Sometimes we are given names that are either too hard to pronounce or too long to keep in their entirety. And if you are someone with a normal 9-5 job, that is completely fine. But, if you are someone in the entertainment industry who wants your name to be known by everyone, this may not be the best thing. That’s why many people choose to either shorten their full names or completely change them.
1. Miley Cyrus
Miley Cyrus legally changed her name back in 2008 from Destiny Hope Cyrus to Miley Cyrus. The name Miley is a rendition of her childhood nickname “Smiley” in honor of her paternal grandfather.
2. Victoria Beckham
Prior to becoming known as the fashion diva, Victoria Beckham, back in the early days of the iconic group we love, Victoria Adams was the name used for her records. However, when the Spice Girls became rising stars, she changed her name to Posh Spice. Years later, she become the famous Victoria Beckham we know today.
3. Vin Diesel
At the age of 17, Mark Sinclair was a rather big guy. He even used to work as a bouncer at a nightclub called The Tunnel. Around that time he took the name Vin Diesel and started to shave his head regularly.
4. Rachel Weisz
Early in her career, she changed her name to Rachel Vyce, but when people told her that it was too difficult to pronounce, she changed it to Kenya Campbell. She decided to keep it that way for a while, but she soon realized that it sounded unpleasant. The actress then decided to stay with Rachel Weisz and made a lot of iconic movies.
5. Natalie Portman
It was in 1994 when a very young Neta-Lee Hershlag auditioned for Leon and landed her first role in a major production. While filming, the actress changed her name to “Natalie” and took her mother’s maiden last name. Apparently, she wanted to maintain her privacy because some scenes in the movie were polemical.
6. Alicia Keys
Her real name is Alicia Augello-Cook, but she changed it and decided to have her own different stage name with a special meaning behind it. She explained, “It’s like the piano keys, and it can also open a lot of doors,” and she ended up with the name Alicia Keys and broke multiple records in her career.
7. Jamie Foxx
Eric Marlon Bishop, now known as Jamie Foxx, tried out a couple of different names when he first started doing open mic nights. When he’d sign up to the open mic lists, he used the names Tracy Brown and Stacy Green but eventually landed on Jamie Foxx.
8. Iggy Azalea
Her birth name is Amethyst Amelia Kelly, and she ended up with Iggy Azalea because she has a dog named “Iggy,” and it became her nickname. She came up with the surname Azalea, as she explained, “Because that is a street name that my mom and family live on, and it sounds very feminine, and I thought it would balance out Iggy being so masculine.”
9. Lana Del Rey
The singer’s real name is Elizabeth Woolridge Grant, but she’s now known as Lana Del Rey. When she began singing, she went by the name, “Lizzy Grant,” and also performed as “Sparkle Rope Jump Queen” until she landed on Lana Del Rey.
10. Tom Hardy
Before becoming Tom Hardy, his birth name was Edward Thomas Hardy, and he only used his first name before deciding to go by his middle name instead. Even though the Internet was aware of his true identity, it was not widely publicized.
11. Blake Lively
After Blake became an actress she decided to take the surname of her mother, Elaine Lively as her stage name.
12. Aaron Paul
His full name is Aaron Paul Sturtevant, but when he went to auditions, no one could pronounce his surname, “Sturtevant,” so he had to change it so that everyone could say it, and then he shortened it when he entered Hollywood.
13. Lorde
Lorde changed her original name at the age of 12 when she was signed to a development contract with the Universal Music Group after an agent of theirs saw footage of her singing at a middle school talent show. Her real name is Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O’Connor. The royalty hidden in the name Lord encouraged her in changing her original name, but she also added an “e” because she felt that Lord would be too masculine for a girl.
Preview photo credit Laurent VU/SIPA/Sipa Press Russia/East News, mileycyrus / Instagram
90s Talk Show Host Unrecognizable Now and Furious Over Instagram’s Verification Denial
Once a popular daytime TV host in the 80s and 90s, Sally Lowenthal, also known as Sally Jessy Raphael, is now having trouble with people recognizing her.
The former talk show host recently posted on Instagram that the social media company refused to verify her account, even though she provided proof of her identity.
“So, Instagram doesn’t want to give me my blue check – no matter what proof I send them,” the 89-year-old wrote next to a huge blue checkmark. “AND there’s a fake account called ‘realsallyjr’, and that’s NOT ME! Help me let Instagram know so we can fix this.”
Raphael started hosting *The Sally Jessy Raphael Show*, later called *Sally*, in October 1983 and continued until May 2002. Her show was one of the first to involve audience participation and helped pave the way for other female hosts, including Oprah, whose show started three years later.
Over 20 seasons, Raphael interviewed many celebrities but always said Audrey Hepburn was her favorite.
“I was so awestruck, I could hardly ask a question. Everything she did, I admired. Everything she had done in her life I found to be exemplary,” she told the Daily Mail.
TV Personality Sally Jessy Raphael attending 17th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards on June 28, 1990 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City, New York. (Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
Throughout her career and even after she retired, Sally Jessy Raphael has had a distinctive look that makes her easily recognizable.
When she started filming *The Sally Jessy Raphael Show*, she realized she couldn’t read the teleprompter.
She said, “When we started, I looked at the teleprompter and said, ‘I can’t read that! I’m going blind!’”
While looking for a new pair of glasses, Raphael saw an ad offering an eye test, glasses, and a Pap smear. Despite how strange the ad seemed, she decided to make an appointment.
During the appointment she was told she would need a more expensive pair of glasses, but unfortunately they only color they had was red.
“You got it,” Raphael said.
Although she didn’t anticipate the trouble she’d face from the producers of her show.
“I had to fight to have the glasses. Producers tried to change them. Those shadowy figures objected to everything.”
She has since accumulated over 200 pairs of red glasses.
As of August 2, Raphael currently has less than 650 followers on Instagram, but even though her numbers might not match those of other talk show hosts, her fans are just as loud if not louder with their support.
“The Icon, the Legend of daytime TV, Ms. Sally Jessy Raphael needs her Blue Check Mark ? “
“That’s pretty crazy that someone as famous as you are is having trouble with being recognized. I’m trying to understand what the issue is though”
“We should flood your feed with blue hearts it’s so much better than a blue checkmark”
I remember watching Sally on TV! Do you? Let us know in the comments.
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