Brad Pitt's 2 Siblings: All About Doug Pitt and Julie Neal
Brad Pitt and his siblings are all involved in philanthropy
Brad Pitt grew up with two siblings, brother Doug Pitt and sister Julie Neal.
The Academy-Award-winning actor and his younger siblings were born to William Pitt, a former owner of a trucking company, and Jane Pitt, a retired school counselor. Brad was born first in 1963, when the family still lived in Shawnee, Oklahoma.
When Brad was a toddler, the family relocated to Springfield, Missouri, where the couple welcomed their son Doug in 1966 and their daughter Julie in 1969. The Babylon cast member eventually moved to Hollywood, but the rest of his family stayed in the Midwest.
Doug has occasionally spoken about his brother in interviews and even parodied what it’s like being Brad’s brother in a commercial, while Julie has remained mostly out of the spotlight.
While Brad's star was rising, Doug built a career as an entrepreneur, and Julie grew her family. Despite their different life experiences, one thing the Pitt siblings all share is their love of giving back. Their mother, Jane, has expressed admiration for her kids' philanthropic efforts.
“I’m very proud of all my children. They see a need and try to step in, and [they] fill it,” Jane said to WorldServe International in 2018. “Whether it’s a disaster in New Orleans [which Brad helped with], or all the things in Tanzania that Doug will do, or Julie’s wonderful, wonderful work in Ethiopia. It’s an amazing thing.”
Here is everything to know about Brad Pitt’s siblings — Doug Pitt and Julie Neal — and their relationship with the actor.
They grew up in Springfield, Missouri
After growing up in Springfield, Missouri, Brad went to the local Missouri University but dropped out just a few credits shy of obtaining his journalism degree to move to Hollywood and become an actor. Over the years, though, Brad has reminisced about his hometown.
“Well, it was Springfield, Missouri, which is a big place now, but we grew up surrounded by cornfields,” Brad said to GQ in 2017. “Ten minutes outside of town, you start getting into forests and rivers and the Ozark mountains, stunning country.”
Brad isn't the only Pitt who gets nostalgic about their time growing up. In 2017, Murney Associates, a realtor group in Missouri, interviewed Doug inside the Pitt childhood home where he, Brad and Julie were raised.
During the conversation, Doug shared that his brother came home with a small tree in the fifth grade, and their dad planted it in the backyard, where it stands tall today.
Doug also revealed why he chose to stay in the area. “The greatest compliment I can give it [the town] is that I chose to raise my kids here. I had the luxury of being able to do that anywhere in the world, and I chose Springfield,” he said. “I’m very fortunate to have all my family here, except my brother ... all [my wife’s] family are here ... I’m sentimental to it.”
Brad and his siblings are involved in philanthropy
Like their famous brother, Brad and Jane are also dedicated to giving back.
Doug founded Care to Learn in 2008 to meet the health, hunger and hygiene needs of students in the Missouri area. “Helping people is fun, and I get a lot of enjoyment out of it,” he said on The Mystery Show in 2015.
All three siblings are also passionate about the importance of clean water. Doug was named the Goodwill Ambassador of Tanzania in 2010, having been involved in many projects to increase access to clean water in the country, while Julie is a water ambassador for WorldServe International, where Doug is on the board.
Julie's non-profit work started when she traveled to Ethiopia after adopting two children from the country. Inspired by her time there, Julie began to work toward clean water access in the regions where her kids were born.
Brad and his siblings also teamed up in 2009 to donate $1 million to a Missouri hospital to open a new wing named after their mother. The facility is called the Jane Pitt Pediatric Cancer Center and was created to hire the first pediatric oncologist and hematologist in the southwest Missouri region, according to CBS.
Doug has starred in commercials
Doug may be best known amongst Brad’s fans for his commercials poking fun at the realities of being the brother of a megastar.
One of these ads, for Virgin Mobile in 2012, joked that Doug was “the second-most famous Pitt” who lived an ordinary life. Before committing to the project, he consulted with his older brother.
“He’s been in [acting] 25 years, and I’ve never stepped in [front of the camera]. You know, that was his gig, and I chose a different path,” Doug said on Nova FM.
He continued, “When this came along, we kind of talked for about a month. When I finally thought, ‘Okay, I think we’re going to do this,’ I did call him and ... [Brad was] like, ‘Hey, sounds fun. Go do it.' ”
In 2019, Doug starred in another commercial titled "6ix" for Mother’s Brewing Company, based in Missouri, which recreated the end of the crime thriller film Se7en, one of Brad’s famous early roles.
Doug owns a computer company
As Brad’s acting career began taking off, Doug took a different path and started his own computer company, ServiceWorld Computer Center, in 1991.
According to its website, the award-winning business merged with St. Charles-based information technology firm TSI in 2013 before Doug reacquired operations to launch Pitt Technology Group in 2017.
Doug also started the real estate business Pitt Development Group in 2014, focusing on developing medical offices. Brad's younger brother has discussed how important his business experience and philanthropic endeavors are to who he is.
“I’m a businessman first, although I probably get more recognition in the philanthropic space,” Doug said during a 2021 interview for A World On Purpose. “I’m wired as a business person, so everything I do, everything I touch, the way I try to lead, the things I choose to be involved in, there’s definitely going to be some business acumen in the process and how we do it.”
The Pitt siblings have a combined total of 14 children
Brad and his ex-wife Angelina Jolie are parents to six children: Maddox Chivan, Zahara Marley, Shiloh Nouvel, Pax Thien and twins Knox Léon and Vivienne Marcheline. For their part, Doug has three children, and Julie has five, bringing the family total to 14.
Doug has been married to his wife Lisa for over 30 years and proposed to her by putting her engagement ring in an Easter basket, according to St. Louis Magazine. They have three kids together: son Landon and daughters Sydney and Reagan.
Related: Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's 6 Kids: Everything to Know
Julie has been married to her husband Rob for over 30 years as well, and they have five kids together. After welcoming their son Caleb and twin daughters Josie and Rylie, Julie and Rob adopted their sons Caden and Cruz from Ethiopia.
“Honestly, I lived in a bubble here in our town with my three older kids, and I really didn’t think about much beyond here, and God just called my family to adopt,” Julie said in an interview with WorldServe International. “We have the space, the love ... all of our kids were on board."
Julie's Instagram account features many posts of her, her children and their milestones. “These people are my world. My greatest title is 'mom' to these beautiful souls and daughter to one of the greatest humans ever! I thank God for blessing me with the best,” she wrote on Instagram in 2021.
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