What Are the Real Names of Celebrities?

You don't think that a name like Carmen Electra may be true, right? The hottest celebrities were once ordinary people who had common names. Let's see why celebrities dump their real names:

Catherine Zeta-Jones = Catherine Jones

There is no spectacular change here, excepting the appearance of an additional name: "Zeta". Why "Zeta"? Well, this was the name of Catherine's grandmother.

Bruce Willis = Walter Bruce Willison

The king of American action movies was actually born in Germany. His parents named his Walter, which is a German name and Bruce. In the first years of his career, the actor has shortened his family name and "forgot" about his first name- "Walter".

Angelina Jolie = Angelina Jolie Voight

This beautiful American actress is the daughter of John Voight, a great actor. Her last names, Angelina Jolie, means "sweet angel".

Whoopi Goldberg = Caryn Elaine Johnson

"Goldberg" comes from the Hebrew ancestors of the actress, while "Whoopi" comes from the English expression "whoopee cushion". The actress considers that this name suits her personality. Well, we don't want more details about that!

Carmen Electra = Tara Leigh Patrick

The young Tara Leigh Patrick understood very quickly that there were big changes to make something with her life. In 1993, when she was 21 years old, Prince decided to take care of her career. But before launching her first album (which failed), Prince gave her a more appropriate scene name. Thus, he was the one who named her Carmen Electra.

Charlie Sheen = Carlos Estevez

Charlie Sheen is the son of Martin Sheen, whose birth name was Ramin Estevez. To have more success in career, Ramin Estevez changed his name in "Martin Sheen". Charlie decided to do the same. His brother, the actor Emilio Estevez, kept his real name.

Woody Allen = Allen Konigsberg

Allen Konigsberg took the name of Woody Allen at the age of 16, when he began writing funny stories for some newspapers in New York.

Marilyn Monroe = Norma Jean Mortensen

The most famous sex symbol has often changed her name. Born Norma Jean Mortensen, she first became Norma Jean Baker. As soon as she started to work as a model, Marilyn has chosen the name of Norma Jean Dougherty, and later, that of Jean Norman. She was also known as Charles Lind, before taking his mother's maiden name: Monroe. In the end, she found her favorite name: Marilyn.

Tom Cruise = Thomas Cruise Mapother IV

Tom was the son of an alcoholic father and suffered from dyslexia. In the first years of his career, he has shortened his name to Tom Cruise.

Winona Ryder = Winona Horowitz

Born Winona Horrowitz, the charming actress began to work in the film industry when she was 16 years old, in the movie "Lucas". Even before the premiere, David Seltzer (the director) called her to ask how she would like to be known by the public. Inspired by Mitch Ryder's album, the young actress suggested spontaneously: Winona Ryder!

Nicolas Cage = Nicholas Coppola

It's difficult to become a movie star on your own if you're Francis Ford Coppola's nephew! To get rid of this heavy legacy, Nicholas Coppola became Nicholas Cage. He was inspired by Luke Cage, a famous superhero.

Demi Moore = Demetra Gene Guynes

Demi Moore started her career when she was 16 years old as a pin-up girl. She has shortened her surname- Demetra, which resulted in "Demi". "Moore" is the name of her first husband.

Sources: www.zelo.com/firstnames/celebs.asp, www.pubquizhelp.com/ent/names.html, www.celebrityrealname.com