As we all know, becoming a star is a combination of hard works and luck, most cases they made lots of sacrifices to reach those targets. Apart from sleepless nights and countless suffers, sometimes lot of celebs had to lose their identities once they find fame in their life.
Lot of celebs change their names to make it memorable. And in some cases, they expect to seem more unique when other stars have similar monikers.
Here Zelus365 brought you 10 celebs who pursue their career under pretty obvious stage names.
#1. Born Reginald Kenneth Dwight, Sir Elton John officially changed his name to Elton Hercules John.
In a 1987 interview, Sir Elton said: “When I became Elton John, I felt a new lease on my life. I didn’t particularly like my old name Reg Dwight because It had too many unhappy memories.”
#2. Shannon Ashley Garcia Mitchell is the original name of Shay Mitchell.
Her favorite actress is J.Lo, Jennifer Lopez. When Mitchell was in high School people would say to her Shay–Lo, but later she dropped the Lo because she thought no one could be J.Lo
#3. Elizabeth Woolridge Grant. is the original name of Lana Del Rey.
In an interview with MTV, Lana said, “I knew that I wanted a name that sounded sort of exotic and reminded me of the seaside on the Floridian coast. ‘Lana Del Rey’ sounded beautiful.”
#4. Nora Lum is the original name of Awkwafina
She is Chinese on her father’s side and Korean on her mother’s. To become a famous American actress, rapper, and comedian, she realized that by using a weird nickname, it was easier to attract attention. Awkwafina is a funny name related to water – aqua – but eventually, she adopted it.
#5. Peter Gene Hernandez is the original name of Bruno Mars.
As an infant, he looked like a famous wrestler, Bruno Sammartino, and his father addressed him as Bruno.
The name Hernandez was a problem for him in gaining popularity as a pop singer. It was difficult to pronounce and not a proper name for a pop singer. Eventually, he sidestepped the issue by adopting the name, Mars.
#6. Emily Jean Stone is the original name of Emma Stone.
Stone has famously been a massive fan of the Spice Girls and very fond of Emma Lee Bunton from the Spice Girls. When she was in second grade, she asked from teacher to call her as Emma.
#7. Eric Marlon Bishop is the original name of Jamie Foxx.
In the interview with Stephen Colbert on “The Late Show,” Jamie said,
“I had a hard time getting on stage at the beginning of my career. At some point, I noticed that few comedians were women — and they would always get a spot. So I wanted to choose “Jamie,” a gender-neutral name. My favorite stand-up comedian is John Elroy Sanford or Redd Foxx. I used Foxx to homage him.”
#8. Alicia Augello Cook is the original name of Alicia Key
Alicia speaks in this regard In 2007, at the interview with Newsweek, “I got so desperate I went through the dictionary for something that catches my eye. I get to the W’s, and I pick Wild. ‘Alicia Wild, how does that sound, Ma?’ She said, ‘It sounds like you’re a stripper.’ But I liked Keys. It’s like the piano keys. And it can open so many doors.”
#9. Caryn Elaine Johnson is the original name of Whoopi Goldberg
In 2006, she told the New York Times, “When you’re performing on stage, you never really have time to go into the bathroom and close the door. So, if you get a little gassy, you’ve got to let it go. So, people used to say to me, ‘You’re like a whoopee cushion.’ And that’s where the name came from.”
#10. Vera Mindy Chokalingam is the original name of Mindy Kaling
As per Kaling “I shortened my name because emcees for these comedy shows would have trouble pronouncing it, and then, they’d make a joke about my last name. My real name is Vera Mindy Chokalingam, and it’s a South Indian name, and it’s a long name. As a performer, these comedians would just butcher it, and then be like, ‘I don’t know what it is! Just this girl, Mindy.'”
