Vivienne Jolie-Pitt Cries as ‘The Outsiders’ Director Wins Tony Award

Published: 7:17 PM PDT, June 16, 2024

Vivienne Jolie-Pitt was spotted tearing up at the 2024 Tony Awards as The Outsiders director Danya Taymor took home the award for Best Direction of a Musical.

On Sunday, just moments after Taymor — who Angelina Jolie recently sat down with in an interview for Deadline — was announced as the winner, cameras flashed to the mother-daughter duo in the audience as they received a shout-out for their work on the Broadway production. 

Angelina, 49, was instrumental in bringing The Outsiders to Broadway as a producer, while her 15-year-old daughter serves as a producer’s assistant on the show, according to a Playbill, in which Vivienne goes by “Vivienne Jolie,” opting to drop the last name of her father, Brad Pitt. 

“Thank you to the great women who have lifted me up,” Taymor said as she began listing off names, including Jolie and Susie “S.E” Hinton.

As Taymor then took a moment to point into the crowd at Hinton, the author of The Outsiders book that the musical is based on, the cameras flashed to an excited and emotional Angelina and Vivienne, clapping and cheering for the major win. 

After the musical’s director ended her speech, Vivienne — who has long been a fan of musicals and attended a production of Dear Evan Hansen with her mom back in 2022 — could be seen still with tears in her eyes but smiling at the achievement. 

It was a celebratory moment for Vivienne, Angelina, Taymor and the entire cast and crew of The Outsiders. In total, the show was nominated for 12 trophies at the annual ceremony, including Best Musical, Best Choreography and Best Book for a Musical, making it the second-most nominated show behind Stereophonics and Hell’s Kitchen, which tied for the No. 1 spot with 13 noms each. 

“Ponyboy Curtis, his best friend Johnny Cade and their Greaser family of outsiders battle with their affluent rivals, the Socs. This thrilling new Broadway musical navigates the complexities of self-discovery as the Greasers dream about who they want to become in a world that may never accept them,” reads the play’s description on the show’s official site.

Angelina was first announced last year to be participating in bringing the show to the Great White Way after she saw the production alongside Vivienne at the La Jolla Playhouse in 2023. The pair have remained hands on since and even attended the opening of the show back in March, where they smiled together for pics with the cast. 

In a statement to ET at the time, Angelina gave her own reasoning for boarding the production and bringing along Vivienne. 

“Viv reminds me of my mother [Marcheline Bertrand] in that she isn’t focused on being the center of attention but in being a support to other creatives,” Angelina said. “She’s very thoughtful and serious about theatre and working hard to best understand how to contribute.”

Angelina is also mom to Maddox, 22, Pax, 20, Zahara, 19, Shiloh, 17, and Vivienne’s twin brother, Knox, 15. She shares all six children with Brad, 60, with whom she was with for 12 years. 

For more on the mother-daughter duo taking over the theater world, check out the links below. 

The 2024 Tony Awards, which will be hosted by Ariana DeBose, is airing live from the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on Sunday, June 16, at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET on CBS and Paramount+. Check out the complete winners list here. 

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