So, her stage name was decided via a magazine competition.
These days, plenty of famous people use stage names.
It was part of, I guess, the culture back then.
As Yvonne noted, this trend was very popular in Hollywood’s Golden Age.
According toScreen Rant, under her initial contract with Fox, she went by Rita Casino.
Hayworth was her mom’s last name before marriage.
2.Rita Morenowas born Rosa Dolores Alverio Marcano.
She named herself after Rita Hayworth.
She also took her stepdad’s last name.
3.Marilyn Monroewas born Norma Jeane Mortenson.
My thanks and love forever.
The executive suggested Marilyn after hisHer Majesty, Lovecostar Marilyn Miller.
4.Joan Fontaine’s real name was Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland.
So, Joan used her stepdad’s last name.
5.Judy Garland’s birth name was Frances Ethel Gumm.
One prevailing theory is that she chose the name Judy after the song “Judy” by Hoagy Carmichael.
6.Merle Oberon’s birth name was Estelle Merle O’Brien Thompson.
to get to get work as an actor, she also hid her Sinhalese and Maori heritage.
7.Mickey Rooneywas born Joseph Yule Jr. ## 8.Mary Pickford’s real name was Gladys Louise Smith.
Hating her actual middle name, she lied and said it was Marie.
So, Marie was changed to Mary.
Pickford was one of her mom’s family names.
9.Michael Caine was born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite.
Initially, he chose the stage name Michael Scott (perTIME).
10.John Wayne’s real name was Marion Robert Morrison.
However, the director didn’t think he had a name worthy of a movie star.
They took inspiration from American Revolution general Anthony Wayne.
11.Debbie Reynolds’s real name was Mary Frances Reynolds.
12.Joan Crawford was born Lucille Fay LeSueur.
So, her stage name was decided via a magazine competition.
13.Barbara Stanwyck’s real name was Ruby Catherine Stevens.
14.Rock Hudson was born Roy Harold Scherer Jr.
He adopted a stage name at the suggestion of his agent, Henry Willson (perHarper’s Bazaar).
His last name came from the Hudson River in New York.
15.Lauren Bacall’s real name was Betty Joan Perske.
The name “Lauren” came from director Howard Hawks.
16.Fred Astaire’s birth name was Frederick Austerlitz.
17.And finally, Cary Grant’s birth name was Archibald Alec Leach.
Nine years later, he legally changed his name to Cary Grant.
