15 Celebrities And Their Real Names You Probably Don't Know

Monday, Aug 24, 2020, 12:07 pm

By:Tony Williams

Not all celebrities use their real names. Some celebs change their name when they decide to test their luck in the entertainment industry. There are many reasons why celebrities change their name. Some stars change their name because a famous celebrity already exists with their name. SAG (Screen Actors Guild) doesn't allow two artists to use the same name (first and last). Some change their name because their name sounds too ordinary or too weird. Whatever their reason might be, some famous actors and actresses have already changed their names. Check these fifteen real name of celebrities and reasons why they had to change them. 

1.Cary Grant's Real Name

If you are looking for a suave star from the golden era of Hollywood, then Cary Grant is your man. However, while Cary sounds like a good name you do think that it was a good idea to change it to that from Archibald Alexander Leach. Archibald Leach is not a name you would see up in lights at the cinema, so perhaps a name change saved an entire career.

2.Helen Mirren's Real Name

Is there another actor out there that is so classically English as Helen Mirren? Probably not, but then her birth name is actually not very English at all as it is Ilyena Lydia Vasilievna Mironov. This does make her sound like a Bond villain and you can see why she changed it as she doesn't look very Russian.

3.Dido's Real Name

Dido is quite a cool name and she is of course a huge star, but would you have loved her music the same if she recorded under her real name, Florian Cloud de Bounevialle Armstrong? There is just no rhythm to her name and you cannot see Eminem introducing her onto the stage with that,Can you? Dido works better and you know it has made her more money in the process.

4.Audrey Hepburn's Real Name

When it comes to famous stars, then you would be hard pressed to find a female star who was bigger than Audrey Hepburn. She is still immortalized today, but she would not have had the same success if she had stuck with her real name, which was Edda Kathleen van Heemstra Hepburn-Ruston. That is one mouthful and it would just not work in Hollywood, so Audrey Hepburn was born and the rest really is history.

5.Kirk Douglas' Real Name

Kirk Douglas was a fantastic actor and had a name that was perfect for those movie posters. However, his real name would not have had the same impact as it was Issur Danielovitch Demsky, so you can understand why he changed it to something that was a lot more American. The funny thing is that his real name was also quite cool, but you cannot see it working well in 50s and 60s America.

6.Elvis Costello's Real Name

OK you can imagine him choosing the name Elvis due to being in music, but the funny part is that his real name somehow reflects his personality a bit better than his stage one. His real name is Declan Patrick McManus and in all honesty there is nothing wrong with that name and perhaps he should have stuck with it as it is quite cool for somebody in music.

7.Marilyn Monroe's Real Name

The iconic actress's real name was Norma Jeane Baker. She had no intentions to change her name, but had to do it after she signed a 6-month contract with 20th Century-Fox in 1946. A 20th Century-Fox executive had suggested 'Marilyn' as first name. Marilyn Monroe had chosen her mother's maiden name 'Monroe' as her last name.

8.Whoopi Goldberg's Real Name

Everybody loves Whoopi Goldberg, but she was actually born plain old Caryn Johnson and there is just nothing about that name that screams out a star. They say that she picked the name Whoopi thanks to her farting ability, but whether that is true or not is up for debate although it is funny to think that it could be the case.

9.Michael Caine's Real Name

Michael Caine is quite a cool guy as he has always had this kind of persona around him that you cannot fail to like. However, would you have liked him the same if he had kept his real name, Maurice Mickelwhite? He actually chose his name from a Humphrey Bogart character, but at least he didn't choose the Bogart part.

10.Miley Cyrus's Real Name

The popular Hannah Montana star had a rather awkward name. Billy Ray Cyrus and Tish Cyrus named her Destiny Hope Cyrus when she was born. But after her popularity rose to the sky they named her Miley Cyrus as her stage name. It is said that her name Miley Cyrus comes from her childhood nickname "smiley". To know more facts about her, Check out 15 things you don't know about Miley Cyrus.

11.Ben Kingsley's Real Name

This award winning actor has played some major roles in his life, but you would imagine that he would not have had the same success if he had stuck with his real name rather than the stage name, Ben Kingsley. Krishna Pandit Bhanji does not exactly roll off the tongue and you cannot see it in lights the same way as Ben, but at least he did go for something completely different.

12.Joaquin Phoenix's Real Name

Joaquin Phoenix is quite a cool name, but then anything would be cooler than the name he was born with. Joaquin Rafael Bottom is not exactly something that is going to set Hollywood alight, so at least he did the sensible thing and changed it before he tried to become a star. It was a good job he kept the Joaquin part and not the Bottom part.

13.Demi Moore's Real Name

Demi Moore is a stage name because in actual fact she was born Demetria Guynes and you have to admit that Demi does sound a lot better. This is one of those rare occasions where she changed it due to it being horrible and not exactly a dream for a marketing company rather than the fact that somebody else had the name and at least she did a good job with her new one.

14.Meg Ryan's Real Name

Meg Ryan is an American actress and producer, whose movies were very popular in the 90s. She has acted in movies like 'When Harry Met Sally' (1989), Joe Versus The Volcano (1990), 'Sleepless in Seattle' (1993), 'French Kiss' (1994), etc. The name Meg Ryan sounds cool, but do you know what her real name is? Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra. Well, that's one very long name!

15.Olivia Wilde's Real Name

The beautiful actress, model and producer had a rather awkward last name that forced her to change her name even before entering the entertainment industry. Olivia Wilde's real name is Olivia Jane Cockburn. We hope you now understand the real reason why she had to change her name!

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