Bringing a tear to his eye. Pranking him on set. Asking to be called by
other names. How is Shiloh Jolie-Pitt's relationship with her dad, Brad Pitt?
For Brad Pitt, superstardom preceded fatherhood by many years. He had multiple nominations for
Academy, Golden Globe, and Emmy awards by 2006, when he became a first-time father by adopting
his then-partner Angelina Jolie's children. But raising his children was an experience
that superseded all else for him, which he acknowledged in an interview with Oprah.
"It's the greatest thing I've ever taken on. I can't imagine life without it."
In an interview with Today, Pitt joked that successfully getting a burp out of
his firstborn Shiloh Jolie-Pitt gave him a huge sense of accomplishment.
By 2008, Pitt was father to six children and missed no opportunity to gush about their
impact on him and his craft. Speaking about the shared theme of fatherhood between his life and
his film "Ad Astra," Pitt told CNN that his own father provided for him despite impoverishment:
"And it makes me think, as a dad, what do I have to offer that's better than I had, to my kids?"
Pitt's bitter split from Jolie in 2016 left a strained relationship
with his oldest son in its wake, but, per Us Weekly,
the actor considers his time with his children truly indispensable. A source said,
"Brad is very big on keeping his time with the kids extremely private."
Post-divorce, Pitt reportedly hasn't compromised on giving his children
exclusive time, sharing an especially unique bond with Shiloh. The two are
supposedly supportive of each other, with a source telling Life & Style,
"She feels comfortable talking to her dad about anything."
Shiloh Jolie-Pitt was acting before she could even form complete sentences. Her toddler self
accomplished a feat that her own megastar parents took years of persistent hard work to reach:
starring in an Oscar-winning film. The babies cast in Brad Pitt's 2008 film "The Curious
Case of Benjamin Button" didn't respond well to the set environment, per the New Zealand
Herald. Fortunately, Shiloh was around less than a year old. A source told the National Enquirer,
"Then quick-thinking Brad realized his daughter's
happy and mellow disposition made her a quick fix for the role."
And just like that, little Shiloh giggled her way through her character
of Julia Ormond's younger self, with ample screen time in the film
as baby Caroline — and some especially touching scenes with her real dad Pitt.
Interestingly, Shiloh's younger sister Vivienne Jolie-Pitt would follow in her footsteps years
later. 5-year-old Vivienne was chosen to star in the 2014 film "Maleficent," which
had Angelina Jolie in terrifying makeup that only her own little daughter was able to brave,
as reported by Entertainment Weekly. But, despite their fleeting Hollywood stints,
neither Pitt nor Jolie are pushy about their children's acting careers. As Pitt told ET Online,
"I love when they find their own way, find things they are interested in and flourish."
Shiloh, at 16, seems inclined toward the performing arts but
has picked a vocation different from her parents.
Social media can't stop fawning over Shiloh Jolie-Pitt's uncanny resemblance to her mother,
Angelina Jolie, but the 16-year-old entered 2023 looking more like her dad than ever
before. Sporting a buzzcut that harked back to Brad Pitt from the golden noughties,
memorably seen in "Ocean's Twelve" and "Mr. & Mrs. Smith." Shiloh was out shopping with
her sister Zahara Jolie-Pitt when she was snapped in her new look.
Shiloh's forever-changing hairstyles have grabbed headlines since birth
when her inheritance of her dad's famous baby blues and blonde hair
also became immediately apparent. Noting that her firstborn's features made her
the outcast among her multicultural siblings, Jolie told Look Magazine,
"She looks like Brad."
Though Jolie passed on her trademark pout to her daughter, Shiloh's childhood was a period
of likeness to her dad's growing-up years, when he bore a blonde mop-top and a super-toothy grin.
Pitt played more than an obvious role in the birth of Shiloh. Jolie told Reader's Digest,
"Before I met Brad, I always said I was happy never to have a child biologically."
But seeing Pitt's love for her adopted children, Jolie was ready for pregnancy. According to Jolie,
Shiloh is the funny one in the Jolie-Pitt brood. Against the context of her father's
impeccable comic timing, there are no guesses where she gets this trait from!
Even with their presumably buzzing lives, Brad Pitt and Shiloh Jolie-Pitt manage to
prioritize their time together — a time-honored tradition that has been around since the latter's
childhood. Back when she fit in the arms of Angelina Jolie, Shiloh was clearing
her busy baby schedule to visit her actor dad on film sets. The Jolie-Pitt pack is sizable,
but the A-listers always made sure to get in significant family time,
earmarking individual schedules with each of their children. In an interview with Reader's Digest,
Jolie spoke about the family's schedule when her firstborn was only about a year old, saying,
"When everybody is at school, we give Shiloh time."
Daddy-daughter playdates and shopping adventures were in no short supply for Shiloh, whose passport
was well-worn before she even turned two, family vacations filling her calendar. Growing up in the
shadow of her parents' astronomical fame, Shiloh has been a regular on red carpets for years;
she even once substituted for her mother, accompanying her father and
siblings to the premiere of "Unbroken" in 2014 when Jolie was down with chickenpox.
The couple's chaotic separation in 2016 threatened to jeopardize the "Allied" actor's time with his
children until a court awarded them joint custody in 2021. According to Us Weekly,
moments spent with his brood are of great importance to Pitt, who enjoys hosting
them at his Los Angeles home, even marking holidays and special occasions with them.
Brad Pitt is in awe of his daughter Shiloh Jolie-Pitt. The 16-year-old, who remained
close to her dad through his messy divorce saga with Angelina Jolie, makes him proud by
just being who she is every day. Around the time Shiloh turned 14 in 2020, a source told ET Online,
"He loves that she always stays true to herself and is so good to her brothers and sisters."
And what better birthday present than a father's undying support? Well... probably a vintage
polaroid camera that Pitt gifted his daughter at the pizza party he hosted for her that year,
as reported by The Sun. While Pitt has reportedly shared a difficult relationship with his older
sons following an alleged family altercation in 2016, things are apparently good with Shiloh.
In fact, Pitt has been Shiloh's biggest cheerleader since day one! Appearing
on Oprah Winfrey's show, Pitt spoke about his children's unique traits,
revealing that two-year-old Shiloh preferred being called by the names Peter or John. He gushed,
"It's a 'Peter Pan' thing. So we've got to call her John."
Even as she grew up wanting to "dress like a boy" and apparently also be one,
as Jolie told Vanity Fair, she and Pitt let their tuxedo-trotting daughter call the shots
and own her identity. For Pitt, who has expressed wholehearted support for his children's choices,
with her three brothers and two sisters, sure did make it as a
proficient prankster who isn't above scoring some chuckles at the expense of her dad,
even if it means disturbing his peace. During the shoot of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's
2015 family film "By the Sea," Shiloh, egged on by her mother, startled Pitt
out of his sleep by firing a well-timed shot from her perfectly aimed slingshot.
We daresay Pitt can't protest since he's quite the practical joker
himself — something his fellow trickster and prank nemesis George Clooney can vouch for,
citing the time that Pitt convinced a whole Italian town that Clooney was a spoilt diva.
"The movie is coming to town and please only address George Clooney
in his character name of Danny Ocean and don't like him right in the eyes."
In particular, in an interview with Vanity Fair, Jolie has attested to Shiloh's goofy disposition,
remarking that it's an early sign of a performer. With all the mischief the playful Brangelina bunch
gets up to, it's easy to imagine that their houses aren't ever without laughter. In a
2008 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Pitt gushed that his children were the funniest people ever
and worked shifts to con him routinely and Jolie into having slumber parties:
"We'll get them to bed, read the stories,
and then one will show up about a half hour later and can't sleep and wants to read books."