Did you know that Bob Hope was born Leslie Townes Hope? Or did you know that Ginger Rogers was born Virginia Katherine McMath? Many celebrities and actors change their names to make themselves more marketable and memorable. But what other famous celebrity names have been changed with great success? Below are the Top 10 celebrity name changes in no particular order:
Ralph Lauren (b. 1939) was born Ralph Lifshitz to Ashkenanzi Jewish parents in The Bronx, New York City. Famous for creating the fashion label Polo in 1967, Ralph Lauren is an American fashion icon.
Alan Alda (b. 1936) was born Alphonso Joseph D’Abruzzo in The Bronx, New York City, and is of Italian and Irish descent. His adopted surname is a clever amalgamation of the ‘Al’ from Alphonso and the ‘Da’ from D’Abruzzo. Alda is perhaps best known as the American actor who portrayed sympathetic surgeon Hawkeye Pierce in the popular television show M*A*S*H, from 1972 to 1983.
Cary Grant (1904-1986) was born Archibald Alexander Leach in Bristol, England. Even though the young Cary Grant was expelled from grammar school at age 14, he goes on to be one of the greatest leading men in Hollywood history. In 1970, Grant received an Academy Award for “his unique mastery of the art of screen acting with the respect and affection of his colleagues.” (And for his excessive dreaminess...sigh.)
Charlie Sheen (b. 1965) was born Carlos Irwin Estevez and is the youngest son of actor Martin Sheen. Sheen is perhaps best known for his successful and long-running starring role in the popular television show Two and a Half Men.
Gene Wilder (b. 1933) was born Jerome Silberman in Wisconsin and studied at the University of Iowa. Wilder created his stage name by combining the name Gene from the Eugene Gant character created by Thomas Wolfe in the novel "Look Homeward, Angel", and the last name of playwright Thornton Wilder. Wilder is best known for his starring roles in such films as Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971), Blazing Saddles (1974), and Young Frankenstein (1974).
Greta Garbo (1905-1990) was born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson in Stockholm, Sweden, to working class parents. Garbo went on to become one of the greatest female Hollywood movie stars of all time. Nominated for several Academy Awards, Garbo only took home an Academy Honorary Award in 1954 for “her unforgettable screen performances.”
John Wayne (1907-1979) was born Marion Michael Morrison in Iowa, and studied pre-law at the University of Southern California. Wayne took his screen name from a Revolutionary War general “Mad Anthony” Wayne, with the John added later to sound more American. Wayne was nominated for three Academy Awards but only won one time for Best Actor in the film True Grit (1969).
Kirk Douglas (b. 1916) was born Issur Danielovitch Demsky in Amsterdam, New York, to Jewish immigrants parents from Belarus. Douglas is best known for his acting roles including Champion (1949), Bad and the Beautiful (1952), and Lust For Life (1956). Although Douglas was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for all three films, he never won.
Michael Caine (b. 1933) was born Maurice Micklewhite in London, England, the son of working class parents. Caine first adopted the stage name Michael Scott, but finding there was already an actor by that name he changed it to Michael Caine. He has won two Academy awards for Best Supporting Actor for Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) and The Cider House Rules (1999). It is interesting to note that Michael Caine was knighted in 2000 as Sir Maurice Micklewhite CBE.
Whoopie Goldberg (1955) was born Caryn Elaine Johnson in Manhattan, New York City, to a nurse and a clergyman. She took her unusual stage name from a whoopee cushion, a nickname she was called early on. Whoopie adopted the name Goldberg as her mother felt it would make her more successful to sound Jewish in the acting world. Goldberg was nominated for and Academy Award her debut role as Miss Cealy in The Color Purple (1985), and won the award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Ghost (1990).
Mary Rayme - Mary Rayme is a graphic designer and arts educator with a BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore.
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