In August 2025, PEOPLE confirmed that Brad’s mother, Jane Pitt, died at the age of 84<\/a>.<\/p>\n While the Babylon actor may be an A-lister, his roots can be traced back to the crossroads of America. He was born in Shawnee, Okla., in 1963 to Jane and William Pitt and raised in Springfield, Missouri, with his two siblings, Doug and Julie.<\/p>\n The Academy Award<\/a>-winning actor\u2019s full name, William Bradley Pitt, is a homage to his father. In following his love of acting, it appears Brad embraced the advice of his namesake in blazing his illustrious career path.<\/p>\n Speaking with Parade<\/a> in 2011, the actor recalled a pivotal lesson he learned from his dad when he wasn’t performing well at a tennis tournament. \u201c[My dad] got right up to me and said, \u2018Are you having fun?\u2019 I said, ‘No.\u2019 And he said, ‘Then don\u2019t do it,\u2019 \u201d Brad told the outlet.<\/p>\n He continued, “Finding something you love to do has been a big guideline for me. I think it gave me the impetus to move out to California in a beat-up Datsun with a couple hundred dollars in my pocket. It\u2019s been the impetus to seek out projects that are important to me.”<\/p>\n From their careers to their family, here is everything to know about Brad\u2019s parents, William and Jane Pitt.<\/p>\n William and Jane raised Brad in Missouri Ron Galella\/Ron Galella Collection\/Getty<\/p>\n Brad Pitt and parents William Pitt and Jane Pitt at “The Devil’s Own” New York City premiere on March 13, 1997.<\/p>\n William Alvin Pitt and Jane Etta Hillhouse met at Oklahoma Baptist University, per the Oklahoma Historical Society<\/a>. The couple wed in 1962 and welcomed Brad shortly after.<\/p>\n A few years later, the family relocated to Tulsa and then settled in Springfield, Mo., where Brad and his two younger siblings were raised.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, it was Springfield, Missouri, which is a big place now, but we grew up surrounded by cornfields,\u201d\u00a0he told\u00a0GQ<\/a>\u00a0in 2017. \u201cTen minutes outside of town, you start getting into forests and rivers and the Ozark mountains, stunning country.”<\/p>\n The Fight Club star eventually left the city during his last semester at Missouri University, where he was just weeks away from graduating with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. Brad’s father still lives there today, along with his brother and sister, who also have their own families.<\/p>\n They have three children Steve Granitz\/WireImage<\/p>\n Brad Pitt and Jane Pitt at the 84th Annual Academy Awards on February 26, 2012 in Hollywood, California.<\/p>\n After the birth of Brad in 1963, William and Jane welcomed son Doug in 1966 and sister Julie in 1969. Although the eldest Pitt child decided to move to Hollywood, he has maintained a close bond with his siblings, in part due to their shared passions for business and philanthropy.<\/p>\n As Brad was getting his start in the entertainment industry, Doug founded his computer company, ServiceWorld Computer Center, in 1991. Following a merger in 2013, the actor’s brother took over the business again in 2017, and today, it’s known as the Pitt Technology Group. During this time, Doug also established the real estate business Pitt Development Group<\/a> in 2014.<\/p>\n Apart from his entrepreneurial endeavors, he founded the organization Care to Learn<\/a> to help students and has been the Goodwill Ambassador of Tanzania since 2010. Both Doug and Julie are also involved in WorldServe International<\/a> \u2014 which provides aid to populations in Africa \u2014 where he’s on the board, and she’s a water ambassador.<\/p>\n Brad has done his own share of philanthropic work, including when he teamed up with his siblings to donate $1 million to a Missouri hospital in 2009. The funds helped open a new wing named after their mother called the Jane Pitt Pediatric Cancer Center, where the first pediatric oncologist and hematologist were hired in the southwest Missouri region, per\u00a0CBS<\/a>.<\/p>\n Speaking with WorldServe International<\/a>\u00a0in 2018, Jane opened up about her pride in seeing her kids being there for others.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m very proud of all my children. They see a need and try to step in and fill it,\u201d she said. \u201cWhether it\u2019s a disaster in New Orleans [which Brad helped with], or all the things in Tanzania that Doug does do, or Julie\u2019s wonderful, wonderful work in Ethiopia. It\u2019s an amazing thing.\u201d<\/p>\n Brad\u2019s dad wanted to give him “a better life” Gregg DeGuire\/FilmMagic<\/p>\n Bill Pitt, Jane Pitt, and Brad Pitt at the 84th Annual Academy Awards on February 26, 2012 in Hollywood, California.<\/p>\n Unlike their famous son, Brad\u2019s parents had a more humble work life. As The Sydney Morning Herald<\/a> reported, William ran a trucking company, and Jane was a school counselor.<\/p>\n Despite moving away from the Midwest in his early 20s, the Seven actor has revisited childhood memories over the years. In an interview with Parade in 2011, he revealed what his dad was like growing up and shared his admiration for him.<\/p>\n “My dad worked five and a half, six days a week [as a trucking company executive], and then he would take us fishing,” Brad told the outlet. “He\u2019d do that all weekend, then start work again.”<\/p>\n He continued, “I have immense appreciation for that now that I\u2019m a parent, knowing what you have to do to carve out time for your kids. I know how taxing that was on him.”<\/p>\n Brad also touched on his home life in a conversation with The New York Times<\/a> in 2019, sharing that his dad encouraged a “be-capable, be-strong” attitude. The actor later learned that William’s perspective was influenced by his own upbringing.<\/p>\n \u201cHe had grown up in extreme hardship and poverty, always dead set on giving me a better life than he had \u2014 and he did it. But he came from that stoic ilk,\u201d the Fury cast member said.<\/p>\n They\u2019ve appeared on the red carpet with Brad Jason LaVeris\/FilmMagic<\/p>\n Brad Pitt, Pax Thien Jolie-Pitt, Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt, Maddox Jolie-Pitt, Jane Pitt and William Pitt at the premiere of “Unbroken” on December 15, 2014 in Hollywood, California.<\/p>\n Though William and Jane mostly stayed out of the spotlight, they have walked the red carpet with their son.<\/p>\n One of those rare moments happened when Brad, then-wife Angelina Jolie<\/a> and his parents attended the Oscars together in 2012. During a red carpet interview with CNN<\/a>, the actor talked about what his family had done that day leading up to the major event, which included biscuits and gravy.<\/p>\n Two years later, Brad’s parents also accompanied him for the premiere of the biographical war drama movie Unbroken that Jolie directed but was unable to attend, according to The Hollywood Reporter<\/a>. Brad and his parents walked the red carpet with three of his kids<\/a>.<\/p>\n Jane died in August 2025<\/p>\n TMZ<\/a> was the first to report that Jane had died at 84 after Doug’s daughter, Sydney, shared a tribute to her grandmother on Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n Sharing photos of Jane through the years, Sydney wrote, “My sweet Grammy, Jane Etta, we were not ready for you to go yet but knowing you are finally free to sing, dance, and paint again makes it a tad easier.”<\/p>\n She went on to describe Jane as someone who “cared deeply for everyone and everything, no questions asked.”<\/p>\n “She could keep up with all 14 of us grandkids without missing a beat. There was no limit to the love she gave, and everyone who met her felt it,” Sydney wrote.<\/p>\n Read the original article on People<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Ron](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/2fc76325bd5705ded4b00859535fee81.jpeg\"\/)
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