Several celebrities in Hollywood, from Gigi Hadid to Nicki Minaj, changed their names before reaching stardom. These stage names were either their nicknames, a shorter version of their birth names, or just some name they conjured up to stand out. After all, a name can say a lot about a person’s career in Hollywood. If your name is too difficult to pronounce or another celebrity has a similar name, people might just forget you easily. Therefore, many celebrities we know and love have changed their names.
So, here’s a list of 50 celebrities whose real names you probably don’t know and will be surprised to find out.
Gigi Hadid
Real Name: Jelena Noura Hadid
This might come as a surprise, but this name did not always call Gigi Hadid. She was in first or second standard when her nickname, Gigi, became someone everyone referred to her by, even at school. She recalled the story to Vogue, saying that she had a classmate named Helena, which often made it confusing for her teacher when she had to call out either of them. To resolve the confusion, Gigi’s teacher asked her mother what she could call her in place of Jelena, a sort of nickname, and her mom was quick to share that her nickname was Gigi at home. The name somehow clicked for Gigi as she went to make it her stage name.
Bella Hadid
Real name: Isabella Khair Hadid
Bella Hadid also turned her nickname into her stage name, which is just a shorter version of her real name.
Reese Witherspoon
Real name: Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon
The well-known actress decided not to go with her entire name and only Reese Witherspoon, which is her mother’s maiden name. She took this decision at the age of 14 when her first movie, The Man in the Moon, was released.
Katy Perry
Real name: Katheryn Hudson
Katy Perry chose to opt for this name so that she would not be confused with actress Kate Hudson and could stand out. The singer changed her surname to her mother’s last name, and we must say, we love it.
Julianne Moore
Real name: Julie Anne Smith
Julie Anne Smith took Moore from her father’s name and Anne from her mother’s name to form Julianne Moore so that she didn’t hurt either of their feelings when choosing her stage name. And the main reason she could not have gone with her birth name was that her name was already popular in actors’ unions and she wanted to stand out. However, she has shared remorse over how she could not have gone with the name she had known all her life and had to change it.
Meghan Markle
Real name: Rachel Meghan Markle
The Duchess of Sussex chose to go by her middle name not when she started acting or joined the royal family but even before that. This is because her yearbook photos show her with the same name she goes by today (Meghan Markle) even though her legal documents still show Rachel Meghan Markle.
Prince Harry
Real name: Henry Charles Albert David
Just like the Duchess of Sussex, the Duke of Sussex is also known not by his real name. Prince Harry shared the details with a 2022 WellChild Award winner, stating that his real name was Henry, but everyone around him always called him Harry, and that just stuck around.
Olivia Wilde
Real name: Olivia Cockburn
Olivia Wilde comes from a family of writers and decided to go by the stage name Olivia Wilde based on the novelist Olivia Wilde’s name. She was inspired by the revolutionary writer so much that she just couldn’t help changing her name.
Natalie Portman
Real name: Natalie Hershlag
The Award-winning actress Natalie Hershlag changed her surname to Portman for the entertainment industry. This was her grandmother’s maiden name.
Lucy Hale
Real name: Karen Lucille Hale
Like many other celebrities, Pretty Little Liars actress Lucy Hale chose to use a shortened version of her real name and has stuck to it throughout the years.
Miley Cyrus
Real name: Destiny Hope Cyrus
The Wrecking Ball singer Miley Ray Cyrus changed her name legally to this at the age of 15. She opted for Miley, which was a part of her childhood nickname, Smiley, and chose Ray as her middle name, which is also her father’s middle name.
Brad Pitt
Real name: William Bradley Pitt
Brad Pitt chose to opt for a shortened version of his middle name as his first name in the entertainment industry.
Jamie Foxx
Real name: Eric Marlon Bishop
There is quite a fun story behind why Eric Marlon Bishop chose to go by Jamie Foxx. He shared the story on Late Show With David Letterman, saying that when he started with Stand Up comedy, he realized that female comedians were quite rare and would always score. Hence, he put down three unisex names on the list: Stacy Green, Tracy Brown, and Jamie Foxx. And soon, he heard Jamie Foxx being called out as the first person on stage. The presenter even referred to her as a female, to which Jamie replied, “No, brother, that’s me,” and went on to the stage. He got a standing ovation that day.
John Legend
Real name: John Roger Stephens
John Legend was inspired when the artist J. Ivy referred to him as “The Legend” in the studio because he felt the singer sounded like one of the old musical legends. Hence, he turned his actual name into John Legend as his stage name. He shared this story with Jimmy Fallon in an interview in March 2021.
Olivia Colman
Real name: Sarah Caroline Colman
Sarah Caroline Colman changed her name to Olivia Colman when she joined the entertainment industry, and she found out that there was already a Sarah Colman, an actress who was quite famous. But Sarah chose the name Olivia not because it was a family name but because one of her university best friends had this name, and she absolutely loved it. Moreover, changing her name from Sarah to Olivia wasn’t a big deal for the actress as she had never been referred to by this name and was always called Colly.
Alicia Keys
Real name: Alicia Augello Cook
Alicia Keys chose her surname based on her favorite instrument, the piano.
Demi Moore
Real name: Demetria Gene Guynes
Demetria Gene Guynes chose a shorter version of her first name as her first name, and as for her surname is taken from her ex-husband, Freddy Moore’s name. She changed her name when the two married in 1981 and kept it even after they separated in 1985.
Chace Crawford
Real name: Christopher Chace Crawford
Chace Crawford decided to let go of his first name for his stage name and went on with his middle name, which has a unique spelling.
Nicki Minaj
Real name: Onika Tanya Maraj
The rapper chose her first name as, Nicki, which is basically just a version of her first birth name. As for her surname, Minaj, it was suggested by one of the initial producers she worked with during her music career. In an interview with the Guardian, Nicki talked about how she fought hard with the producer to keep her surname, but eventually, she was convinced and went on with it. However, she hates it now.
Meg Ryan
Real name: Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra
While becoming a professional actor, Meg Ryan chose a shorter version of her real name as her first name and her grandmother’s maiden name as her surname.
Kit Harington
Real name: Christopher Catesby Harington
There’s quite a funny and unusual story behind Kit Harington’s stage name. The actor shared that he didn’t realize his real name was Christopher until he was 11, and his family could see that he wanted to be Kit. The Game of Thrones actor also shared that his brother’s real name is John, but he prefers to go by Jack.
Winona Ryder
Real name: Winona Laura Horowitz
Winona Laura Horowitz changed her surname to Ryder for her stage name. She took this surname from the musician Mitch Ryder, whose album was playing in the background when she was asked how she would prefer her name to appear in the credits of her first film, Lucas.
Elle King
Real name: Tanner Elle Schneider
Elle King chose to use her middle name as her first name and part of her mother’s name as her surname. The main reason behind her not choosing Schneider as her surname was so that she could be identified as Elle and not Rob Schneider’s daughter. She wanted to be known for her own set of skills, for which she worked extremely hard, not because of her famous family.
Mandy Moore
Real name: Amanda Leigh Moore
Mandy Moore chose to use a shorter version of her first name and keep her surname as her stage name.
Nina Dobrev
Real name: Nikolina Konstantinova Dobreva
You have got to be a die-hard Nina Dobrev fan to know that her real name isn’t this. The actress decided to opt for a shorter version of her birth name early in her acting career and has continued to go by it.
Jack Black
Real name: Thomas Jacob Black
The famous School of Rock actor decided to let go of his actual first name, turned his middle name, Jacob, into its shorter and common version, Jack, as his first name, and kept his surname as it is.
Alexis Bledel
Real name: Kimberly Alexis Bledel
More commonly known as Rory Gilmore, thanks to her role in the Gilmore Girls, Alexis Bledel decided to turn her middle name into her first name for her stage name. She has never shared till date the reason behind her decision.
Dove Cameron
Real name: Chloe Celeste Hoffman
Born with the name Chloe Celeste Hoffman, the Liz and Maddie actress changed her name to Dove Cameron legally and used it as her stage name, too, as a tribute to her father, who passed away when she was just 15. Dove has shared that her father referred to her as Dove rather than Chloe and so after he passed away, she decided to change her name.
Tina Fey
Real name: Elizabeth Stamatina Fey
Elizabeth Stamatina Fey decided to ditch her first name, shorten her middle name, and change it to her first name for her stage name.
Frank Ocean
Real name: Christopher Edwin Breaux
Frank Ocean began the process of legally changing his name in 2014 and finally changed it in 2015 just because he liked his current name more than his birth name.
Camila Cabello
Real name: Karla Camila Cabello Estrabao
Camila’s real name is quite long, so when she began her career in the music industry, she opted to go by two of her middle names.
Ashton Kutcher
Real name: Christopher Ashton Kutcher
When Christopher Ashton Kutcher began acting professionally, he let go of his first name and began using his middle name as his first name and surname as it is.
Mila Kunis
Real name: Milena Markovna Kunis
The Ukrainian-born actress shifted to the States at a young age, and when she eventually started getting acting jobs, she shortened her birth name to Mila Kunis.
Lana Del Rey
Real name: Elizabeth Woolridge Grant
Lana Del Rey chose several stage names before finally settling on this one. She initially went with a modified version of her birth name, Lizzy Grant. She then opted for other stage names, such as Sparkle Rope Jump Queen and May Jailer, before finally coming up with Lana Del Rey and sticking with it.
Diane Keaton
Real name: Diane Hall
Diane Keaton took her mother’s maiden name as her surname for her stage name.
Lea Michele
Real Name: Lea Michele Sarfati
Lea Michele decided not to add her surname to her stage name, and she has shared the reason behind her decision. In an interview with Jay Leno, Lea shared how people made fun of her surname at school and called her Lea So-fatty or Lea So-farty. So, during her first audition, when her name was asked, she only said Lea Michele instead of Lea Michel Sarfati, which just stuck around for the actress.
Pedro Pascal
Real name: José Pedro Balmaceda Pascal
Pedro Pascal went for a shorter version of his real name and decided to keep Pascal as his surname in order to honor his late mother, whose maiden name it was.
Portia de Rossi
Real name: Born as Amanda Lee Rogers and legally today Portia Lee James DeGeneres
Portia de Rossi chose this stage name during her acting career in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice and never changed it, even though when she got married to Ellen De Generes, she legally took the host’s surname.
Vin Diesel
Real name: Mark Sinclair
Mark Sinclair preferred to be called Vin Diesel even before enteringthe entertainment industry. The actor took on his current stage name back in the day when he worked as a bouncer in a New York City nightclub because he felt that this name sounded much tougher.
Lily James
Real name: Lily Chloe Ninette Thomson
The actress Lily James changed her surname in her stage name in order to honor her late father.
Faith Hill
Real name: Audrey Faith Perry
Audrey Faith Perry took her middle name as her first name in her stage name. As for her surname, the country singer had taken on her ex-husband Daniel Hill’s surname at the time and even made it a part of her stage name. She decided to keep the surname even after the couple separated, as she was already known by Faith Hill.
Topher Grace
Real name: Christopher John Grace
There is quite a story behind Christopher John Grace’s choice of stage name, Topher Grace. He shared the story with Ellen DeGeneres in an interview where he said, “I’d say, ‘Hi, my name’s Christopher,’ and they’d say, ‘Nice to meet you, Chris.’ And I’d say …’Topher.'”
Spike Lee
Real name: Shelton Jackson Lee
When Shelton Jackson Lee was a baby, his mom gave him the nickname Spike, and it kind of stuck for the filmmaker, so he made it his first name in his stage name.
Calvin Harris
Real name: Adam Richard Wiles
Back in 2016 at the iHeartRadio Awards, when Taylor Swift thanked her then-boyfriend Adam, everyone was curious, only to realize that Calvin Harris’s real name was Adam, and it’s the name he goes by when he’s not working.
The musician has also talked about how he changed his name to Calvin Harris when releasing his first single. He wanted to be more racially ambiguous and keep people wondering who was behind the music. Since then, the name has just kind of stuck around for the artist as he goes by it to date in the entertainment industry.
Bruno Mars
Real name: Peter Gene Hernandez
The If I Were Your Man singer chose Bruno as his first name for his stage name as this was his nickname chosen by his father when he was two years old. The singer shared with Latina magazine that he was initially just going to go by Bruno but then added Mars as it sounded bigger than life itself.
Carmen Electra
Real name: Tara Leigh Patrick
Carmen Electra signed with the legendary Prince’s record label studio Paisley Park Records in the 1990s. The singer was new to the industry, and when Prince himself suggested that she change her stage name and not go by her birth name, she listened to him and chose Carmen Electra.
Winnie Harlow
Real name: Chantelle Brown-Young
The Jamaican model chose Winnie Harlow as her stage name, which is extremely adorable. The model spoke to Fashion Week Daily in an interview in 2018 and shared that she chose her first name as a reference to her favorite cartoon character, Winnie The Pooh, and her surname as a reference to the actress Jean Harlow. She shared that she was a huge Marilyn Monroe fan but did not use her surname as she thought it would be too cliche. In order to avoid that, she went for Jean Harlow, who was Marilyn Monroe’s inspiration.
Michael Keaton
Real name: Michael John Douglas
To avoid any confusion with the actor Michael Douglas and stand out, Michael John Douglas changed his surname to Keaton and made Michael Keaton his stage name.
Jennifer Aniston
Real name: Jennifer Linn Anastassakis
Known for role in Friends, Jennifer Aniston was born by the name Jennifer Linn Anastassaki. However, when her father, John Aniston, joined the entertainment industry, he changed his surname to Aniston, and it became the entire family’s surname.
Tom Cruise
Real name: Thomas Cruise Mapother IV
We saved the best for the end! The American actor and producer Tom Cruise made his middle name his surname for his stage name at his agent’s request.
