As August begins, parents across the country are celebrating their children as they head off to start college. One famous face set the internet on fire with support for her daughter.
According to USA Today, Angelina Jolie’s daughter, Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt, is set to attend HBCU Spelman College, and the Oscar-winning actress couldn’t be more excited.
The Maleficent star posted a photo of her daughter and five other young women on Instagram with the caption, “Zahara with her Spelman sisters! Congratulations to all new students starting this year. A very special place and an honor to have a family member as a new Spelman girl.”
Jolie adopted Zahara from Ethiopia in 2005 when she was a baby, with Brad Pitt adopting her later that year.
At a Spelman event welcoming new students, the UN humanitarian was pulled into the “Electric Slide,” which she gave a good try before bowing out to watch. The other parents in attendance seemed to treat her as just another proud mom, with one of them giving her a fist bump when she left the dance floor.
With two famous parents in a high-profile relationship, Zahara has spent most of her life in the public eye. Though both Jolie and Pitt have tried to keep their children as protected as possible, the paparazzi have always been relentless. Hopefully, attending Spelman will offer her some level of privacy and normalcy.
With notable alumni including activist/politician Stacey Abrams, actress Keshia Knight Pulliam, TV personality Rolanda Watts and educator/activist Marian Wright Edelman, seeing famous faces on campus is not new to the institution.
The Eternals star has spoken in the past about her daughter staying connected to her African roots.
“My daughter is from Ethiopia, one of my children. … And I have learned so much from her. 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,” Jolie said for TIME 100 Talk in July 2020.
Let’s all agree to relax and just allow Zahara to enjoy her college experience without creating extra drama.