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Angelina Jolie’s Daughter Zahara Jolie-Pitt Has Changed So Much— See Photos of Her Then and Now
Growing up! Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt‘s oldest daughter, Zahara Jolie-Pitt, has changed so much since she was a child. Now that she’s 16 years old, it’s clear the celebrity kid is blossoming into a beautiful young woman.
Zahara and her mom, Angelina, are incredibly close. The Mr. and Mrs. Smith star adopted her at 6 months old in July 2005 from Ethiopia. The Africa native became the actress’ second child; She adopted son Maddox from Cambodia in 2002.
Angelina, 46, is also dedicated to keeping the Kung Fu Panda 3 star in touch with her roots and where she came from. When Zahara was 4 years old, the A-lister brought her and her sister Shiloh on a two-day trip to Ethiopia amid a humanitarian excursion in 2009. The trip marked “the first time Zahara had been back home since her adoption,” an insider previously told People. “The trip was about keeping up that culture for her.”
In 2017, Angelina gushed that her favorite noise is the “sound of Zahara’s laugh,” she told Hello magazine at the time. “She is one of those people who laughs with her whole body. Completely open and full of joy.”
She also noted that being Zahara’s mother has opened her eyes in a lot of ways. “I have learned so much from her,” she gushed a Time 100 Talk in July 2020. “She is my family, but she is an extraordinary African woman and her connection to her country, her continent, is her own, and it’s something I only stand back in awe of.”
The proud mother — who is currently embroiled in a custody battle with her ex-husband Brad, 57 — has been vocal about how close she is will all six of her children. “We’re really such a unit,” Angelina revealed to the New York Times in 2017. “They’re the best friends I’ve ever had. Nobody in my life has ever stood by me more.”
The Girl, Interrupted star also shares 19-year-old son Maddox, 17-year-old son Pax, 15-year-old Shiloh and 13-year-old twins Vivienne and Knox with the Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood star. He was awarded joint custody of the kids in May — however, the California Court of Appeal granted Angelina’s request to remove the presiding judge from their case in July, according to Us Weekly. The change could mean that Brad’s recent custody win may be tossed out and the proceedings could start from the beginning.
