her mum had the starring role. Then, in 2016, she voiced Meng Meng, a young panda in Kung Fu Panda 3, again alongside her mother, who played Master Tigress in the Kung Fu Panda trilogy.
Untold Life of Zahara Jolie-Pitt
Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt was born on January 8, 2005, in Awasa, Ethiopia. She was only six months old when Angelina Jolie and her then-boyfriend Brad Pitt adopted her from an orphanage in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on July 6, 2005. The couple decided to adopt an Ethiopian child after visiting the country together earlier that year.
Following the adoption, she was named Zahara Marley Jolie, and after a year, when Pitt officially adopted her, her name was changed to Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt. She is the second adopted child of the couple, after Maddox Chivan, and the third child overall as Pax Thien, who was adopted a year later, is older.
She also has three younger siblings – the three biological children of the couple – Shiloh Nouvel, Knox Léon and Vivienne Marcheline. From Jolie’s side, she is the granddaughter of actors Jon Voight and Marcheline Bertrand. Zahara’s adopted parents announced their engagement in April 2012, after seven years of dating.
They got married on August 23, 2014, at their estate Château Miraval in Correns, France. However, they parted their ways two years later, in September 2016, after Pitt’s alcohol problem led to an argument between him and Maddox, following which Jolie requested sole physical custody of their kids. The children reportedly had difficulty coming to terms with the fact that Pitt was no longer with them, but Jolie let them spend time with him on Father’s Day.
Controversies Regarding Birth of Zahara Jolie-Pitt
Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt was initially thought to be an AIDS orphan when Angelina Jolie first adopted her, as her biological grandmother’s official declaration said that her parents had died of AIDS.
However, her biological mother, Mentewab Dawit Lebiso, has come forward recently, sharing the true story behind her birth. According to her accounts, she became pregnant with Zahara after being raped mercilessly. After her birth, both she and her child were sickly and coming from a poverty-stricken family; she was unable to raise her daughter.
In an earlier interview, she said that she left her daughter with her mother as she could not cope with being a young mother. According to this transcription of the story, Zahara’s grandmother put her up for adoption.
However, her mother has recently stated that she herself had arranged the adoption as she could not support her daughter financially. In an interview in January 2017, she said that she misses her daughter and would not let her go if she gets another opportunity. She also acknowledged that Jolie has done a lot for her daughter and had been a real mother to her, for which she is ever so thankful.
While she clarified that she does not intend to disturb her daughter’s life, she wants Zahara to remember that she has a family back in Ethiopia. She also urged Angelina Jolie to let her get in touch with her daughter.
Interestingly, in June 2017, it was reported that Jolie was considering a trip to Ethiopia for the family to celebrate Zahara’s adoption anniversary. The Jolie-Pitt family has been known for traveling around the world; however, this time Pitt was not permitted to accompany them as Angelina Jolie was still recovering from a broken heart.
It is important to note that Jolie has always made sure that her adopted children remain well informed of their cultural heritage.
Jolie admires Zahara’s strength
For International Women’s Day, Jolie wrote an article for Time magazine about how she was pleased with the resilience and strength of her daughters. She shared, “I have spent the last two months in and out of surgeries with my eldest daughter, and days ago watched her younger sister go under the knife for a hip surgery.” Shiloh, Zahara’s sister, was seen on crutches in early March in a rare public appearance, prompting many to think she was the “younger sister” Jolie referred to in her op-ed.
“They understand that going through medical challenges and fighting to survive and heal is something to be proud of,” Jolie wrote. There is no confirmation on what Zahara is required to have surgery for, but it was reported that her father, Brad Pitt, missed the BAFTAs in February to be by his daughter’s bedside.
Zahara inspiration behind her family’s humanitarian work
In 2009, the Jolie-Pitt Foundation founded the Zahara Programme, named after their daughter, to treat drug-resistant tuberculosis in Ethiopia. Their work in the area continues to this day, in partnership with regional health authorities. But Zahara is not the only Jolie-Pitt child who has a namesake humanitarian program.
The Maddox Chivan Children’s Centre, located in Phnom Penh, focuses on caring for children infected or affected by HIV or Aids. There is also a Zahara Centre based in the outskirts of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, which follows a similar model to the Maddox Centre, but with a further focus on tuberculosis. The building was even designed in part by Brad Pitt.
Conclusion
Zahara Jolie-Pitt was adopted into one of the most talked-about Hollywood families of all time. She’s only had two film credits so far. For better or worse, she has been into some controversies and receiving blessings as well. Because of this, she’s spent most of her life in the limelight. Although she is just 16, we have seen her confronting controversies strongly like her mother, Angelina Jolie.
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