Brad Pitt Opens Up About the Loss of His Mother One Year After Her Death: ‘Most Profound Thing a Human Can Endure’
Brad Pitt Opens Up About the Loss of His Mother One Year After Her Death: ‘Most Profound Thing a Human Can Endure’
Rachel RaposasMon, August 10, 2026 at 3:34 PM UTC
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Jane and Brad Pitt.Credit: Gregg DeGuire/FilmMagic -
Brad Pitt reflected on his mother Jane Pitt’s death in a recent interview
The actor described his grief as a profound emotion that takes years to reconcile with
“Loss is certainly the most profound thing a human can endure,” he said
Brad Pitt is reflecting on his ongoing journey with grief after his mother died last year.
The Heart of the Beast actor, 62, opened up about coping with loss and grief in Esquire‘s September cover story, published Aug. 10. Jane Pitt died in August 2025 at age 84. At the time her family said they were “not ready for you to go yet.”
Esquire‘s Ryan D’Agostino has a tattoo in honor of his late brother on his arm, and when Pitt noticed the ink, the journalist shared the story behind it — that his brother died roughly five years ago.
Brad Pitt’s September cover story for Esquire.Credit: Chantal Anderson/Esquire
“Ohhh. You’re just getting to the point where you can swallow it,” Pitt replied. “I think grief is probably the most leveling of all emotions.”
“That’s an understatement, even. Loss is certainly the most profound thing a human can endure. And the loneliness that can ensue is the greatest torture,” he added, noting that by the fifth year in one’s grief journey, it’s finally possible to “just start breathing again.”
Pitt alluded to the grief not only he experienced, but the loss his father endured when Pitt’s mother, Jane, died last year. “Let’s just say it’s better to be the one who goes first,” Pitt said.
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Sometimes, he and his father talk about the late woman who was so influential to both of them. Against the backdrop of his family home in Missouri, Pitt describes himself and his dad as “country people” who “don’t go in depth” with each other, but “every now and then it’ll just be one line that cuts to the core,” he said.
“I think the challenge is to hold both,” Pitt said. “Grief, if you survive it, leaves a gaping hole, but it also leaves profound beauty. It’s an aching beauty, but it’s beauty.”
Brad Pitt for Esquire.Credit: Chantal Anderson/Esquire
At the time of Jane’s death, Pitt’s niece, Sydney — the daughter of his brother, Doug — shared a tribute to the matriarch in a post on Instagram.
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“My sweet Grammy, 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,” Sydney wrote, adding that her grandmother had “the biggest heart” and “cared deeply for everyone and everything, no questions asked.”
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
