Who Are Brad Pitt’s Parents? All About the Actor’s Mom and Dad, Jane and William Pitt

Brad Pitt is one of Hollywood’s most recognizable names, but to his parents, William and Jane Pitt, he is simply their eldest son.

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, Oklahoma, in 1963 and raised in Springfield, Missouri, with his two siblings, Doug and Julie.

The Academy Award-winning actor’s 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.

Speaking with Parade in 2011, the actor recalled a pivotal lesson he learned from his dad when he wasn't performing well at a tennis tournament. “[My dad] got right up to me and said, ‘Are you having fun?’ I said, 'No.’ And he said, 'Then don’t do it,’ ” Brad told the outlet.

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’s been the impetus to seek out projects that are important to me."

From their careers to their family, here is everything to know about Brad’s parents, William and Jane Pitt.

William and Jane raised Brad in Missouri

William Alvin Pitt and Jane Etta Hillhouse met at Oklahoma Baptist University, per the Oklahoma Historical Society. The couple wed in 1962 and welcomed Brad shortly after.

A few years later, the family relocated to Tulsa and then settled in Springfield, Missouri, where Brad and his two younger siblings were raised.

“Well, it was Springfield, Missouri, which is a big place now, but we grew up surrounded by cornfields,” he told GQ in 2017. “Ten minutes outside of town, you start getting into forests and rivers and the Ozark mountains, stunning country."

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 parents still live there today, along with his brother and sister, who also have their own families.

They have three children

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.

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 in 2014.

Apart from his entrepreneurial endeavors, he founded the organization Care to Learn to help students and has been the Goodwill Ambassador of Tanzania since 2010. Both Doug and Julie are also involved in WorldServe International — which provides aid to populations in Africa — where he's on the board, and she's a water ambassador.

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 CBS.

Speaking with WorldServe International in 2018, Jane opened up about her pride in seeing her kids being there for others.

“I’m very proud of all my children. They see a need and try to step in and fill it,” she said. “Whether it’s a disaster in New Orleans [which Brad helped with], or all the things in Tanzania that Doug does do, or Julie’s wonderful, wonderful work in Ethiopia. It’s an amazing thing.”

Brad’s dad wanted to give him "a better life"

Unlike their famous son, Brad’s parents had a more humble work life. As The Sydney Morning Herald reported, William ran a trucking company, and Jane was a school counselor.

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.

"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’d do that all weekend, then start work again."

He continued, "I have immense appreciation for that now that I’m a parent, knowing what you have to do to carve out time for your kids. I know how taxing that was on him."

Brad also touched on his home life in a conversation with The New York Times 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.

“He had grown up in extreme hardship and poverty, always dead set on giving me a better life than he had — and he did it. But he came from that stoic ilk,” the Fury cast member said.

They’ve appeared on the red carpet with Brad

Though William and Jane mostly stay out of the spotlight, they occasionally walk the red carpet with their son.

One of those rare moments happened when Brad, then-wife Angelina Jolie and his parents attended the Oscars together in 2012. During a red carpet interview with CNN, the actor talked about what his family had done that day leading up to the major event, which included biscuits and gravy.

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. Brad and his parents walked the red carpet with three of his kids.