The Most Tragic Things That Happened To Zahara Jolie-Pitt

Angelina Jolie and her ex-husband Brad Pitt welcomed Zahara Jolie-Pitt with open arms when they adopted her in 2005. Zahara is Jolie's second child both in order and through adoption thanks to her eldest son Maddox, who first noticed Zahara at the orphanage and said she needed immediate care. Jolie and her family have been providing that care ever since, which has seemingly helped Zahara grow into a well-adjusted young woman with a bright future ahead of her. 

Similarly to her mother, Zahara has already taken steps to ensure that others like her have bright futures as well. She's helped enrich education in her native country Ethiopia, where she visited the country's president Sahle-Work Zewde to discuss the matter. Her passion for improving the lives of the less fortunate is reminiscent of Jolie's own humanitarian work, with Zahara dedicating herself even more to her mission by attending the historically black university Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia.

Although it seems Zahara has her mother's compassion, her empathy might have also been influenced by her struggles. After Angelina found Zahara and offered her a better life, one would like to believe that Zahara's tragic story might have ended there. However, Zahara would have to deal with more tragedies even after being rescued by the Jolie family, which might have only added to her strength.

When she was adopted, Zahara Jolie-Pitt had a disease that could've turned fatal if she hadn't received the proper medical care. Angelina Jolie took the then 6-month-old Zahara to Dr. Jane Aronson when she fell noticeably ill. Once there, Aaronson diagnosed the child with salmonella infection. The disease is usually caused by eating contaminated foods like raw or undercooked meat, eggs, milk, and dairy products. It's also possible for the disease to pass on to a child during pregnancy. Fortunately for the Jolie family, Aronson was able to treat Zahara at the New York City hospital, where Zahara experienced a full recovery within days. The news was especially a relief for Angelina, who feared the worst for her daughter. "She didn't know what the answers were going to be. She was really afraid that the baby wouldn't get better," Aronson told People about Angelina's reaction. 

Zahara's full recovery from a severe salmonella infection not only marked a turning point in her life but also had a lasting impact on the children in her former Ethiopian orphanage. Dr. Aronson shared her findings with medical experts at the orphanage, providing valuable insights that could help nurse other children back to health—children who lacked the immediate resources Zahara had access to. However, Dr. Aronson also issued a chilling reminder of how dire Zahara's condition had been. "Salmonella kills literally hordes of babies and children," she warned. "Not every baby will be as fortunate as Zahara."

After being taken in by Angelina, it seems Zahara has continued to be treated well. The young college student, who's all grown up, couldn't look any healthier or happier these days.

A woman claiming to be Zahara Jolie-Pitt's biological mother has been trying to reestablish contact with her over the years. Mentewab Dawit Lebiso alleged that she was attacked and sexually assaulted by an unknown male. "He pulled a dagger, put one hand on my mouth, so that I could not scream. He then raped me and disappeared," Lebiso said in a 2007 interview with Reuters. Lebiso then confided that the attack left her pregnant with Zahara, whom she named Yemsrach. But after giving birth, Lebiso claimed she couldn't financially support her child, and couldn't bear the sight of watching the newborn starve to death. So, Lebiso left her. "I was desperate and decided to run away, rather than see my child dying," she admitted.

Years later, Lebiso made a public plea to her daughter to establish communication. "She has a life that I could never give her, but I would still like to have some contact. I would like to see her face. She has grown into a beautiful woman and I am so proud of her. My heart bursts because I am so proud," Lebiso said in an interview with Daily Mail. Adding to the tragic complication is that Angelina was initially told Zahara's biological parents died of AIDS, making Zahara effectively an orphan. But with Lebiso claiming to be alive and well, she hoped to get Zahara back in touch with her familial roots. It's unclear if Zahara or Angelina ever responded to Lebiso.

An incident involving Zahara Jolie Pitt might have further proven to Angelina Jolie why she should never give up her fight for true racial equality. Angelina once hinted that Zahara had health issues when she revealed her daughter received surgery for an unknown condition. However, Angelina's interaction with a medical professional was the highlight of her story, as she and Zahara encountered unintentional racial biases that were still prevalent in the medical community. "I have children from different backgrounds, and I know when there was a rash that everybody got, it looked drastically different depending on their skin color. But whenever I looked at medical charts, the reference point was always white skin," Angelina told Time. "Recently my daughter Zahara, whom I adopted from Ethiopia, had surgery, and afterward a nurse told me to call them if her skin 'turned pink.'"

The experience was a hard reminder that Zahara would be treated differently than some of Jolie's other kids because of her darker skin color, even with her health on the line. Although she managed to walk away from this medical mishap physically unscathed, statistics show that this kind of racism can have more tragic outcomes for patients, which include death. If Zahara had a more serious illness, she might have ended up in a similar predicament she was in when she was adopted, all because it was deemed less important to study the effects of certain diagnoses on black and brown skin.

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt haven't been on good terms since their shocking divorce. Amid their ongoing legal drama, it seems that the couple's children have taken their mother's side. For example, Pitt's younger daughter, Shiloh Jolie-Pitt, dropped her father's last name once she turned 18, now going simply by Shiloh Jolie. Her decision added more weight to the rumors that there was a rift between Pitt and his family.

A spokesperson for Pitt confided that the "Fight Club" star was devastated after the news broke. "He's aware and upset that Shiloh dropped his last name. He's never felt more joy than when she was born. He always wanted a daughter," a source told People. The source would also add, "The reminders that he's lost his children, is of course not easy for Brad. He loves his children and misses them. It's very sad." 

This statement, however, might not have gotten the reaction that Pitt was hoping for. Many felt Pitt was snubbing his oldest daughter, Zahara, with his statement, further diminishing his goodwill with the public. "It makes it look like Zahara Jolie doesn't count as Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolies first daughter together via her adoption," one Reddit user posted. "'He always wanted a daughter.' Mind you they adopted Zahara before shiloh was even born," a commenter wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Like Shiloh Jolie-Pitt, Zahara Jolie-Pitt has also taken steps to distance herself from Brad Pitt. In a video that was posted on Instagram on November 2023, Zahara was seen being inducted into her sorority at Spelman College. There, Zahara proudly announced herself to the audience and her fellow sorority members, while also perhaps making a statement to her adoptive father by omitting his name in her reintroduction. "My name is Zahara Marley Jolie," she said. 

Although the announcement went a bit under the radar back then, nowadays it can be seen as proof that the Jolie-Pitt household isn't as united as it once was. According to a source, however, Brad was determined to reconcile with all of his children despite them trying to erase his legacy.  "He's not ready to give up on them, but knowing they are dropping his name is upsetting," the insider told Us Weekly. Another insider painted an even more tragic picture of Brad's relationship with Zahara and his other adopted children. "Brad's relationship with Maddox and Pax is nonexistent at this point, and he barely, if ever, hears from Zahara," they said.