Brad Pitt is speaking candidly about the grief that has followed him since the death of his mother, Jane Etta Pitt, one year ago. The Oscar winner, 62, lost his mother in August 2025 at age 84. Now, Pitt is reflecting on the complicated reality of moving forward after losing someone who had been a constant presence throughout his life.
GettyIn an interview with Esquire published on Monday, August 10, Pitt began discussing grief after noticing interviewer Ryan D’Agostino‘s tattoo honoring his late brother.
Brad Pitt Calls Grief the ‘Most Profound Thing a Human Can Endure’
After learning D’Agostino had lost his brother about five years earlier, Pitt immediately understood the weight behind the tattoo.
“I think grief is probably the most leveling of all emotions,” Pitt said. He continued, “Loss is certainly the most profound thing a human can endure. And the loneliness that can ensue is the greatest torture.”Pitt suggested that grief changes with time, telling the interviewer that around the fifth year after a loss, a person can “just start breathing again.”
For Pitt, the subject remains especially raw. His mother’s death is only a year behind him, and he has also watched his father, William Pitt, adjust to life without his longtime wife.
Brad Pitt Reveals How He and His Father Are Mourning Jane Pitt
Pitt acknowledged the particular heartbreak his father has endured since Jane’s death. “Let’s just say it’s better to be the one who goes first,” he told Esquire.
The father and son do talk about Jane, although Pitt admitted those conversations rarely become lengthy heart-to-hearts. Describing himself and his dad as “country people” who “don’t go in depth,” Pitt said their grief sometimes surfaces in a much simpler way.
Getty“Every now and then it’ll just be one line that cuts to the core,” he said. For Pitt, learning to live with loss has also meant recognizing that grief can contain more than pain.”I think the challenge is to hold both,” he 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 Gave His Mom a Sweet Shoutout Weeks Before Her Death in August 2025
The reflections come after a bittersweet public moment between Pitt and his mother shortly before she died.
During a June 2025 screening of ‘F1 The Movie’, Pitt joined Savannah Guthrie onstage and unexpectedly paused the conversation to send Jane a message.
“I gotta say ‘Hi’ to my mom because she watches you every morning,” Pitt told Guthrie.
After Guthrie responded, “Awww,” Pitt looked toward the camera and said, “To Jane Pitt.” Guthrie joined in, waving and saying, “Hi, Mom!”Pitt then blew a kiss and added, “Love you, Mom.” Jane died only weeks later.
As per TMZ, Pitt shared a particularly close relationship with his mother. Although she generally kept a low profile, Jane occasionally accompanied her famous son to major Hollywood events, including the 2012 Academy Awards.
Brad Pitt’s Family Said They Were ‘Not Ready’ to Lose Jane
The depth of Jane’s place in the Pitt family was also apparent in the tributes that followed her death.
Pitt’s niece Sydney Pitt, the daughter of his younger brother Doug Pitt, remembered her grandmother in an emotional Instagram post.
“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.
She remembered Jane as someone who had “the biggest heart” and “cared deeply for everyone and everything, no questions asked.”
A year later, Pitt is not pretending that grief has neatly resolved itself. His description of a “gaping hole” left by loss speaks to an experience that is still unfolding, but so does his belief that beauty can exist alongside that pain.
