celebrity

Emma Stone misses her real name. In fact, she wants it back.

Emma Stone is the actor of the moment. 

She just won Best Actress award at the Academy Awards for her role in Poor Things, which will cap off an impressive sweep of this awards season, securing both a Golden Globe and BAFTA. 

This is Stone's second Oscar after she took the same award home for La La Land back in 2017. 

But while you and I know her as Emma Stone — that’s not the name on the actress’ birth certificate.

And it’s not the name she wants either.

In an interview with W magazine back in 2017, the actor revealed that, like many Hollywood hopefuls, she was forced to change her name by the Screen Actor’s Guild.

See, no two actors on the SAG register can share a name, and some other thespian had beaten her to it.

That name… was Emily Stone.

In a cute TikTok with her Poor Things co-star, Mark Ruffalo, for LadBible, he let slip that he knew her name was actually Emily. "You're my best friend Emily... Emma," he told her. 

"My real name is Emily, he knows my name," Stone added. 

@lad Strongly agree ✅🍟 #emmastone #markruffalo #mcdonalds #celebrity #film #poorthings #movieclips ♬ original sound - LADbible TV

"Well, I was 16 when I found out at SAG I couldn’t have my own name," she told W. "So to ask a 16-year-old to pick a new name is really an interesting process, because I was like, 'I’m going to be Riley. My name is going to be Riley Stone.'"

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As cool as it sounded, that name only lasted about six months.

"I did a guest spot on Malcolm in the Middle and one day they were like, 'Riley, Riley,' and I had no idea who they were talking to and they were like, 'Hey, hey come on we need you on set.' And I was like, 'Oh I’m not Riley, I can’t be Riley,'" she said.

"So then I changed it to Emma because you know it’s closer to Emily, but most people call me ‘M’, that know me well".

And so Emma Stone is the name that's been on the billing for box office hits like Easy A, The Amazing Spider Man and Crazy, Stupid Love, the name that was on the nomination ballot for a 2024 Academy Award.

Still, the actress tells W she misses good ol' Emily: "I would love to get her back."

Turns out, though, there was one way she could have hung on to her beloved birth name.

"I had the option of Emily J. Stone and it's kind of like Michael J. Fox, and I love Michael J. Fox," she said, "but I don't think I could pull off the J."

I think we all know that's not true.

This article was originally published on January 5, 2017 and has since been updated with new information.

Feature image: Getty. 

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