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Celebrities’ Real Names: Ashton Kutcher, Lady Gaga and More

November 29, 2022

It’s all in the name! It’s not uncommon for celebrities to use stage names in Hollywood, but some stars’ actual monikers may surprise you.

Take Ashton Kutcher, for example. While accepting the Ultimate Choice honor at the 2013 Teen Choice Awards, the That’s 70 Show alum turned entrepreneur admitted that he was actually named Chris — short for Christopher.

“In Hollywood, there’s a lot of insider secrets to keeping your career going and I feel like a fraud,” he said at the time. “My name in fact is not even Ashton — Ashton is my middle name. My first name’s Chris and it always has been. It got changed when I was about 19 and became an actor.”

The former Ranch star added, “There are some really amazing things I learned when I was Chris, and I wanted to share those things with you guys because I think it’s helped me be here today.”

Funnily enough, Kutcher’s ex-wife, Demi Moore, and current wife, Mila Kunis, also go by different monikers in the public eye. The Ghost actress, born Demetria Gene Guynes, shortened her first name and adopted her first husband Freddy Moore’s surname. The Family Guy star, for her part, abbreviated her first name, Milena, to Mila when she started booking roles as a young actress.

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta is actually Lady Gaga‘s legal name. Back in 2009, the Grammy winner explained her connection to her larger than life moniker.

“I’ve always been Gaga,” she told Rolling Stone. “I suppressed all those eccentricities about myself so I could fit in. Once I was free, I was able to be myself.”

Another star who wasn’t born the way we know them today is Jamie Foxx, whose name is Eric Marlon Bishop. Early in his standup career, the Soul star would choose androgynous names — including Stacy Brown, Traci Green and Jamie Foxx — so that he could get stage time since there were very few female comedians who signed up to perform at those events.

“Then I went on stage, I got a standing ovation. Because I was ‘fresh meat,’ where [regular comics] wanted a comedian to die [on stage], the amateur in between all the great ones,” he said during a 2018 interview on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. “I got a standing ovation, and that’s when Jamie Foxx happened.”

Scroll through the gallery below to see which of your favorite celebrities go by a stage name.

Credit: Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

Celebrities' Real Names: Ashton Kutcher, Lady Gaga and More

It’s all in the name! It’s not uncommon for celebrities to use stage names in Hollywood, but some stars' actual monikers may surprise you. Take Ashton Kutcher, for example. While accepting the Ultimate Choice honor at the 2013 Teen Choice Awards, the That’s 70 Show alum turned entrepreneur admitted that he was actually named Chris — short for Christopher. “In Hollywood, there’s a lot of insider secrets to keeping your career going and I feel like a fraud,” he said at the time. “My name in fact is not even Ashton — Ashton is my middle name. My first name's Chris and it always has been. It got changed when I was about 19 and became an actor.” The former Ranch star added, “There are some really amazing things I learned when I was Chris, and I wanted to share those things with you guys because I think it’s helped me be here today.” [jwplayer zD0muoZK-l3ahXupL] Funnily enough, Kutcher’s ex-wife, Demi Moore, and current wife, Mila Kunis, also go by different monikers in the public eye. The Ghost actress, born Demetria Gene Guynes, shortened her first name and adopted her first husband Freddy Moore’s surname. The Family Guy star, for her part, abbreviated her first name, Milena, to Mila when she started booking roles as a young actress. Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta is actually Lady Gaga's legal name. Back in 2009, the Grammy winner explained her connection to her larger than life moniker. “I’ve always been Gaga,” she told Rolling Stone. “I suppressed all those eccentricities about myself so I could fit in. Once I was free, I was able to be myself.” Another star who wasn’t born the way we know them today is Jamie Foxx, whose name is Eric Marlon Bishop. Early in his standup career, the Soul star would choose androgynous names — including Stacy Brown, Traci Green and Jamie Foxx — so that he could get stage time since there were very few female comedians who signed up to perform at those events. “Then I went on stage, I got a standing ovation. Because I was ‘fresh meat,’ where [regular comics] wanted a comedian to die [on stage], the amateur in between all the great ones,” he said during a 2018 interview on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. “I got a standing ovation, and that’s when Jamie Foxx happened.” Scroll through the gallery below to see which of your favorite celebrities go by a stage name.

Credit: Gregory Pace/Shutterstock

Jonah Hill

Real name: Jonah Hill Feldstein

In November 2022, the Superbad actor reportedly filed a petition to drop "Feldstein" as his last name, making his stage name "Hill" his legal surname.

Credit: Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

Martin Sheen

Real name: Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez

The West Wing alum told Closer Weekly in June 2022 that changing his stage name from his Spanish immigrant father’s given name is “one of my regrets,” revealing that he has “never changed” the moniker officially. “It's still Ramon Estévez on my birth certificate. It's on my marriage license, my passport, driver's license,” he explained. “Sometimes you get persuaded when you don't have enough insight or even enough courage to stand up for what you believe in, and you pay for it later. But, of course, I'm only speaking for myself."

Credit: Jordan Strauss/AP/Shutterstock

Tyler, the Creator

Real name: Tyler Okonma

His stage name came from his MySpace, which he created at 13 years old in 2004, but as an adult, the rapper has started to embrace his real name. He realized that the African name Okonma (pronounced, as the performer says, like "a coma") is "pretty cool" and started using the credit on his album credits.

"My full name, Tyler Okonma, in all caps, just looks really cool," the performer said in a December 2021 interview with Fast Company. "So you might see more of that, I don't know. I'm getting older, and I think people get older, they start realizing s--t and liking things they didn't like. You just start changing. I think my version of that is looking at my name and saying, 'Oh, this is actually cool.'"

Credit: Magnus Sundholm/Shutterstock

Thandiwe Newton

Real name: Thandiwe Newton

The Westworld actress dropped the “w” in her first name while attending Catholic school in England. She went by Thandie Newton for nearly 30 years, until she reclaimed her birth name in April 2021, telling British Vogue, “That’s my name. It’s always been my name. I’m taking back what’s mine.” The actress explained that while starring in Flirting in 1991, she was incorrectly credited as Thandie and it stuck.

Credit: NINA PROMMER/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Travis Scott

Real name: Jacques Berman Webster II

Credit: MediaPunch/Shutterstock

Cardi B

Real name: Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar

Credit: Broadimage/Shutterstock

Calvin Harris

Real name: Adam Richard Wiles

Credit: Matt Baron/Shutterstock

Vin Diesel

Real name: Mark Sinclair

Credit: GEORGE FREY/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Mila Kunis

Real name: Milena Markovna Kunis

Credit: Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

Jack Black

Real name: Thomas Jacob Black

Credit: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock

Charlie Sheen

Real name: Carlos Irwin Estévez

Credit: Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic

Demi Moore

Real name: Demetria Gene Guynes

Credit: Steve Granitz/WireImage

Julianne Moore

Real name: Julie Anne Smith

Credit: James Devaney/GC Images

Jay-Z

Real name: Shawn Corey Carter

Credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Reese Witherspoon

Real name: Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon

Credit: Jeff Vespa/WireImage

Katy Perry

Real name: Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson

Credit: Venturelli/Getty Images

Meg Ryan

Real name: Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra

Credit: Jason Merritt/Getty Images

Tina Fey

Real name: Elizabeth Stamatina Fey

Credit: Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images

Olivia Wilde

Real name: Olivia Jane Cockburn

Credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Ashton Kutcher

Real name: Christopher Ashton Kutcher

Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

Whoopi Goldberg

Real name: Caryn Elaine Johnson

Credit: Tibrina Hobson/Getty Images

Carmen Electra

Real name: Tara Leigh Patrick

Credit: Dan MacMedan/Getty Images

Miley Cyrus

Real name: Destiny Hope Cyrus

Credit: Jason Kempin/Getty Images

Nina Dobrev

Real name: Nikolina Konstantinova Dobreva

Credit: Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images

Shania Twain

Real name: Eilleen Regina Edwards

Credit: Rabbani and Solimene Photography/Getty Images

Natalie Portman

Real name: Natalie Hershlag

Credit: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

Helen Mirren

Real name: Ilyena Lydia Vasilievna Mironov

Credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

Lady Gaga

Real name: Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta

Credit: NBC/Getty Images

Nicki Minaj

Real name: Onika Tanya Maraj

Credit: Michael Buckner/AMA2014/Getty Images

Lorde

Real name: Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor

Credit: Lester Cohen/WireImage

Pink

Real name: Alecia Beth Moore

Credit: Araya Diaz/Getty Images

Bono and The Edge

Real names: Paul David Hewson and David Howell Evans

Credit: C Flanigan/Getty Images

Iggy Azalea

Real name: Amethyst Amelia Kelly

Credit: Leon Bennett/Getty Images

Snoop Dogg

Real name: Calvin Cordozar Broadus

Credit: Jason Merritt/Getty Images

Faith Hill

Real name: Audrey Faith Perry

Credit: Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images

Jamie Foxx

Real name: Eric Marlon Bishop

Credit: Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images

Marilyn Manson

Real name: Brian Hugh Warner

Credit: Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images

Ozzy Osbourne

Real name: John Michael Osbourne

Credit: Jason LaVeris/Getty Images

Queen Latifah

Real name: Dana Elaine Owens

Credit: Steve Granitz/Getty Images

Lana Del Rey

Real name: Elizabeth Woolridge Grant

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