If you’re going to make it in show business you need to have a good name. You also may want to use a different name to allow yourself a little anonymity when you want to get away from it all. You also may need a new name to help bolster the image your trying to portray. Let’s face it, John Wayne would never have commanded the respect in those Westerns if he went by his real name, Marian Morrison. Here’s a list of some famous people and their not so famous real names.
Demi Moore – Demetria Guynes (named her kids Rumer Glenn, Scout Larue, Tallulah Belle)
Tom Cruise – Thomas Cruise Mapother IV
Shania Twain – Eileen Twain (married a guy named Mutt Lange)
Bono – Paul Hewson
Prince – Prince Rogers Nelsen
Eddie Money – Eddie Mahoney
Winona Ryder – Winona Laura Horowitz
Meg Ryan – Margaret Hyra
Seal – Sealhenry Samuel
Meatloaf – Marvin Lee Adair
Martin Sheen – Ramonón Estevez
Joan Rivers – Joan Sandra Molinsky
Jackie Chan – Chan Kong Sung (means Born in Hong Kong)
Alice Cooper – Vincent Damon Furnier
Stevie Wonder – Steveland Judkins