In a story that has captured the hearts of fans worldwide, Pax Jolie-Pitt, the son adopted by Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie 15 years ago, made headlines in May 2025 when he returned to Vietnam to reconnect with his roots, unveiling a surprising and deeply emotional revelation about his journey. Pax, now 21, was adopted from an orphanage in Ho Chi Minh City in 2007 at the age of three, and his decision to revisit his birthplace has not only shed light on his personal growth but also highlighted the complexities of adoption, identity, and family dynamics within the high-profile Jolie-Pitt clan. What began as a private trip turned into a global story, revealing an unexpected twist that has left both the public and the family reeling.
The journey started in 2007 when Angelina Jolie, then 32, visited the Tam Binh Orphanage in Ho Chi Minh City while accompanied by her eldest son, Maddox. Jolie, who had already adopted Maddox from Cambodia in 2002 and Zahara from Ethiopia in 2005, felt a strong connection to Vietnam and its children. Pax, born Pham Quang Sang on November 29, 2003, had been abandoned at birth by his biological mother, who struggled with heroin addiction, and spent his early years in the orphanage. Jolie adopted him as a single parent due to Vietnamese laws that made it difficult for unmarried couples to adopt, but Brad Pitt, who began dating Jolie in 2005, formally adopted Pax in 2008, making him the fourth child in their growing family. The couple later welcomed biological twins Knox and Vivienne in 2008, bringing their total to six children.
Pax’s early life in the orphanage was marked by hardship. As Jolie shared in a 2007 interview with People, “He spent three-and-a-half years of his life in one place, in one room, in this one little iron bed with 20 other kids, and having no choice for himself to do things, having no freedom.” The transition to life with the Jolie-Pitt family was a significant adjustment for Pax, but he quickly bonded with his siblings, particularly Maddox, who was closest in age. Over the years, Pax grew up in the spotlight, occasionally appearing on red carpets with his family and even contributing to their creative projects, such as voicing a character in Kung Fu Panda 3 and working as a set photographer on Jolie’s film First They Killed My Father in 2017.
Fast forward to May 2025, when Pax, now a young man of 21, decided to return to Vietnam for the first time since his adoption. The trip, initially intended as a personal journey to explore his heritage, took place against the backdrop of a strained relationship with his adoptive father, Brad Pitt. The Jolie-Pitt family dynamics have been complex since the couple’s highly publicized split in 2016, following allegations of an altercation on a private jet involving Pitt and Maddox. Pax, who was 12 at the time, reportedly sided with his mother during the divorce, and in 2020, he made headlines for a scathing Instagram post on Father’s Day, where he called Pitt a “world-class a**hole” and accused him of making his younger siblings “tremble in fear.” The post, which resurfaced in 2023, highlighted the deep rift between Pax and Pitt, a rift that has persisted despite Pitt being granted joint custody in 2021, only for it to be overturned after Jolie’s appeal.
Pax’s trip to Vietnam was not just about revisiting his past—it was about uncovering a piece of his identity that had long been a mystery. Upon arriving in Ho Chi Minh City, he visited the Tam Binh Orphanage, where he met with staff members who remembered him as a quiet, resilient child. The visit was an emotional one, with Pax reportedly tearful as he walked through the rooms where he spent his earliest years. But the real shock came when Pax, with the help of a local organization that assists adoptees in tracing their biological families, discovered that his birth mother, Linh, was still alive and living in a nearby province.
Linh, now 45, had spent years battling addiction but had been sober for nearly a decade, thanks to a rehabilitation program supported by a local charity. She revealed that after abandoning Pax as a newborn, she had been consumed by guilt and had spent years searching for him, unaware that he had been adopted by one of Hollywood’s most famous couples. “I thought I had lost him forever,” Linh shared through a translator in an interview with a Vietnamese news outlet. “I never imagined he would come back to find me.” The reunion was a deeply emotional moment for both mother and son, with Pax learning about the circumstances of his birth and Linh’s struggles, which gave him a new perspective on his own life.
The unexpected twist, however, was Pax’s decision to share this reunion with his adoptive family—and the surprising role it played in mending his fractured relationship with Brad Pitt. In a move that stunned fans, Pax invited Pitt to join him in Vietnam for a second visit later in May 2025, a gesture that marked the first significant step toward reconciliation between the two in nearly a decade. Sources close to the family revealed that Pax’s discovery of his biological mother prompted him to reflect on his own family dynamics, leading him to reach out to Pitt in a moment of vulnerability. “Pax realized that holding onto anger wasn’t helping him heal,” a source told People. “Finding his birth mother gave him closure, but it also made him want to rebuild the family he has.”
Pitt, now 61, flew to Vietnam to meet Pax and Linh, an encounter that was captured in a series of candid photos that quickly went viral. The images showed Pitt and Pax embracing outside a small café in Ho Chi Minh City, with Linh looking on, her expression a mix of gratitude and awe. Pitt, who has largely stayed out of the public eye since his divorce from Jolie, issued a rare statement on Instagram, writing, “I’m so proud of Pax for taking this journey. Meeting Linh and seeing where he came from has been a privilege. Family is everything, and I’m grateful for this moment.” The post, which garnered millions of likes, marked a turning point for Pitt, who has faced criticism over the years for his strained relationships with his children, including Maddox, Zahara, and Shiloh, all of whom have distanced themselves from him in various ways.
The reunion has also sparked a broader conversation about adoption and the importance of adoptees reconnecting with their cultural and biological roots. Pax’s story highlights the challenges many adoptees face in navigating their identities, particularly those adopted internationally by high-profile families. On social media platforms like X, users praised Pax for his courage, with one writing, “This is so beautiful—Pax finding his birth mom and then bringing his dad into it shows how much he’s grown.” Others noted the significance of Pitt’s involvement, with a fan commenting, “Brad showing up for Pax after everything says a lot. Maybe there’s hope for their family after all.”
For Pax, the journey has been transformative. He has since announced plans to partner with the organization that helped him find Linh, aiming to support other Vietnamese adoptees in tracing their families. He’s also reportedly working on a documentary about his experience, with hopes of raising awareness about the challenges of addiction and poverty in Vietnam, issues that directly impacted his early life. “I want to give back,” Pax said in a statement shared via his mother’s charity, the Jolie-Pitt Foundation. “This trip changed me, and I hope my story can help others find their own peace.”
The story of Pax Jolie-Pitt’s return to Vietnam and his reunion with his biological mother is a powerful reminder of the complexities of family, identity, and healing. For Brad Pitt, it’s a chance to rebuild a bond that many thought was irreparable, showing that even in the most high-profile families, love and understanding can prevail. As Pax continues to navigate his journey, his story resonates as one of resilience, hope, and the enduring power of family—both the one he was born into and the one that chose him.
