42 Celebrities Who Don't Use Their Real Names
Brad Pitt, Rihanna, and Miley Cyrus aren't who you think they are
by Brad Pitt, Rihanna, and Miley Cyrus aren't who you think they are / July 12, 2020
Reese Witherspoon, John Legend, Bruno Mars, Rihanna—it's as if these celebrities were destined to make it big in Hollywood from the moment their parents signed their birth certificate. But as it turns out, some of the most acclaimed household names weren't born with the golden ticket to stardom. Instead, they paved their own ways, often adopting a stage name to help open doors. Ahead, 42 of the most well-known celebs who actually go by pseudonyms, plus the stories behind when and why they chose to forgo their birth names.
This article originally appeared on Harper's BAZAAR US.
https://www.harpersbazaar.com.sg/gallery/celebrities-who-dont-use-real-names-2/
42 Celebrities Who Don't Use Their Real Names
Born: Norma Jeane Mortenson. Most probably know by now that the illustrious Marilyn Monroe grew up being called Norma Jeane (she was born to the last name Mortenson, baptized as Baker, and later married into Dougherty). But, do you know the story of how she became Marilyn? According to Time, the actress ditched her first husband's surname because a 20th Century Fox studio executive thought that there would be too many interpretations of its pronunciation. Norma Jeane suggested the last name "Monroe," a name on her mother's side of the family, while the studio exec handed her "Marilyn," because she reminded him of 1920s Broadway starlet Marilyn Miller. Photo: Getty
Born: Alicia Augello-Cook. The singer/songwriter told Newsweek she wanted to to change her last name to be better suited for the stage, and was considering taking on the title "Alicia Wild"—but her mom said no. "She said, 'It sounds like you're a stripper,"' said Keys, so the singer considered a more musical moniker. "It's like the piano keys. And it can open so many doors," she explained. Photo: Getty
Born: Abel Makkonen Tesfaye. It probably goes without saying that The Weeknd's first name is not "The," and his last name not "Weeknd." The singer was born as Abel Makkonen Tesfaye. He revealed during a Reddit Ask Me Anything that he chose his stage name after leaving home as a teenager. "I left home when I was about 17 dropped out of high school and convinced Lamar to do the same lol," he said, referring to a member of his crew. "We grabbed our mattresses from our parents threw it in our friends shitty van and left one weekend and never came back home. It was gonna be the title of HOB [House of Balloons]. I hated my name at the time though so I tried it as a stage name. It sounded cool. I took out the "e" because there was already a Canadian band named the weekend (copyright issues)." Photo: Getty
Born: Rachel Meghan Markle. It's now common knowledge that Meghan Markle's real first name is Rachel, though her birth name doesn't much matter, as she's now a Duchess. Photo: Getty
Born: Irina Shaykhlislamov. Irina Shayk's real last name is Shaykhlislamov, as Observer reported after catching her legal name on the deed of her Manhattan apartment. Photo: Andreas Rentz / Getty
Born: William Bradley Pitt. Despite going by his middle name in his professional life, Page Six reports that the newly-single actor introduces himself by his given name, William, when he's flirting with women. We're guessing any woman would see right through Pitt's not-so-pseudonym. Photo: Getty
Born: Jelena Noura Hadid. True fans know that the world-renowned supermodel uses a pseudonym. Born Jelena (pronounced Yelena), Hadid was called Gigi early on, but only by her close family. "My mom was called that as a kid by her mother when she was younger, but only around the house," Gigi said in a 2015 interview. "I was called that around the house when I was really young, kind of like how my mom was called it." Then in grade school, when Jelena became confusing, Gigi became Gigi full-time. "In first or second grade, there was a girl named Helena and it got confusing with the teacher who had to call out our names, and so the teacher asked my mom, 'If I needed to call Jelena a nickname, what would it be?' And my mom was like, 'I call her Gigi sometimes,' and the name stuck," the model explained. Photo: Getty
Born: Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta. Before she became an international pop star, Germanotta adopted her now-famous stage name, inspired by the 1984 Queen song "Radio Ga Ga." Gaga will also retain her stage name for all her acting projects. Photo: Getty
Born: Robyn Rihanna Fenty. Musically, the "Wild Thoughts" singer has always gone by her middle name, Rihanna. But the artist told Rolling Stone that her friends and family still call her Robyn, especially when they want to get her attention. "I get kind of numb to hearing Rihanna, Rihanna, Rihanna," she told the publication. "When I hear Robyn, I pay attention." Photo: Brendon Thorne / Getty
Born: Destiny Hope Cyrus. Miley Cyrus's stage title developed out of a childhood nickname. Apparently, as a child, Destiny Hope was always grinning, so her family called her Smiley, which evolved to Miley. Then, in 2008, the "Malibu" singer legally changed her name. Photo: Getty
Born: Belcalis Almanzar Although we know her as Cardi B, true fans know that the musician was actually given a much longer name at birth: Belcalis Almanzar. Cardi B is actually short for Bacardi, like the rum. My sister's name is Hennessy," Cardi B explained to Jimmy Fallon. "So everyone used to call me Bacardi, and I started calling myself Bacardi," which eventually was shorted to Cardi B." Photo: Getty
Born: Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon Early in her career, then-Laura Jeanne adopted her mother's maiden name as her first name. Photo: Getty
Born: Emily Jean Stone. The La La Land actress told W magazine that she had to rebrand herself when she was 16 years old because there was already an Emily Stone in Hollywood. "I changed it to Emma because you know it's closer to Emily, but most people call me 'M,' that know me well," the actress explained to the publication. Photo: Getty
Born: Neta-Lee Hershlag. Born in Israel, Natalie Portman was given a traditional Hebrew name, but upon emigrating to the United States in 1984, the family changed the Hershlag surname to Portman, the actress's maternal grandmother's maiden name, and Neta-Lee became Natalie. Photo: Getty
Born: Christopher Catesby Harington In an interview with Glamour, the Game of Thrones star revealed that his parents didn't tell him his real name was Christopher until he was 11 years old. "I think they could see that I wanted to be Kit, but Christopher was a bit of a tradition," Harington explained. "My brother's name is Jack, but his real name is John. Kit is traditionally an offshoot of Christopher, it's just not used that often. My middle name is Catesby." Photo: Getty
Born: Elizabeth Woolridge Grant. Lana Del Rey was Lizzy (Elizabeth) Grant until she turned 25 and developed her alter ego, Lana Del Rey. Photo: Getty
Born: Olivia Cockburn The actress's stage name is an ode to Oscar Wilde. The actress changed her last name after playing Gwendolen in her high school's rendition of Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest. Photo: Getty
Born: Aubrey Drake Graham In the early aughts, the actor-turned-rapper starred in the Canadian high school drama TV series Degrassi: The Next Generation, where he was known as Aubrey Graham. In 2006, when he started pursuing a rap career, he dropped the Aubrey and started going by Drake. Photo: Getty
Born: Amanda Lee Rogers. In an interview for Advocate, de Rossi revealed how she went from Amanda to Portia. "When I was 15, I changed it legally. In retrospect, I think it was largely due to my struggle about being gay. Everything just didn't fit, and I was trying to find things I could identify myself with, and it started with my name," she said. "I picked Portia because I was a Shakespeare fan [Portia is the character in The Merchant of Venice who famously declaims, "The quality of mercy is not strain'd / It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven."]. De Rossi because I was Australian and I thought that an exotic Italian name would somehow suit me more than Amanda Rogers. When you live in Australia, Europe is so far away and so fascinating, so stylish and cultured and sophisticated." Photo: Getty
Born: Christopher Ashton Kutcher Ashton Kutcher revealed his real first name at the 2013 Teen Choice Awards, where he received the Ultimate Choice Award. The actor joked that it's actually the "old guy" award and he feels like a fraud, revealing: "My name is not even actually Ashton." The funny guy explained that he decided to go by his middle name when he was first trying to make it in Hollywood at the age of 19. Photo: Getty
Born: Erica Abi Wright. When Badu was young, she decided to change the spelling of her first name, as she believed the original spelling to be a "slave name," into "Erykah." "Kah" signified the inner self. She also picked up "Badu," as it doubled as her favorite jazz scat sound and an African name for the 10th born child of the Akan people in Ghana. Photo: Getty
Born: Ashley Frangipane. Although fans have long speculated that Halsey created her stage name as an anagram of her first name, Ashley, she was actually inspired by a street in Brooklyn. In an interview for Vevo, the singer revealed that a friend of hers lived on Halsey Street, and she spent her weekends away from her New Jersey hometown there making music. Photo: Getty
Born: Shelton Lee. Lee's mother nicknamed the to-be-director "Spike" when he was young because he was a "tough baby." It stuck. Photo: Getty
Born: Courtney Michelle Harrison. No, this rock star's real last name is not "Love." Although Courtney has arguably one of the most famous stage names to ever grace a mic, she decided to renounce "Love" and go back to her roots in 2010. "We love her when she goes onstage, but I don't need her in the rest of my life," she said then, adding that she would henceforth prefer to be called, "Courtney Michelle." Photo: Getty
Born: Caryn Johnson While guest starring on The Graham Norton Show, Goldberg revealed that she got her stage name by acting like a whoopee cushion when she first started out. "No one christened me that. I am Karen, but I was a bit of a farter," she joked. "The theatres I was performing in were very small so if you were gassy you had to walk away farting and people would say I was like a Whoopee cushion. I was sometimes quite noisy, never offensive." Photo: Ron Galella / Getty
Born: Joaquín Rafael Bottom. Before Joaquin Phoenix was Joaquin Phoenix, he was Joaquín Rafael... Bottom. Yep, Joaquin spent the first few years of his life as a member of the Bottom family, until his parents left their religious group and chose Phoenix as the new family surname. Photo: Getty
Born: Deme Gene Guynes Most people don't know that Demi Moore married rock musician Freddy Moore when she was just 17 years old and took his last name. The marriage lasted four-and-a-half years, but the actress decided to keep his surname as her stage name. Photo: Getty
Born: Peter Gene Hernandez. In a 2013 interview with GQ, the "Finesse" singer explained that he's been Bruno for almost his entire life. Though he was born Peter Hernandez, he received the nickname Bruno because as a toddler, he looked like the famous wrestler Bruno Sammartino. But Bruno Hernandez wasn't cutting it in the music world. "Your last name's Hernandez, maybe you should do this Latin music, this Spanish music... Enrique's so hot right now," the singer told the publication of the responses he received while trying to start his music career. Thus, he adopted the Mars surname. Photo: Getty
Born: Onika Tanya Maraj. In a 2012 interview with The Guardian, the female rapper explained that she didn't even choose her stage name. "Somebody changed my name," she told the publication. "One of the first production deals I signed, the guy wanted my name to be Minaj and I fought him tooth and nail. But he convinced me. I've always hated it." But around close family, the rapper added, she prefers to be called by her given name, Onika. "My rule is, whatever you were calling me four years ago is what you should be calling me now, because I don't like it when my family or close friends call me Nicki Minaj," she explained. "To me I'm not Nicki Minaj when I'm with them." Photo: Getty
Born: Adam Richard Wiles Fans were a little confused when Taylor Swift gave her former boyfriend a shout-out at the iHeart Radio Music Awards, calling him "Adam." In a later interview with Shortlist, Harris explained that he adopted his stage name in an attempt to be more "racially ambiguous." "My first single was more of a soul track, and I thought Calvin Harris sounded a bit more racially ambiguous. I thought people might not know if I was black or not. After that, I was stuck with it." Photo: Getty
Born: Christopher Edwin Breaux. The musician Ocean was born Christopher Edwin Breaux, but didn't feel like the moniker was "cool" enough. In a 2011 interview with Complex, he said: "I changed my name on my birthday last year. It was the most empowering sh*t I did in 2010, for sure. I went on LegalZoom and changed my f*cking name. It just felt cool." "None of us are our names," the "Novacane" singer continued. "If you don't like your name then change your name. I'm only a few steps into the process, so I probably shouldn't even be talking about this, but by the beginning of summer I'll be straight. I'll be boarding planes as Christopher Francis Ocean." Photo: Getty
Born: Ilyena Lydia Mironoff. The British actress was actually born Ilyena Lydia Mironoff, but her father changed the family's last name from Mironoff to Mirren in the fifties. Ilynea then simplified her first name to Helen when she embarked on her acting career. Photo: Getty
Born: Eric Marlon Bishop. In an interview with David Letterman in 2015, Foxx explained that he changed his name when he first started doing standup comedy, and tried out a unisex name for more stage time. "I noticed that like 1,000 guys showed up and only three girls, but the three girls would always get a spot," Foxx explained of signing up for a standup slot. "So I went to the list and wrote down a unisex name... Jamie Foxx." Photo: Getty
Born: Julie Anne Smith. Like what happened to Emma (formerly Emily) Stone, Julie Anne Smith was told that she had to change her name because there was already a Julie Smith and a Julie Anne Smith in the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). "When I went to join SAG as Julie Smith, they were like, 'There's a Julie Smith, there's a Julie Anne Smith. You have to choose another name,'" the actress told The Hollywood Reporter. "My dad's name was Peter Moore Smith, and my mother's name was Anne Smith, and I used both their names so I wouldn't hurt anybody's feelings," Moore explained of finding her stage name. Photo: Getty
Born: John Roger Stephens. "John Legend is a nickname that some friends started calling me, and it kind of grew into my stage name," Legend explained to MTV News in a 2008 interview. "'Legend' is something that I never would have chosen for myself originally. It grew to the point where more people in my circle would know me by that name than by my real name." So, Legend explained that he decided to take on the legendary moniker. "I was just like, 'You know what? Let's just go for it. People are going to pay attention and I'm going to either live up to my name or I'm not,'" he added. "My bet was on me trying to live up to the name." Photo: Getty
Born: Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson. The "I Kissed A Girl" singer explains that her stage name came about during her adolescent identity crisis. "I created this wonderful character called Katy Perry that I very much am, and can step into all the time, but I created that character out of protection," the singer told The Guardian. "It was me going, 'OK, I've been upset my whole childhood so I'm going to show the world I am something, that I am going to do something and that I am enough,'" Perry continued. "I didn't want to be Katheryn Hudson. I hated that, it was too scary for me, so I decided to be someone else. Photo: Getty
Born: Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor. Lorde's pseudonym is only for the stage. "I much prefer being called Ella," the New Zealand-born musician told ABC News Radio. "I basically chose Lorde because I wanted a name that was really strong and had this grandeur to it. I didn't feel that my birth name was anything special. I always liked the idea of having, like, a one-named alias." Photo: Getty
Born: Amanda Leigh Moore. "I had never really owned my name," Mandy Moore explained in a 2009 interview with CNN. "It was just synonymous with my parents being mad at me." And can you blame her for wanting to be Mandy Moore? It has a ring to it. Photo: Getty
Born: Vera Mindy Chokalingam Mindy Kaling wasn't born a Mindy. The actress's parents are originally from India and wanted to give their daughter a Hindu name, but Mindy always preferred her middle name. "Vera isn't just an old Russian lady's name; it's an incarnation of a Hindu goddess," the actress told Improper Bostonian in 2006. "But they never called me it." Then, when the actress was trying to make her way as an actress, she also opted to shorten her last name from Chokalingam to Kaling. Photo: Getty
Born: Elizabeth Stamatina Fey. Tina is actually a shorted version of the actress and comedian's middle name, Stamatina. Interestingly, Fey's 30 Rock persona, Liz Lemon, is actually a nod to her birth name, Elizabeth. Photo: Getty
Born: Gerald Earl Gillum. Speaking with Interview in 2012, G-Eazy explains how he coined his stage name. "It came about 10 years ago now. Times were different then," he said. "The name probably sounded cool to me when I was 13, [like G-Unit]. The climate has definitely changed since: the fashion trends, the style of music I listen to." Photo: Getty
Born: Alecia Beth Moore. The singer took her stage name from Steve Buscemi's character Mr. Pink in Reservoir Dogs. She recalled to Q Magazine, "I actually ran into Steve Buscemi on the street in New York before my first album came out. I had these big f---ing Elton John glasses on, pink hair and carried a Pink Panther toy. I went 'Steve! Mr Pink! I'm Pink! Because of you! I'm going to have an album and you're going to know who I am!' And he was like 'What the f--k, lady?' and just ran away from me. I've never met him since." Photo: Getty
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