Back in the 80s, the actress was forced to change her name. She said USA today“I only took the name Michelle when I entered the film industry because my producer then said: “No one can pronounce your name.”
The actor told Harpers Bazaar that she had only recently begun to correct the pronunciation of her name. “For a long time I was 'Im-ritt' and it's disgusting. Doesn't sound good… Just three years ago I started telling my friends and family that my name was “Um-rit”. You pronounce it like Uh, Not A. All my life they called me Aim-ritt.”
“Because I’m new, I don’t have much influence. But at the same time, it's my little form of self-love or activism. But at least we're starting to normalize the fact that I'm South Asian. Saoirse Ronanif you can make the effort to learn a Caucasian name, then you can also make the effort to learn a South Asian name.”
His father's last name was Waititi and his mother's last name was Cohen. His parents, who never married, wrote “Koen” on Taika's birth certificate, but the director revealed that Cultural newspaper that he switched back and forth throughout his childhood. “When I was a kid, I played a lot and everything. And since Cohen is on my passport, at school I called him Cohen, and my name was Taika Cohen. And then, when I moved to live with my father on that side of the family, they started calling me Waititi. So throughout my life I always used both names, depending on where I lived.”
“As an artist, I've often felt it was more like Waititi; I would be Taika Waititi as an artist. And then because I made my first short film in an area where I was known as Waititi, that was the title that was given to the film. And that movie did very well, and suddenly I had a career as a director, and now everyone knows me as Waititi.”
In an interview with the publication Asia Pacific Entertainment Coalitionthe actor admitted that he has a “very Korean name” and considered anglicizing it early in his career. However, he came across interview Uzo Aduba, who recalled asking her mother for a name that would be easier for people to pronounce. “And she says, 'Well, if they can learn to say Dostoevsky and Tchaikovsky and all these names, they can learn to say your name.' And it resonated with me.”
5.
Changed name: Mindy Kaling.
The actor told NHPR that she shortened her name when she got into comedy because no one could pronounce it – some even joked about it. “It is a South Indian name and it is a long name. As entertainers, these comedians would just cut it out and then go, “I don’t know what this is! Just this girl, Mindy.”
“When you do comedy… all these comedians change their names, and I felt like that was the easiest thing for me to do, and ultimately it was really rewarding. This was something I had mixed feelings about. But my parents didn't mind.
On Insane podcast, he recalled being told his name was “too ethnic” when he first arrived in Hollywood. Although he was annoyed, he suggested several options that his agent did not approve of: Chuck Spadina and Templeton Page-Taylor. They agreed to try Casey Reeves, but Keanu couldn't make it. “Eventually I went back to my agents and said, 'I can't change my name.'
7.
Changed name: Joe Koy.
During the Netflix special In his elementsthe comedian revealed that people laughed at his name when he did stand-up early in his career. He was considering his options when his aunt called him out to eat, giving him a nickname: Joe Koy. He used this name as his stage name for over 30 years.
“I say, 'Then what do you call me?' She says, “I call you Jo ko.” This is your nickname. Joe co. And for all of you at home who don't know what that means: in Tagalog, ko means “mine.” My nickname is my Jo. Joe co. How damn cute is that?”
8.
Denied: Maitreyi Ramakrishnan.
During an interview with Diversity, Never I Never The actor spoke about the importance of respecting names. “Obviously, Tamil names are very long. My full name is Maitreyi Ramakrishnan – I have 20 letters… I think one of the greatest disrespects you can give to a person is to not put effort into writing someone's name.”
9.
Changed name: KJ Apa.
In the episode Jimmy Kimmel Live!the TV show host asked what KJ stood for. The actor responded: “KJ is short for Keneti James, a Samoan name. I was named after my father.”
10.
Disclaimer: Nicole Scherzinger
Although the singer was born Nicole Prascovia Elikolani Valiente, Scherzinger is not a stage name. Her biological father left when she was several years old and her mother remarried. Nicole's stepfather adopted her and she took his last name. She said Guardian“That's a crazy name, Scherzinger. It belongs to my adoptive father, and in the Austrian translation it is a joker, which explains Shamazbollah.” [her phrase coined on the X Factor]”
11.
Name changed: Kal Penn.
In 2008, the actor said Nirali Magazine that the anglicization of his name resulted in a 50% increase in callbacks. “Almost as a joke, to prove my friends wrong, and half in an attempt to see if what I was told would work (anglicized names are favored by a white-dominated industry), I put “Kal Penn” on my resume and photos. The number of plays really increased and I was amazed. It showed me that there really is so much racism (not just overt, but subconscious).”
After winning an Oscar for Everything everywhere and at onceHe said reporters said that he began his career in Hollywood under his real name. “When things got really tough, my manager said to me, ‘Maybe, you know, it would be easier if you had an American-sounding name,’ and I was so desperate for a job that I was willing to do anything,” he recalls. But after using the name Jonathan and taking a long break from acting, “The very first thing I wanted to do was go back to my birth name.”
13.
Changed the name: Awkwafina.
The actor told abundance“I just thought it was funny when people try to be sophisticated with products like Neutrogena. Because I can just imagine someone sitting there and thinking about all these weird names, especially water names. But anyway, I came up with it when I was 16 and thought it was really funny. And then I eventually adopted it.”
“My rap name was just Aquafina, but then I think when we put out the video, the guy who made it… he said, 'Well, we should change the spelling so you don't get sued,'” she recalls. “So he wrote it in such an unusual way. He wrote it in the most unusual way. So I was like, “I feel like people won't get it,” and he was like, “Yeah, but I feel like it's going to be unique, so then people [will] look. But no one knows how to spell it. So, you know, it came back to bite me in the ass.”
14.
Refused: Hassan Minhaj
But he quickly realized that this did not correspond to his principles, although many Asians were also forced to change their names. “You'll have people saying, 'That's my Chinese name, that's my American name.' But I was like, “Dude, fuck this.” Your name is your name.”
15.
Changed name: Bruno Mars.
During an interview with Rap-upthe singer shared the history of his stage name. “Bruno is Bruno Sammartino, who was a big, fat wrestler. I think I was such a stocky little kid, that's why my dad called me that nickname. Mars only came about because I felt like I didn't have class and a lot of girls say I'm not from this world, so I thought, I think I'm from Mars.”
16.
And finally gave up: Jamie Chung
In an interview with Birdiethe actress spoke about the racism she faced – both in Hollywood and beyond. “I will never be able to hide my Asian identity. I don't want to either. I’ve been married for five years and I won’t even change my last name! I will never change this. I love my husband. [actor Bryan Greenberg]but that's just my personality. I will never change this.”
