The post 13 Famous Stars Who Changed Their Names — and What They Were Really Called first appeared on Crafting Your Home.
You may instantly recognize Marilyn Monroe, Elton John, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, and Nicolas Cage. But those are not the names all of these stars were given at birth.
For some celebrities, changing a name was a practical career decision. For others, it created distance from a famous family, helped avoid confusion with another performer, or became part of a carefully developed public identity. In the entertainment business, a name can become almost as recognizable as a face, voice, or body of work.
Here are 13 famous stars whose professional names differ from the names they were born with.
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was born Norma Jeane Mortenson, although she was also known as Norma Jeane Baker. The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History identifies her as Norma Jeane Baker and notes that she became Marilyn Monroe after signing her first movie contract in 1946. The change happened as Monroe moved from modeling into Hollywood. The new name eventually became inseparable from the screen persona that made her one of the most recognizable stars of the 1950s.
Her story also shows why “real name” can be complicated. Monroe’s personal and professional identities developed alongside each other, while the name Marilyn Monroe became tied to films such as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Some Like It Hot.
Elton John
Elton John was born Reginald Kenneth Dwight in 1947. His official website confirms the name, while the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame records that he adopted “Elton John” from names associated with musicians he worked with in the band Bluesology. The new identity appeared early in his professional music career, before his international breakthrough. It eventually became attached to a career spanning pop, rock, songwriting, film music, and musical theater.
For anyone interested in the history of artist branding, John’s transformation is particularly useful: he established the name audiences came to know before becoming a global superstar.
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Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga was born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta in New York City in 1986. The Recording Academy confirms her birth name and documents her rise from a New York musician to a major recording artist. Unlike a simple shortening of a surname, “Lady Gaga” became a complete stage identity. The Recording Academy reports that the name was inspired by Queen’s song “Radio Ga Ga.”
The distinction between Germanotta and Gaga has remained visible throughout her career. Her music, acting, fashion, and performances have often played with the relationship between the person behind the name and the larger artistic persona.
Bruno Mars
According to the Recording Academy, Bruno Mars was born Peter Gene Hernandez in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1985. Mars began performing at a very young age and eventually developed the professional identity that audiences know today. In an interview with the Recording Academy, he explained that people called him Bruno from an early age and that “Mars” was added later.
The change reminds us that stage names don’t always appear suddenly. In Mars’s case, part of the name had already been connected with him during childhood, before his recording career became internationally successful.
Jamie Foxx
According to Biography.com, Jamie Foxx was born Eric Marlon Bishop in Terrell, Texas, in 1967. He adopted his professional name early in his comedy career. Foxx has explained that he wanted a name that wouldn’t immediately reveal whether he was a man or woman when his name was called during comedy-club auditions, where performers could face different audience expectations.
“Jamie Foxx” eventually became the name attached to both his comedy and acting careers. He later won an Academy Award for portraying musician Ray Charles in Ray, demonstrating how a stage name can ultimately become the identity associated with work across multiple areas of entertainment.
Vin Diesel
Vin Diesel was born Mark Sinclair Vincent in New York in 1967, according to the Los Angeles Times’ Hollywood Star Walk. Diesel started acting as a child and later worked in theater and independent filmmaking before becoming widely known for action films. He established his professional identity well before his major commercial successes in Pitch Black, The Fast and the Furious, and XXX.
The name “Vin Diesel” therefore became more than a simple screen credit. It became the professional identity associated with his work as an actor, producer, and filmmaker.
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Natalie Portman
Natalie Portman was born Natalie Hershlag in Jerusalem in 1981. IMDb documents her birth name, although some published accounts have disputed the exact form of her original first name. Portman has said her name has always been Natalie, so treat claims of “Neta-Lee” cautiously. Portman adopted her grandmother’s surname, Portman, as her professional surname while building her acting career.
Different sources sometimes repeat slightly different versions of a star’s original name. When the person concerned has publicly disputed a detail, it is better to state the uncertainty than present an attractive but unsupported fact as certain.
Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg was born Caryn Elaine Johnson in New York City in 1955. The U.S. National Park Service confirms her birth name and notes that she adopted her stage name while working with the improvisational group Spontaneous Combustion in San Diego. Goldberg’s professional name was already established before her breakthrough on Broadway and in Steven Spielberg’s The Color Purple. Her career later expanded across film, television, theater, and comedy.
The name “Whoopi Goldberg” eventually became so familiar that her original name is now largely biographical history rather than the identity audiences associate with her work.
Michael Keaton
Michael Keaton was born Michael John Douglas in Pennsylvania in 1951. Biography.com reports that he changed his surname to avoid confusion with the already-famous actor Michael Douglas. Unlike some celebrity name changes, this one had a straightforward professional reason: two actors working in the same industry could not easily share the same professional name.
Keaton reportedly chose “Keaton” casually, not because of later rumors linking the name to actress Diane Keaton. The resulting name became associated with films including Beetlejuice, Batman, and Birdman.
Katy Perry
Katy Perry was born Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson in Santa Barbara, California, in 1984. The Recording Academy confirms her birth name. Perry initially performed as Katy Hudson, including during her early gospel-music career. She later adopted the surname Perry, which helped distinguish her professionally from actress Kate Hudson.
Her breakthrough as Katy Perry came with mainstream pop releases, including “I Kissed a Girl.” The Recording Academy records that the song reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2008. Here, the name change was closely connected to the transition from an early musical career to the mainstream pop identity that made Perry internationally famous.
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Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage was born Nicolas Kim Coppola in 1964. Biography.com confirms that he is the nephew of director Francis Ford Coppola and says he changed his name to separate his acting career from his famous family. He chose “Cage” as a reference to the comic-book character Luke Cage.
The decision gave him a professional surname that was distinct from the Coppola family name. Over time, Nicolas Cage became the name associated with films such as Moonstruck, Leaving Las Vegas, Con Air, and Face/Off. His example is particularly interesting because the name change was not simply about sounding different. It also helped establish a separate professional identity.
Tina Turner
Tina Turner was born Anna Mae Bullock in Tennessee in 1939. The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture confirms her birth name and documents her rise from Nutbush, Tennessee, to international music stardom. She first performed professionally as Little Ann before becoming known as Tina Turner. Her career with Ike Turner brought the name to a wide audience, and she later carried it into her hugely successful solo career.
The name Tina Turner ultimately became connected with decades of recording and live performance. Her professional identity survived a major change in career circumstances and remained the name associated with her solo work.
Portia de Rossi
Biography.com says Portia de Rossi was born Amanda Lee Rogers in Australia in 1973. She began working in entertainment as a model and actress before moving to California and gaining wider recognition. Her television credits eventually included Ally McBeal and Arrested Development.
Her name change shows how a professional identity can become better known than a birth name. “Portia de Rossi” became the name attached to the roles that established her Hollywood career.
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