Vivienne Jolie has shared that she was hospitalized for an eating disorder earlier this year, opening up about the experience through her artwork. The 18-year-old daughter of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt included the disclosure in a statement accompanying a Los Angeles exhibition.
The collection was displayed at Forager Crafts from November 2 through November 8. Visitors could see hand-drawn illustrations alongside passages from the personal journals she kept during treatment.
Vivienne, who also works under the name V Marcheline, had begun showing her art publicly before this exhibition. Her latest work offered a closer look at experiences she had previously kept private.
She also focuses on what she remembers from that period and the people who helped her through it.
Finding Connection During a Difficult Stay
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Vivienne described a lonely beginning in the statement displayed with her work. “I was angry, sick, and very alone,” she wrote, according to HELLO!, which covered the exhibition on November 7. She acknowledged that she had struggled with her mental health as well.
She credited the kindness of fellow young patients and hospital staff with helping her become more open. Her recollections included intense laughter and tears, along with a growing ability to be honest about her feelings. She described learning strength from other patients while they were facing difficulties of their own.
An unnamed source told Page Six that deciding to share the experience publicly had been difficult. According to that source, Vivienne hoped someone encountering her story might feel less alone or find encouragement to seek support.
Tulip Drawings Preserve Her Hospital Memories
“The Tulip Field” was Vivienne’s name for the hospital and became the heading of her artist’s statement. She explained that there were no photographs of her time there, so the paintings preserved memories of friendship, fear, laughter and feeling safe.
One illustration showed a tulip sitting on a chair beside a public telephone, holding the receiver. Its accompanying diary entry, dated April 4, described her longing for a hug. An April 22 entry reflected on allowing herself to experience painful feelings while trying to get better.
Other drawings placed the flower characters around a dinner table or together in an embrace. The group hug appeared in a work called Bounded Love. In her statement, Vivienne explained that she selected sentences from her journals to match the memories represented in the paintings.
Art Fairs Followed Her Work in Theater
Vivienne had brought her designs to a Los Angeles street fair in September, where her twin brother, Knox, helped set up her booth and took photographs. The display carried the name The Tulip Fields and offered prints, stickers and birthday cards featuring her original work. HOLA! described the twins sitting behind the table and interacting with shoppers examining the pieces.
Her creative work had previously taken her backstage on Broadway. In 2024, she assisted her mother on The Outsiders, the musical based on S. E. Hinton’s novel, after encouraging Angelina to become involved. Its Playbill credited her as Vivienne Jolie, a name she was using professionally before a Los Angeles judge approved her legal name change on November 2, as Wealth of Geeks reported.
Angelina described her daughter at the time as thoughtful, serious about theater and interested in learning how to contribute to a production. The Outsiders won four Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and Vivienne joined her mother and members of the production onstage at the June 2024 ceremony.