The real names of celebrities in the public eye

Stage Names

The real names of famous celebrities - their pseudonyms uncovered.

There are many reasons for choosing a stage name instead of using your birth name. Often names are changed because they don't have the right sound or they are thought to be too plain and ordinary. Sometimes people wish to conceal their family origins. Another reason for changing a name, particularly in the acting profession, is that many acting organisations specifically prevent more then one member having the same name. For example David Walliams of Little Britain fame changed his name from Williams because of an existing member of Equity Acting Association

Celebrity Stage Name	Real Name
50 Cent	Curtis Jackson
Adam Ant	Stuart Leslie Goddard
Adam Faith	Terence Nelhams
Alice Cooper	Vincent Damon Furnier
Anna Nicole Smith	Vickie Lynn Hogan
Axl Rose	William Bailey
Barbara Windsor	Barbara-Ann Deeks
Barry Manilow	Barry Alan Pinkus
Benny Hill	Alfred Hawthorne Hill
Bez	Mark Berry
Big Daddy	Shirley Crabtree
Bill Wyman	William Perks
Billy Idol	William Broad
Billy Ocean	Leslie Sabastian Charles
Bing Crosby	Harry Lillis Crosby
Bob Dylan	Robert Allen Zimmerman
Bono	Paul Hewson
Boy George	George O Dowd
Brigette Bardot	Camille Javal
Buddy Holly	Charles Hardin Holley
Carmen Electra	Tara Patrick
Charlie Sheen	Carlos Irwin Estevez
Charlton Heston	John Charles Carter
Cher	Cherilyn Sarkisian LaPiere
Cheryl Baker	Rita Crudgington
Chris De Burgh	Christopher Davidson
Cilla Black	Priscilla White
Cliff Richard	Harry Webb
Crystal Gayle	Brenda Gail Webb
David Bowie	David Robert Jones
David Copperfield	David Kotkin
David Essex	David Albert Cook
David Jason	David John White
David Tennant	David McDonald
David Walliams	David Williams
Demi Moore	Demetria Gene Guynes
Diana Ross	Diane Earle
Dido	Florian Cloud de Bounevialle Armstrong
DJ Jazzy Jeff	Jeffrey Townes
Elle Macpherson	Eleanor Gow
Elton John	Reginald Dwight
Elvis Costello	Declan Mcmanus
Eminem	Marshall Bruce Mathers III
Englebert Humperdinck	Arnold George Dorsey (Gerry Dorsey was an earlier stage name)
Eric Clapton	Eric Clapp
Frank Skinner	Chris Collins
Freddie Mercury	Farrokh Bulsara
Freddie Starr	Freddie Powell
Gary Glitter	Paul Gadd
Gary Numan	Gary Webb
Gene Wilder	Jerome Silberman
George Michael	Georgios Panaylotou
George Orwell	Eric Blair
Gloria Estefan	Gloria Fajardo
Goldie	Clifford Price
Harry Houdini	Erich Weiss
Hulk Hogan	Terry Bollea
Janet Street Porter	Janet Bull
Jennifer Aniston	Jennifer Anastassakis
Joe Strummer	John Graham Mellor
John Cleese	John Cheese
John Wayne	Marion Morrison
Jordan	Katie Price
Kenny Everett	Maurice Cole
Lulu	Marie Lawrie
Madonna	Madonna Louise Ciccone
Marilyn Manson	Brian Warner
Marilyn Monroe	Norma Baker
Meatloaf	Marvin Aday
Meg Ryan	Margaret Hyra
Mel Gibson	Columcille Gibson
Michael Barrymore	Michael Parker
Michael Caine	Maurice Micklewhite
Michael Crawford	Michael Dumble-Smith
Moby	Richard Melville Hall
Mos Def	Dante Terrell Smith
Natalie Portman	Natalie Hershlag
Neil Diamond	Noah Kaminsky
Nicolas Cage	Nicolas Coppola
Nina Ricci	Maria Nielli
Nina Simone	Eunice Wayman
Omar Sharif	Michael Shalhoub
Ozzy Osbourne	John Osbourne
Paul McCartney	James Paul McCartney
Pink	Alecia Moore
Prince	Prince Nelson
Ralph Lauren	Ralph Lipschitz
Ricky Martin	Enrique Morales
Ringo Starr	Richard Starkey
Robert Palmer	Alan Batley
Russ Abbot	Russell Roberts
Seal	Sealhenry Samuel
Shakin Stevens	Michael Barratt
Snoop Doggy Dogg	Calvin Broadus
Spike Milligan	Terence Alan Milligan
Stevie Wonder	born Steveland Judkins changed to Steveland Morris
Stewart Granger	James Lablanche Stewart
Sting	Gordon Sumner
Suggs	Graham Mc Pherson
The Edge	David Evans
Tiger Woods	Eldrick Woods
Tina Turner	Anna Bullock
Tom Cruise	Thomas Cruise Mapother IV
Twiggy	Lesley Hornby
Vanilla Ice	Robert Van Winkle
Vic Reeves	Jim Moir
Vin Diesel	Mark Vincent
Whoopi Goldberg	Caryn Johnson
Woody Allen	Allen Konigsberg

Suggestions or corrections email me andy@pubquizhelp.34sp.com

1 posted on 06/05/2007 6:22:48 AM PDT by yankeedame

Don’t forget Geraldo Rivera / Jerry Rivers.

2 posted on 06/05/2007 6:39:57 AM PDT by JamesP81 (Politics is the second oldest profession. It bears many similarities to the first.)

Veddy intedesting...

3 posted on 06/05/2007 6:44:41 AM PDT by Monkey Face (The things that come to those who wait may be the things left by those who got there first.)

Many of these I’ve never heard, real or stage. I have to wonder ... WHY?? would Arnold George Dorsey choose Englebert Humperdinck as a stage name. It baffles my mind.

4 posted on 06/05/2007 6:47:13 AM PDT by girlscout

Thats not entirely true according to snopes.com.
His birth name was Gerald Rivera.
http://www.snopes.com/media/celebrity/geraldo.asp

5 posted on 06/05/2007 6:52:10 AM PDT by jaydubya2

Jennifer Aniston = Jennifer Anastassakis

OK that one I can understand!

6 posted on 06/05/2007 6:54:35 AM PDT by jaydubya2

Mel Gibson = Columcille Gibson

Dear Lord...I would have changed my name, too, just because.

7 posted on 06/05/2007 7:04:22 AM PDT by madison10

Jan Wasylewski, my stepfathers name before he became Jan Merlin.

8 posted on 06/05/2007 7:13:49 AM PDT by television is just wrong (Amnesty is when you allow them to return to their country of origin without prosecution.)

WHY??

Stage names are easier to pronounce and easier to remember if they are unusual, like Ish Kabibble:

9 posted on 06/05/2007 7:14:57 AM PDT by Dumpster Baby ("Hope somebody finds me before the rats do .....")

To: Dumpster Baby

Stage names are easier to pronounce and easier to remember if they are unusual, like Ish Kabibble

Ya mean to tell me Merwyn Bogue is not memorable enough?

10 posted on 06/05/2007 7:17:03 AM PDT by drjimmy

WHY?? would Arnold George Dorsey choose Englebert Humperdinck as a stage name.

Did you know that the original Engelbert Humperdinck was a German composer who was a pal of Wagner? His best known work is the opera Hansel and Gretel.

11 posted on 06/05/2007 7:20:37 AM PDT by drjimmy

Mel Gibson was born Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson

12 posted on 06/05/2007 7:29:33 AM PDT by Shimmer128 (Life isn't fair, but it's still good.)

Louis Bert Lindley, Jr

13 posted on 06/05/2007 7:34:50 AM PDT by Tijeras_Slim

Dana Carvey on Sting : “He called himself a verb, present tense. He’s not Stung. He’s not Stinging. He’s Sting.”

14 posted on 06/05/2007 7:38:47 AM PDT by dfwgator (The University of Florida - Still Championship U)

To: Tijeras_Slim

John Cleese John Cheese

Now that is funny!

15 posted on 06/05/2007 7:40:43 AM PDT by Eaker (Free The Texas 3 - Ramos, Compean and Hernandez)

Okay, so I missed Gerard. ;) Is Columcille a Scot name?

16 posted on 06/05/2007 8:06:08 AM PDT by madison10

To: yankeedame; MeekOneGOP; Conspiracy Guy; DocRock; King Prout; Darksheare; OSHA; martin_fierro; ...

Not listed: Albert Brooks (nee Albert Einstein).

17 posted on 06/05/2007 8:25:05 AM PDT by Slings and Arrows ("I AM A SEXY SHOELESS GOD OF WAR!!!" --http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0439.html)

18 posted on 06/05/2007 8:29:05 AM PDT by Gay State Conservative ("The meaning of peace is the absence of opposition to socialism."-Karl Marx)

Tiger Woods and Paul McCartney should not count. I’ve known several people who go by their middle name not their first name. As for Tiger, IIRC he has been called that by everybody since childhood so it is not a “stage name”. I would bet his drivers license and (very large) bank account are under “Eldrick”

19 posted on 06/05/2007 8:40:41 AM PDT by GreenLanternCorps (Past the schoolhouse / Take it slow / Let the little / Shavers grow / BURMA-SHAVE)

Also, Jennifer Love Hewitt is called “Love” by her friends, family, etc.. If she uses “Jennifer” in her credits is that a “stage name” and should she be on the list?

20 posted on 06/05/2007 8:43:25 AM PDT by GreenLanternCorps (Past the schoolhouse / Take it slow / Let the little / Shavers grow / BURMA-SHAVE)

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