Tom, Jen and Tina: 7 celebrities you didn’t know changed their names

As for other celebrities who have ditched their birth name for something entirely different, the list may surprise you.

Here are 7 stars who have changed their name:

Tom Cruise

He’s adopted many names over the years, most memorably, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, Ethan Hunt, Jack Reacher and Joel Goodsen, but did you know one of the world’s biggest movie stars wasn’t born Tom Cruise?

Named Thomas Cruise Mapother IV by his parents, Thomas Mapother III and Mary Lee Pfeiffer, the actor has previously spoke to Parade about his upbringing, stating his late father “was a bully and a coward”, and used to beat him.

Cruise’s mother decided to leave his father and take the actor and his three sisters, Lee Ann, Cass and Marian away from the abuse. The Top Gun star later dropped Mapother from his name to further distance himself from his father.

Jennifer/John Aniston

She’s one of the industry’s most famous actresses. After shooting to fame for her role as Rachel in Friends, she has gone on to star in many much-loved films, including Just Go With It, We’re The Millers and Horrible Bosses.

Now thriving in the leading role on The Morning Show, Jennifer Aniston is undeniably a household name, but once upon a time, that name could have been very different.

When the star’s father, who immigrated from the Greek island of Crete to the US, was pursuing his own career in Hollywood, he changed his name from Yannis Anistasskakis to John Aniston in the 1960s. He then passed on his revised last name to his daughter.

Jason Sudeikis

Like his We’re The Millers co-star, Aniston, Jason Sudeikis has also undergone a name change, making no secret of the fact that he hasn’t used his real name for years now.

Most well known for his role in the Apple TV original series, Ted Lasso, the actor, comedian and screenwriter first entered the entertainment industry in 1990 as an improv comedian, but his name change happened well before he ever hit the stage.

He told the Today show in 2021 that the change happened for a very logical reason: “I’m Daniel Jason, and my dad is Daniel Joseph, so my mom decided to call me Jason so we knew which one she was yelling at.”

Tina Fey

She’s our favourite funny-girl on screen and behind many memorable witty banters behind the scenes thanks to her script writing, but it may surprise you to know, the former Saturday Night Live head writer uses an alias.

Inspired by her mum’s Greek ancestry, Tina Fey was born Elizabeth Stamatina Fey but has gone by the latter half of her middle name, Tina, since she was in primary school hoping to sound more hip.

That’s not to say she has forgotten about her real name, though. When writing 30 Rock, she paid tribute to her given name, Elizabeth, by naming her character, Liz Lemon.

Lorde

The Auckland pop star, has been known internationally as Lorde since 2014, but the Grammy winner was actually born Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O’Connor.

Speaking to Teen Vogue four years into her career, the star broke down the reasoning behind her name choice, revealing it was one that came quite easily and took only two days.

Noting that it was inspired by her “aristocracy obsession” she had as a teen, she added, “It was a good spontaneous choice, I think. I’m quite proud of my 16-year-old self for not messing that one up because if I’d given myself a cool, weird, hip name that I hated now that would be super annoying,” she told the news outlet.

Ricky Martin

He’s known for his hot hits like Livin’ la vida loca, but before he had us grooving to his music, the Puerto Rican singer was known by another name.

Enrique Morales was born to his father, who was also called Enrique, and his mother, Nereida Morales. The star revealed in a 1995 interview that he changed his name to Ricky Martin after things became tense with his father.

He said that when he started gaining recognition for his music, his parents weren’t getting along and his dad gave him an ultimatum to choose between the two. Martin chose his mother and changed his name to distance himself from his dad.

Helen Mirren

For more than five decades, Helen Mirren has dominated the big screen. From her early beginnings in the Royal Shakespeare Company where she played a number of lead roles, including Miss Julie in The Other Place to her Academy Award-winning role as the late Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen and all her memorable roles in between, the British star is a leading figure.

But she hasn’t always been known as Helen. In fact, her birth name links back to her Russian ancestry. Born Ilyena Lydia Vasilievna Mironov, the star’s father decided to anglicise their family name to Mirren when she was 10.

Upon embarking on her stage career, she changed her name again, choosing to go by Helen, a form of her given name, Ilyena.

Lillie Rohan is a London-based reporter covering lifestyle and entertainment stories who joined the Herald in 2020. She specialises in all things reality TV, films and music.