Hollywood makes people do crazy things.
In order to become a star, some people change their hair, their faces, and even their names!
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Yep, some of the stars we know by name today actually once went by something completely different.
Here are 10+ celebrities who changed their names for fame. Some of these will surprise you.
1. Lorde
Real name: Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O’Connor.
With a name that long, no wonder she changed it to Lorde! Also, the singer liked the idea of having a royal-like name. The “e” at the end helped make it a little less masculine.
2. John Legend
Real name: John Roger Stephens.
The Man, the Myth, the Legend is all just a myth! It was his friend who nicknamed him that. “My bet was on me trying to live up to the name,” he told MTV News .
3. Lady Gaga
Real name: Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta.
The Italian-born singer was inspired by music when creating her own stage name.
She got the inspiration from listening to the 1984 Queen song “Radio Ga Ga.”
4. Michael Keaton
Real name: Michael Douglas.
If you are saying to yourself, “isn’t there another Michael Douglas in Hollywood?” well, that is actually why he decided to change his name.
One time, Michael even accidentally had the other Michael’s mail delivered to his house.
“Once we got something mixed in the mail, something from one of the [acting] unions, and I had to return it to him and we talked about it then,”
Keaton told The Guardian about the mix-up.
5. Bruno Mars
Real name: Peter Gene Hernandez.
The singer was nicknamed Bruno by his dad as a kid.
Since he was a little chunky back then, he apparently resembled the pro wrestler, Bruno Sammartino. The “Mars” part, though, was all his doing.
He told Rap Up:
“The Mars came up just because I felt like I didn’t have no pizzazz, and a lot of girls say I’m out of this world, so I was like I guess I’m from Mars.”
Aww, Bruno!
6. Jamie Foxx
Real name: Eric Marlon Bishop.
The actor and comedian told David Letterman that he changed his name to a unisex one in order to get ahead in comedy.
That’s because he noticed in the early days of his career that female comedians got more slots than males.
7. Winona Ryder
Real name: Winona Laura Horowitz.
It was pure coincidence that the actress found the perfect name for herself at the right time. “Stranger things” have happened!
She had been trying to decide on a name when Mitch Ryder’s album was playing in the background.
8. Nicki Minaj
Real name: Onika Tanya Maraj.
The rapper changed her name for fame, but it wasn’t her idea.
“One of the first production deals I signed, the guy wanted my name to be Minaj,” she told The Guardian .
She said that she “fought him tooth and nail” since she hated it.
Finally, he was able to convince her.
At the end of the day, she sees the stage name as a character she’s playing. “I feel it’s like one big theatre piece. It’s a show.”
9. Iggy Azalea
Real name: Amethyst Amelia Kelly.
She made the switch before her rap career went big.
She told NY Daily News that her stage name was inspired by her dog. “I had a dog called Iggy, who I loved very, very much.”
After her dog got bitten by a snake, she got him a name plate in his honor.
“Everybody started to think that my name was Iggy so it kind of became my nickname and I took it on board and started rapping with it.”
As for “Azalea,” it’s the street name where she’s from.
10. Ashton Kutcher
Real name: Christopher Ashton Kutcher.
Ashton isn’t exactly a common name, which is exactly why the actor decided to start going by his middle name. At the time, there were already too many Chris’ in Hollywood.
11. Reese Witherspoon
Real name: Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon.
While it’s a very Southern thing to have one or two first names as your first name, Reese decide to make things easier and go by her mother’s maiden name.
12. Katy Perry
Real name: Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson.
When the singer started picking up traction in her career, she ran into the issue of there already being a Kate Hudson in Hollywood.
Thankfully, she had an idea .
“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,” she told *The Guardian*.
Thus, Katy Perry was born.
13. Portia de Rossi
Real name: Amanda Lee Rogers.
The Australian actress and Ellen DeGeneres’s wife changed her name for fame — and to connect more with her sexuality.
She opened up about this to the LGBT news site, The Advocate .
“In retrospect, I think it was largely due to my struggle about being gay,” she said.
“Everything just didn’t fit, and I was trying to find things I could identify myself with, and it started with my name.”
You do you, girl!
