6 things you didn’t know about Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s Ethiopian daughter

As the first adopted daughter of Angelina Jolie's multicultural family, Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt has – for the most part – managed to stay out of the limelight since she was adopted in 2005. Born in Awasa, Ethiopia, Zahara was first adopted by actress Angelina Jolie when she was just six months old, before being co-adopted by Jolie's then-husband, Oscar winner Brad Pitt, in 2006.

Now that Maddox, the celebrity couple's oldest child, has left the nest for university in South Korea, and her second brother, Pax, is on the cusp of high school graduation, Zahara seems set to take over as the eldest sibling in the Jolie household.

But how much do we know about the 15-year-old Jolie-Pitt? And has Zahara set her sights on acting or humanitarian work, like her famous parents?

1. She had an unfortunate start in life

The circumstances regarding her biological mother are difficult, to say the least. Whether or not Zahara plans to connect with her biological mother is also up for debate. In an interview with American journalist Ann Curry in Namibia in 2009, Angelina Jolie said her daughter's biological mother had died of Aids. Speaking on the importance of funding education in less economically developed countries, she remarked, “[Zahara's] mother died of Aids and so, they wouldn't have had any funds to send her to school.”

But in 2017, a Daily Mail online exclusive claimed to have interviewed Zahara's birth parent, Mentewab Dawit Lebiso. She told the British tabloid that she had put Zahara up for adoption because she was conceived through rape. Lebiso added, “Angelina has been more of a mother to her than I have ever been. She has been with her since she was a baby, but that does not mean I do not miss her.”

2. Jolie admires Zahara's strength

For International Women's Day, Jolie penned an article for Time magazine about how she was proud of the resilience and strength of her daughters. She shared, “I have spent the last two months in and out of surgeries with my eldest daughter, and days ago watched her younger sister go under the knife for a hip surgery.” In a rare public appearance, Shiloh, Zahara's sister, was seen on crutches in early March, prompting many to think she was the “younger sister” Jolie referred to in her op-ed.

“They understand that going through medical challenges and fighting to survive and heal is something to be proud of,” Jolie wrote. There is no confirmation on what Zahara needed to have surgery for, but it was reported that her father Brad Pitt missed the BAFTAs in February to be by his daughter's bedside.