Since entering Hollywood, several famous people have altered their names. Huge celebrities like Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, and others are on the list.
Kirk Douglas: The late actor changed his name after becoming famous in Hollywood from his birth name, Issur Danielovitch. He acknowledged to People magazine in 2015 that he “wished” he had maintained his name, but that Hollywood at the time thought it was “too Jewish.” At the age of 103, he passed away in 2020.
Marilyn Monroe: Norma Jean Baker was Marilyn Monroe’s birth name. Despite being widely known as Monroe since 1946, she didn’t formally alter her name until 1956. Prior to becoming Monroe, she was Norma Jean Dougherty after her marriage to James Dougherty.
Audrey Hepburn: Audrey Kathleen Ruston was Audrey Hepburn’s birth name. To conceal her British ancestry during World War II, Hepburn’s mother changed her name to Edda Van Heemstra. She modified her father’s last name, Hepburn-Ruston, as she gained notoriety to create her stage moniker.
John Legend: John Legend did not become famous at birth. Prior to being persuaded to alter his name by Kanye West, the musician was known as John Roger Stephens. Kanye released a mixtape in 2021, and on the mixtape, he referred to me as John Legend, Legend claimed in a 2021 interview on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”
It simply began to spread among more of the listeners of our music, he claimed. Since then, Legend has adopted the moniker and built a prosperous career.
Dove Cameron: Dove Cameron, a Disney star, was given the name Chloe Celeste Hosterman. When Cameron was 15 years old, her father passed away in 2011, which led her to alter her name. Dove was her father’s nickname for her, thus after his passing, she legally changed her name.
Vin Diesel: Actor Vin Diesel changed his name before becoming famous, unlike several other famous people. When Diesel moved to New York to work as a bouncer at the age of 17, he abandoned his birth name, Mark Sinclair. He took the name Vin—a diminutive of Irving H. Vincent, his stepfather—as his own. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Diesel was the result of a joke amongst buddies.
