Bijou Phillips appears to be marking a quiet but meaningful shift in her personal life nearly two years after her ex-husband’s conviction. The actress has taken new legal action involving her daughter, signaling an effort to redefine their family identity. While details remain limited, the move follows a series of court proceedings connected to Danny Masterson’s ongoing legal situation.
Editor’s Note: This story includes references to sexual assault.
Bijou Phillips wants to change daughter’s surname two years after Danny Masterson’s conviction
Bijou Phillips files to remove Danny Masterson’s surname from their daughter’s name two years after his rape conviction. According to court documents obtained by People, the 45-year-old actress filed on October 24 to change her 11-year-old daughter’s name from Fianna Francis Masterson to Fianna Francis Phillips. The filing is currently awaiting approval from a California judge. TMZ first reported the petition, which also coincided with both Phillips and Masterson’s legal marital statuses being changed to “single” the same day.
Phillips and Masterson married in 2011 after dating since 2004. She filed for divorce in September 2023, two weeks after his sentencing, citing “irreconcilable differences.” The couple share one child. Following the conviction, court documents showed that Masterson agreed to grant Phillips full legal and physical custody of their daughter. The agreement also allowed him visitation rights. People confirmed that Masterson is currently serving his sentence at North Kern State Prison in Delano, California.
Prosecutors charged Masterson, 49, in 2020 with forcibly raping three women between 2001 and 2003. In May 2023, a Los Angeles jury found him guilty of two counts of rape. The third count ended in a hung jury. The court sentenced him to 30 years to life in prison that September. His attorneys filed an appeal in December 2024, claiming the trial included “erroneous judicial rulings” and that “a stunning amount of exculpatory evidence” was never presented.
During Masterson’s trial, Phillips publicly supported him, writing in a character letter that he was “an amazing father” and that she and their daughter were “heartbroken” by his imprisonment. In February 2024, Phillips told E! News she and her daughter were “a great little team” as they adjusted to life following his conviction.
