Here are 55 people whose real names might surprise you. 1. Katy Perry Real Name: Katy Hudson The singer changed her name to avoid confusion with that other Hudson she shares a name with: Kate Hudson. 2. Demi Moore Real Name: Demetria Guynes Her exes were born as “Walter Willis” and “Christopher Kutcher.” 3. Albert Brooks Real Name: Albert Einstein The reason for the name change should be pretty obvious. 4. Meg Ryan Real Name: Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra Is it just me or is her real name close to being a Fiona Apple album title? 5. Natalie Wood Real Name: Natalia Nikolaevna Zakharenko Born to Russian immigration parents, the young actress changed it to blend into the Hollywood times, like the Swedish Greta Lovisa Gustafsson, better known as Greta Garbo. 6. Woody Allen Real Name: Allen Konigsberg Come to think of it, Allen doesn’t sound very Jewish, does it? 7. Louis C.K. Real Name: Louis Szekely Louis C.K.’s stage name is barely such. It’s just an easier way to say his actual last name, which is pronounced “See-kay.” 8. Joaquin Phoenix Real Name: Joaquin Rafael Bottom If he were gay, that last name would be perfection. 9. Garrison Keillor Real Name: Gary Edward Keillor See? Even NPR personalities use stage names. 10. Chevy Chase Real Name: Cornelius Crane Chase The actor got his name from the traditional English song “The Ballad of Chevy Chase,” which (unfortunately) was not about an old racist who is difficult to work with and derails brilliant shows. 11. Tina Fey Real Name: Elizabeth Stamatina Fey Like her 30 Rock character, Tina Fey’s real first name is “Liz.” 12. Ben Kingsley Real Name: Krishna Pandit Bhanji Like Barack Obama, Kingsley was born to a white mother and Kenyan father — of Indian Muslim descent. 13. Olivia Wilde Real Name: Olivia Jane Cockburn My last name rhymes with another word for a penis, which made Middle School rough. Olivia Cockburn, I’m here for you, if ever you need to talk. 14. Alan Alda Real Name: Alphonso d’Abruzzo Alda’s last name was concocted by putting together the first two letters of his first and last name. AL + DA = Alda. 15. Portia De Rossi Real Name: Amanda Lee Rogers I guess she figured that “Portia de Rossi” had more zest to it than “Amanda Rogers.” She was probably right. 16. Diane Keaton Real name: Diane Hall In real life, she shares a last name with her most famous character, Annie Hall. 17. Michael Caine Real Name: Maurice Micklewhite Michael Caine named himself after Humphrey Bogart’s character in “The Caine Mutiny.” 18. Larry King Real Name: Lawrence Harvey Zeigler King was born to an Austrian father and mother from Belarus, both of whom were Orthodox Jews living in New York in the 1930s. All of this sounds like the set up to a Woody Allen bit. 19. George Michael Real Name: Georgios Panayiotou He should have just changed his name to “Glory Hole.” At least it’s truth in advertising. 20. Whoopi Goldberg Real Name: Caryn Johnson Her stage name was concocted from her ability to fart a lot. (If you’ve seen her 1 in 3 commercials, you know she’s made quite the weird career out of bodily functions.) Her mother advised her to take a Jewish last name, arguing that it would help her career if people thought she was Jewish. 21. Hulk Hogan Real Name: Terry Jean Bollette If I wanted to scare someone, I’d tell them my name was Hulk, too. 22. Bea Arthur Real Name: Bernice Frankel Real Name: Her co-star, Rue McClanahan, was born with the first name of “Eddi-Rue.” 23. Rock Hudson Real Name: Leroy Harold Scherer, Jr. Either way, he was still ridiculously hot — and gigantic. He was “6’5,” which basically makes him a skyscraper. 24. Miranda July Real Name: Miranda Jennifer Grossinger I have nothing to say here, except that I love Miranda July, in all of her forms. Miranda Grossinger, I accept you. 25. Elvis Costello Real Name: Declan Patrick McManus What’s weird: He actually looks more like a Declan than an Elvis to me. 26. Joan Crawford Real Name: Lucille LeSueur It makes a lot of sense that she and Lucille Bluth would have the same first name, because they’re basically the same person. 27. Kirk Douglas Real Name: Issur Danielovitch Demsky I really like his actual name. There’s something appropriately commanding about a man named “Issur Demsky.” 28. Carmen Electra Real Name: Tara Patrick C’mon. There’s no way you thought anyone’s last name was “Electra,” unless that person is in a Sophocles play. 29. Audrey Hepburn Real Name: Edda Kathleen van Heemstra Hepburn-Ruston Say that one five times fast. 30. Judy Garland Real Name: Frances Gumm However, Liza’s name is all hers. Her father was Vincente Minnelli, the classic musical director who worked with Judy in Meet Me in St. Louis. 31. Truman Capote Real Name: Truman Streckfus Persons Streckfus. Just…Streckfus. 32. Julia Child Real Name: Julia Carolyn McWilliams “Child” is actually her married name, so this one’s a bit of a cheat, but it’s odd to me thinking of Julia Child with any other name. She just is Julia Child. 33. Dido Real Name: Florian Cloud de Bounevialle Armstrong I almost wish that she had used that as her stage name, just to see that whole thing on a concert poster or an album cover. “Stan” by Eminem ft. Florian Cloud de Bounevialle Armstrong takes it to a whole other level. 34. Elvira Real Name: Cassandra Peterson Did you know she was in a Bond movie and posed for a Tom Waits album? The woman has not had a boring career, that’s for sure. 35. Martin Sheen Real Name: Ramon Antonio Gerard Estevez That makes Charlie Sheen’s real name “Carlos Estevez,” as witnessed in the Machete Kills trailer. 36. Courtney Love Real Name: Love Michelle Harrison You can change the name, but you can’t change the cray. 37. Fred Astaire Real Name: Frederick Austerlitz His famous dance partner, Ginger Rogers, was born Virginia Katherine McMath 38. Tea Leoni Real Name: Elizabeth Tea Pantaleoni Every time I see her real last name, I just think of the word “pantalones.” 39. Bruno Mars Real Name: Peter Gene Hernandez Trivia question: What is Bruno Mars’ ethnicity? He’s like the racial spam of people — a little bit of everything. He is Filipino, Spanish, Puerto Rican, Hungarian and Ukranian, is Jewish and was born in Hawaii. 40. Gene Simmons Real Name: Chaim Witz Half of the original members of KISS were Jewish. If I could ever get Gene Simmons to play “Werewolf Bar Mitzvah,” I would die a happy human. 41. Helen Mirren Real Name: Ilyena Lydia Vasilievna Mironov Ilyena Mironov would be a great spy name. 42. Shania Twain Real Name: Eileen Regina Edwards Twain is her stepfather’s last name. 43. Anne Rice Real Name: Howard Allen O’Brien I also like “Howard O’Brien” better. It has a nice George Eliot thing going on, although Anne Rice is no George Eliot. 44. Julianne Moore Real Name: Julie Smith Julianne is a portmanteau of her first name and her middle name, Anne. 45. Kim Cattrall Real Name: Clare Woodgate She was born in Liverpool, hence the name, but as evidenced by The Ghost Writer, she can’t do a convincing British accent anyway. Much like Madonna. 46. Stevie Wonder Real Name: Steveland Judkins Steveland? 47. Abigail Van Buren (aka Dear Abby) Real Name: Pauline Ester Friedman I just love how close to Paul Friedman this is. 48. Dezi Arnas Real Name: Desiderio Albert Arnaz y De Acha III Oddly though, Lucille Ball really was Lucy’s actual name. It fits her so well I assumed it had to be fake, but sometimes the gods are kind. 49. Cary Grant Real Name: Archibald Alexander Leach There really is no way to make “Archibald Leach” roll off the tongue, is there? 50. Marilyn Monroe Real Name: Norma Jean Mortensen According to Monroe, she used to get picked on in school for being ugly. So no matter how hideous you’re feeling today, remember that there was a universe in which Marilyn Monroe was not considered a golden paradigm of hotness. It gives you some perspective. 51. Dusty Springfield Real Name: Mary Isobel Catherine O’Brien If you’re reading this and you don’t know who Dusty Springfield is, you have a lot of YouTube-ing to do. 52. Michael Keaton Real Name: Michael Douglas Yeah, I wouldn’t want to be confused with cunnilingus cancer guy either. 53. Spike Lee Real Name: Shelton Lee Whenever Spike Lee acts like a royal brat, remembering that his real name is “Shelton” always puts things into perspective for me. “Sit down, Shelton. It’s time for a nap.” 54. Natalie Portman Real Name: Natalie Herschlag A dual Israeli and American citizen, “Portman” is her grandmother’s maiden name. 55. Harry Houdini Real name: Ehrich Weiss To be a magician, you have to have a catchy stage name — like David Kotkin, also known as David Copperfield. Would anyone watch “Christopher Sarantakos: Mind Freak?”
Posted on: Thu, 13 Feb 2014 03:55:58 +0000
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