BRAD Pitt’s mom, Jane Etta Pitt, has died at 84 years old.
The former school counselor was remembered as “love in its purest form” by her heartbroken granddaughter.
Brad Pitt’s niece Sydney Pitt broke the news in an emotional Instagram post shared on Wednesday.
“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,” she wrote in the caption.
Sydney, who is the daughter of Brad’s brother Doug Pitt, said that Jane Etta “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.”
Jane Etta raised Brad and his two siblings in Shawnee, Oklahoma and Springfield, Missouri alongside her husband William Alvin, who was the proprietor of a trucking company.
She was a dedicated Christian who taught their children Southern Baptist traditions.
Fans may have recognized Jane Etta from several red carpet appearances that she made alongside the famous actor.
In 2012, she and her husband joined Brad and his then-wife for an appearance at the Oscars.
Speaking to reporters at the time, the A-list actor said that the family had enjoyed a meal of biscuits and gravy before the event.
LOVE STORY
Jane Etta met her husband at Oklahoma Baptist University, and the two were married in 1962, according to the Oklahoma Historical Society.
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They had Brad just over one year after they were married.
The actor described his hometown in Missouri as a rural area “surrounded by cornfields,” he told GQ in 2017.
“Ten minutes outside of town, you start getting into forests and rivers and the Ozark Mountains,” Brad said.
Jane Etta would go on to live in the beautiful area with her husband, their two other children, and their grandchildren for the rest of her life.
Full tribute to Jane Etta Pitt
JANE Etta Pitt’s granddaughter Sydney Pitt wrote an emotional tribute to her grandmother following her death.
She said, “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.
“If you knew Grammy, you knew she had the biggest heart. She cared deeply for everyone and everything, no questions asked.
“She taught me how to paint, how to be strong, how to lead with kindness, to love Jesus through everything, and to find joy in the smallest things. She made up the silliest games just to make us laugh, and she believed in fairness, in putting others first, and doing good simply because it was the right thing to do.
“Every year before school, she gave each of us grandkids a ‘special day’ which was a whole day to do whatever we wanted (and Papa had to go along with it… though I know he secretly loved it too). Mine usually started with banana splits for breakfast, hours of playing Trouble, a craft project obvi, riding every ride together at Silver Dollar City like the badass she was, dinner at Olive Garden with Papa, mini golf where she’d make a V with her feet to help me aim… (and somehow still beat me) and ending the night watching Paulie until we feel asleep.
“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.
“I don’t know how we move forward without her. But I know she’s still here in every brushstroke, every kind gesture, every hummingbird. She was love in its purest form.
“We were truly blessed to have her to love on growing up and I know she lives on through each of us.”
IMPORTANT LESSON
Brad attributes much of his acting success to his parents and says that he was always inspired by his dad working to give them a better life.
When the actor was just weeks away from graduating from the University of Missouri with a degree in journalism, he abruptly dropped out and moved to Hollywood to pursue his dreams.
He said this was done in part thanks to his dad, who taught him to always shoot for the stars.
In a 2011 interview, Brad remembered a lesson his dad taught him that always stayed at the top of his mind.
The actor was doing poorly in a tennis tournament in high school when his dad “got right up to me and said, ‘Are you having fun?'” Brad told Parade at the time.
“I said, ‘No.’ And he said, ‘Then don’t do it.'”
“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’s been the impetus to seek out projects that are important to me.”
FAMILY STRUGGLES
While Brad remained close with his mom, she was distanced from his six children that he shares with ex Angelina in recent years over their messy divorce.
In 2020, Jane Etta and other family members were jetted to Brad’s home to celebrate the matriarch’s 80th birthday, but the actor’s kids didn’t show up in social media pictures.
At the time, a source told The Sun, “I feel for Jane. She loves her grandchildren.”
“It’s a shame Jane and Bill were only two hours away from their other grandchildren and still didn’t see them on such a special occasion.
“When Angie was still with Brad they would visit their grandparents at least once a year. The kids are a wild bunch, so that was enough for Jane and Bill!”
Brad and Angelina filed for divorce in 2016, but it wasn’t finalized until the end of 2024.
