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Millie Bobby Brown Reveals Her Real Name
“My middle name is Bonnie,” the 21-year-old told her Electric State costar, Chris Pratt, in a March 6 interview with Buzzfeed. “No Bobby—it’s Millie Bonnie Brown. I’ve never told anyone that.”
Her answer appeared to catch Chris off guard and prompted him to ask Millie what made her adopt “Bobby” as her middle stage name. The simple truth, as she put it was, “Just for s--ts and giggles.”
This revelation comes over a year after she added a new name to her docket: Bongiovi. Millie tied the knot with Jake Bongiovi, 22, in a private ceremony last May, nearly two years after the couple went public with their romance. She recently revealed a few things she’s learned in her first year of marriage, including how love can manifest in different levels.
“Loving someone and being in love are two different things,” she told Vanity Fair last February. “I think I loved a lot of people I was with, like I loved my friends. But he is the first man I’ve ever loved and been in love with.”
But while she and Jake—the son of Jon Bon Jovi—know they seem young to be exchanging their vows, Millie emphasized that they didn’t rush into their marriage. Indeed, the duo made sure they were on the same wavelength on important topics before they made it official.
Erik Pendzich/Shutterstock
“We talked about our political views, what kind of family we want to build, the kind of home we want to live in, the kind of relationship we’re looking for, the kind of careers we want,” she explained. “It’s such an important decision, and we wanted to make sure we were making the right one. I knew I was. It always felt right with him.”
While Millie’s been enjoying her new marital name, she’s not the only celebrity that’s changed her moniker for Hollywood. Keep reading to see what other stars have stage names….
Emma McIntyre/WireImage
Cher
For more than three decades, Cher was made to believe that her legal first name was Cherilyn. It wasn't until the late '70s, when she obtained her birth certificate in order to change her full name to just Cher, that she discovered that she had been registered as "Cheryl."
In her 2024 memoir, Cher: The Memoir, Part One, the pop icon recalled her mom Georgia Holt's reaction to this discovery.
She said her mother, who gave birth to her at age 19, responded, "Let me look at that!" and then, recalling her postpartum experience, added, "I was only a teenager, and I was in a lot of pain. Give me a break."
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Shaboozey
The outlaw country star's real name is Collins Obinna Chibueze. He adopt Shaboozey as his nickname and later used it as his official alias as a music artist after his Virginia high school misspelled his surname that way.
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Austin Richard Post
Congratulations to Post Malone, who incorporated his surname into his stage name. However, the rapper does prefer his close friends to call him by his real name.
During the 2024 MTV VMAs, Taylor Swift referred to him as "Austin" when they won the Best Collaboration award for their duet "Fortnight."
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Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson
Though the singer initially released a Christian album under her birth name in 2001, she felt the stage name Katy Perry—inspired by her mom's maiden name—might meet pop fans more in awe, awe, awe.
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Belcalis Almanzar
Cardi B took on the name Bacardi after family and friends started calling her sister Hennessy. Later on she shortened the name to something that suited her quite a bit more.
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Rachel Meghan Markle
Before she became the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle was briefly known as Rachel.
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Eilleen Regina Edwards
Shania Twain shared the origin story of her stage name during an appearance on Apple Music's Home Now Radio: "In short, I was born, Eilleen Regina Edwards, and then I was adopted and I became Eilleen Regina Twain. Then I became a professional singer and I needed a stage name that sounded a little less like my grandmother's name, because I'm named after my grandmother, both my grandmothers, Eilleen and Regina. I think, in my mind, I was just not really wanting to be called my grandmother's name
onstage, so I decided to change it to Shania Twain. I met somebody with the name Shania, thought it was beautiful, and Shania Twain was born."
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Kayleigh Rose Amstutz
The “Good Luck, Babe!” singer’s onstage persona—Chappell Roan—has always been a “drag project,” allowing her to set boundaries and separate her personal life from the industry.
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Jelena Noura Hadid
Oddly enough, Gigi Hadid got her stage name in school when the teacher would confuse her and a girl named Helena. Since her mom called her "gigi" as a term of endearment at home, she told the teacher to just call her Gigi and it simply stuck.
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Mark Vincent
If you're looking for an explosive action-star name, how about Vin Diesel instead?
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Destiny Hope Cyrus
Miley Cyrus' bright smile is what inspired her childhood nickname, Smiley. Eventually the name was shortened to Miley and it stuck.
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Peter Gene Hernandez
Apparently the singer looked more like a Bruno than a Peter, so one day his dad started calling him Bruno. Ever since, he has been known as Bruno Mars.
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Stefani Germanotta
Before the meat dresses and chart-topping music, Lady Gaga was just an everyday girl from New York.
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Daniel Sudeikis
Jason Sudeikis confirmed on Today that he was named Daniel after his father, but following some confusion, his mom started using his middle name Jason to avoid confusion.
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Emily Stone
Emma Stone ended adopting this stage name after finding out that the Screen Actors Guild already had a member registered under her birthname.
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Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon
Turns out Reese isn't even Reese Witherspoon's middle name. The actress chose the moniker in honor of her mother, whose maiden name is Reese.
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Elizabeth Woolridge Grant
Every artist has an alter ego, and Lana Del Rey just happens to be the persona of choice for the singer.
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Christopher Edwin Breaux
In 2014, Frank Ocean legally changed his name because, why not?
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Elizabeth Stamatina Fey
A little known fact about 30 Rock's Tina Fey is that she is actually named Elizabeth. The comedian made a not so subtle tribute to her birth name by naming her character Liz Lemon.
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Calvin Broadus
This pioneer of West Coast rap would later go on to be known as Snoop Dogg.
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Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor
Turns out the "Royals" singer is really into learning about the aristocracy, hence the reason why she chose the name Lorde, but with a feminine 'e.'
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Enrique Morales
Before he started shaking his bonbon for the masses, music superstar Ricky Martin went by this everyday name.
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Amethyst Kelly
It's hard to believe that Iggy Azalea was born Amethyst Kelly!
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Adam Richard Wiles
Fans were confused when Taylor Swift thanked then-boyfriend Adam in an acceptance speech, which lead people to the discovery that Calvin Harris is simply a stage name. The DJ told Shortlist magazine he chose the name because his first single was more soulful and wanted something a bit more "racially ambiguous."
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Jennifer Anastassakis
Before she became a household name, this was what erstwhile Friend Jennifer Aniston answered to.
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Alicia Augello Cook
Alicia Keys didn't always have such a musical name.
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Thomas Mapother IV
Before he became arguably the biggest movie star in the world, Tom Cruise went by this name.
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Natalie Hershlag
Back when she was born in 1980, this was how the future bigtime actress Natalie Portman greeted the world.
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Amanda Lee Rogers
Before she became a big-time TV star and married Ellen DeGeneres, this was the name Portia de Rossi answered to.
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Reginald Dwight
Guess music superstar Elton John didn't think his original name would be a hit with audiences.
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