Pitt was born in Shawnee, Oklahoma to Jane Etta Hillhouse, a high school counselor, and William Alvin Pitt, who owns a trucking company.

Pitt was raised in the Baptist religion. At Kickapoo High School, he was involved in sports, debating, and student government. He attended the Missouri School of Journalism at the University of Missouri - Columbia where he became a member of The Sigma Chi fraternity.

Brad Pitt met Friends actress Jennifer Aniston in 1998 and married her at an enclosed wedding ceremony in Malibu on July 29, 2000.

Their separation was announced on January 7,2005. Aniston filed for a divorce on March 25 the same year. The divorce was finalized on October 2 2005. The troubled marriage inspired Brad Pitt to cooperate with Steven Klein for a photoshoot entitled "Domestic Bliss" for the July 2005 edition of W magazine. The spread showed Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie as a 1963 married couple with children who were experiencing differences in an era where he believed the importance of maintaining a "facade" was becoming complicated.