These Celebrities Real Names Are Totally Different from What We Know

The truth is that not every Hollywood star out there has been automatically born into stardom. Many of our favorite celebs had to work really hard to reach the level of fame they have today, following a number of steps to reinvent themselves. In order to create an authentic persona, many celebs opt to use pseudonyms instead of their real names. While some of them wipe their birth certificate names completely, some choose to change either their first name or the last. From Woody Allen to Meghan Markle, find out the real names of our favorites stars, and the story behind why they chose to give up on their birth names.

Stevie Wonder

It’s hard to imagine that Stevie Wonder was born with a different name. The surname ‘Wonder’ seems to be perfectly fit to one of the best musicians in the world, so how come this isn’t the name given by his parents? Well, when he was just a young boy, his peers gave him the nickname “little wonder’, due to his ability to play so many instruments at such a young age.

With time, he adopted the name, and became ‘Little Stevie Wonder’. But in truth, he was actually born Stevland Hardaway Judkins. When he was four years old, his surname changed to Morris, when his mother decided he should have her surname instead of his abstent father’s. Years after, he changed his name completely and became the Stevie Wonder we know.

Emma Stone

When Emily Jean Stone joined SAG (Screen Actors Guild), they told her that her name was taken, and she had no other choice but to choose another name. She began acting as a child, as far back as 2000, and since then, her dream was to become a Hollywood actress.

So after pondering different names for a long time, Emily Jean Stone chose the name Riley. But that didn’t last more than six months, as she shared in an interview. She then decided to settle for Emma Stone instead, because it was much closer to her real name. Her close friends and family mostly just call her “M”.

Julianne Moore

Just like Emma Stone, Julie Anne Smith was told that a Julie Smith already existed when she joined SAG. While she had never planned to change her name, she was also struck with the fact that if she didn’t choose a different name, she couldn’t join SAG. While searching for what would be her stage name, she finally decided to combine both her dad’s and mother’s names.

Her mother is called Anne Smith, and her father was called Peter Morre Smith. In order to not hurt either of her parents, she became Julianne Moore, managing to use both their names in a creative way. Now, the whole world knows her name due to her incredible talent.

Brad Pitt

Brad Pitt is easily one of the most well-known actors in Hollywood. The actor and producer had his breakthrough in the 90s, due to movies like Thelma & Loiuse, 12 Monkeys and Seven. But Brad Pitt had a different name when he was born.

His parents named him William Bradley Pitt. Unfortunately, he never really liked his given name, so when he started acting, he saw it as a perfect opportunity to shorten his second name to Brad and to discard his first name completely. Fun fact though, is that he has admitted during an interview that he still introduces himself as William whenever he flirts with women.