Think about your name, then think about the ones announced at awards shows. Chances are, the latter are way more interesting. That’s because once you decide you want to be famous, you’re free to go by whatever you want to hear called from the stage (ideally by Channing Tatum). That’s exactly what these 16 famous folks did.
Helen Mirren's Real Name Is the Coolest Ever
Plus other celebrities who use stage names
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Published Nov 4, 2015
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Olivia Wilde: Olivia Jane Cockburn
Middle school must’ve been rough.
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Louis C.k.: Louis Székely
Székely pronounced, ya know, "see-kay."
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Audrey Hepburn: Edda Kathleen Van Heemstra Hepburn-ruston
Because two names are better than six.
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images
Michael Caine: Maurice Micklewhite
If you had any doubts that he’s British.
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Lana Del Rey: Elizabeth Woolridge Grant
Markedly angstier.
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Helen Mirren: Ilyena Lydia Vasilievna Mironov
She’s a dame and has a name that sounds like a czarina. Some girls have all the luck.
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Stevie Wonder: Stevland Judkins
Not Steve. Not Steven. Stevland.
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Vin Diesel: Mark Sinclair Vincent
And he’s a twin!
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Natalie Portman: Natalie Hershlag
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Albert Brooks: Albert Einstein
Well, those would’ve been some big shoes to fill.
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Maggie Gyllenhaal: Margalit Gyllenhaal
Girlfriend didn’t know her real first name until she got married in 2009.
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Michael Keaton: Michael Douglas
There’s room for only one Michael Douglas in this town. (Hollywood, apparently.)
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Chevy Chase: Cornelius Crane Chase
Both pretty weird.
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Garrison Keillor: Gary Keillor
Gary wasn’t NPR enough for ya?
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Etta James: Jamesetta Hawkins
Some tricky letter play up in here.
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Faith Hill: Audrey Faith Perry
A name like Faith Hill was just destined to become a country superstar.
