The surprising real names of 35 celebrities
It’s no news flash that celebrities often adopt new names when they get into the entertainment business.
In decades past, it was anti-Semitism and other prejudices that led some actors to change their names for Hollywood. But today, when celebrities take stage names, it’s usually to maintain some anonymity, make their name easier to pronounce or simply to make it sound cooler than the one they were born with.
Stage names don’t seem to be as common in today’s entertainment business as they were in the old days, but we’ve managed to gather 35 actors who go by a different name than the one they were born with. I bet a few of them will surprise you!
Winona Ryder
Birth name: Winona Horowitz
Jackie Chan
Birth name: Chan Kong-sang
Mindy Kaling
Birth name: Vera Chokalingham
Tim Allen
Birth name: Timothy Dick
Julianne Moore
Birth name: Julie Anne Smith
Demi Moore
Birth name: Demi Guynes
Tom Cruise
Birth name: Thomas Mapother IV
Nicolas Cage
Birth name: Nicolas Coppola
Vin Diesel
Birth name: Mark Sinclair
Alison Brie
Birth name: Alison Schermerhorn
Jamie Foxx
Birth name: Eric Bishop
Natalie Portman
Birth name: Natalie Hershlag
Blake Lively
Birth name: Blake Brown
Ben Kingsley
Birth name: Krishna Bhanji
Meg Ryan
Birth name: Margaret Hyra
Michael Caine
Birth name: Maurice Joseph Micklewhite Jr.
Theo James
Birth name: Theo Taptiklis
Whoopi Goldberg
Birth name: Caryn Johnson
Michael Keaton
Birth name: Michael Douglas
Portia de Rossi
Birth name: Amanda Rogers
Alan Alda
Birth name: Alphonso D’Abruzzo
Retta
Birth name: Marietta Sirleaf
Ralph Fiennes
Birth name: Ralph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes
Amy Ryan
Birth name: Amy Dziewiontkowski
Jonah Hill
Birth name: Jonah Feldstein
Queen Latifah
Birth name: Dana Owens
Casey Affleck
Birth name: Caleb Affleck-Boldt
Lea Michele
Birth name: Lea Sarfati
Dennis Franz
Birth name: Dennis Schlacht
Natasha Lyonne
Birth name: Natasha Braunstein
Julie Bowen
Birth name: Julie Luetkemeyer
30. Martin Sheen
Birth name: Ramon Estevez
John Boyega
Birth name: John Adegboyega
Brie Larson
Birth name: Brianne Sidonie Desaulniers
Kat Dennings
Birth name: Katherine Litwack
Did any of these name changes surprise you?