After years in the spotlight, Emma Stone is ready to reclaim her real name.
The actor, who won her second Oscar in March, recently revealed in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that close friends and co-stars typically refer to her by a different name.
Stone spoke to the outlet in a joint interview with her “The Curse” co-star Nathan Fielder. Near the beginning of their sit-down, Fielder told THR that he planned to call Stone her actual name, which is Emily, during the chat.
“Before we continue, I’d like to say something. Her name’s Emily, but she goes by Emma professionally,” he explained. “So when there’s people that don’t know her, I end up saying Emma. But I’m going to just say Emily from here on.”
Stone responded, “You can say Emma. You can say anything.”
She also explained why she goes by the stage name.
Get Tri-state area news delivered to your inbox. Sign up for NBC New York's News Headlines newsletter.
“When I get to know them, people that I work with do. It’s just because my name was taken (by another actor in the Screen Actors Guild),” she said.
Entertainment News
But recently she decided that she wants to embrace her birth name.
“Then I freaked out a couple of years ago,” she continued. “For some reason, I was like, ‘I can’t do it anymore. Just call me Emily.’”
She added, “Nathan calls me Em, which is easier.”
The “Poor Things” star told the publication she wouldn’t correct a fan if they approached her and called her Emily.
“That would be so nice. I would like to be Emily,” she said.
Fielder said he would appease her by using both names in the interview.
As she mentioned, the “Easy A” actor has always been listed in the credits as Emma. But, her decision to change her name was made way before she started booking roles.
During an appearance on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” in November 2018, Stone revealed that her stage name was inspired by her love for the Spice Girls and her favorite member, Emma Bunton, also known as “Baby Spice.”
“So growing up I was super blonde, and my real name is Emily, but I wanted to be called Emma because of Baby Spice and guess what, now I am,” she said, laughing.
As the audience clapped, she jokingly told host Jimmy Fallon, “So, that’s pretty messed up.”
But she quickly clarified that being a Spice Girls fan wasn’t the only reason that the world now knows her professionally as Emma.
“It wasn’t necessarily because of her,” she added. “But yes, in second grade, did I go up to the teacher on the first day and ask her to call me Emma? Yes, I did. And was it because of Emma Lee Bunton from the Spice Girls? Yes, it was.”
She has remained a massive fan of the British girl group over the years, she said, and has seen them in concert multiple times.
“I saw them in concert in the ‘90s. I saw them at O2 Arena in 2008, and they recently announced a new tour and I will be going to that somehow. I don’t think tickets are on sale yet, but I’m gonna figure it out,” she shared, referring at the time to the reunion tour in 2019 (which included every member except Victoria Beckham).
Fallon and Stone then took a Buzzfeed “Which Spice Girl Are You?” quiz, which yielded an unexpected answer.
“I’m Posh Spice,” she exclaimed and threw her hands in the air when the results popped up.
This article first appeared on TODAY.com. Read more from TODAY here:
