Emma Stone Wants To Be Called By Her Real First Name Now
Emma Stone attends the 96th Annual Academy Awards on March 10, 2024 in Hollywood, California.
Emma Stone wants to be called by her real first name now. Ever since the actress landed another Oscar, this time for her role in the A24 film, Poor Things, Stone is done being Emma.
Stone, 35, recently revealed in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that her close friends and co-stars typically refer to her by a different name. Born Emily Jean Stone, when the actress registered for the Screen Actors Guild at 16 years old, the name “Emily Stone” was already taken.
She initially chose to go by “Riley Stone,” but after being called Riley while guest starring on Malcolm in the Middle, she had “an identity crisis” because she didn’t know who they were talking to. Then, she changed her stage name to Emma, which her mom always called her.
She later said during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon that she was super blonde, so she wanted to be called Emma “because of Baby Spice and guess what, now I am.” In second grade, she was pleading with her teacher to call her Emma. The Cruella star added that she was also toying around with the idea of going by Emily J. Stone, like Michael J. Fox, but she didn’t think she could “pull off the J.” Emma was closest to Emily, and most people close to her would call her Em anyway.
(Photo by Mark Mainz/Getty Images)
In a joint interview with her The Curse co-star Nathan Fielder, Fielder told THR he planned to call her Emily during the chat. The comedian explained that when people don’t know her, he calls her Emma but will call her Emily from then on.
What Emma Stone Wants To Be Called
Emily coolly responded that he could call her Emma or anything but opened up about how she recently decided she’d rather go by her birth name. “I freaked out a couple of years ago,” she continued. “For some reason, I was like, ‘I can’t do it anymore. Just call me Emily.’” Fielder calls her “Em,” which she finds easier.
Meanwhile, if a fan approached her and called her Emily, she said, “That would be so nice. I would like to be Emily.”
The Curse is now streaming on multiple platforms. Watch the trailer below:
These Celebrities Don't Go By Their Real Names
In the entertainment industry, every aspect needs to be marketable. Some celebrities have really catchy names, while others have had to get their creative juices flowing to come up with a unique name to be known for the rest of their lives. Meanwhile, there are some cases where there are other successful people in media who have the same name, and someone’s got to change their name to follow SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) rules. This guild that represents actors stipulates that no two members can have identical working names. An actor whose name has already been taken must choose a new name. SAG-AFTRA allows any new member to keep their legal name as their stage name, even if another member has the same stage name already, as long as they sign a waiver.
Why Use a Stage Name?
Furthermore, a middle name may be adopted in preference to changing a name to avoid confusion. In some cases, attaching a generational suffix is sufficient for guild rules. A person hoping to become successful as an entertainer who has a name identical to a name already familiar to the public (in any field of endeavor) may change their name to avoid having their name evoke the other person with the same name. When it comes to musicians spanning all genres, artists have come up with some pretty unique stage names. Some artists, like Sean Combs, use several aliases (P. Diddy, Puff Daddy, Diddy, Puffy). Other reasons a performer will take a stage name is because their real name is considered unattractive, dull, hard to pronounce or spell, or even to retain anonymity. The Weeknd, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, started releasing his music anonymously on YouTube in 2009.
See which celebrities don’t go by their real name in the entertainment industry.
Laila Abuelhawa is the Top 40 and Hip-Hop pop culture writer for Beasley Media Group. Being with the company for over three years, Laila's fierce and fabulous red-carpet rankings have earned her a feature on 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert!' Her favorite stories are those surrounding the latest in celebrity fashion, television and film rankings, and how the world reacts to major celebrity news. With a background in journalism, Laila's stories ensure accuracy and offer background information on stars that you wouldn't have otherwise known. She prides herself in covering stories that inform the public about what is currently happening and what is to come in the ever-changing, ever-evolving media landscape.
