Reese Witherspoon had to remind Nicole Kidman what her real name is.
The two Big Little Lies actresses recently appeared in a Vanity Fair YouTube video together where Kidman questioned why Witherspoon consistently called their co-star Laura Dern by her last name while the two were on set.
“I hate how you call her Dern,” Kidman told the Legally Blonde star. “It sounds so weird. I’m always like ‘Laura,’ and you’re like:‘No, Dern, Dern,’ and I’m like: ‘Why?’”
Witherspoon then chimed in to explain that this was to avoid the two of them getting mixed up, because her first name is also Laura. “Cause my name is Laura, and her name’s Laura, and it’s confusing to me,” she said.
The Morning Show actress clarified that her full name is Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon, which she ended up shortening to just her mother’s maiden name prior to her acting career.
Kidman did admit that she forgot about Dern and Witherspoon sharing a first name but she still didn’t understand where the confusion between the two actresses was coming, as nobody ever addresses Witherspoon as Laura. “Laura doesn’t even call you Laura, though,” Kidman said.
“You’re trying to understand something that just makes no sense,” Witherspoon responded.
Witherspoon isn’t the only actress who goes by a name other than their birth name. Emma Stone has also spoken out about her real name being Emily and actually preferring people use the name when referring to her.
During a previous interview with Nathan Fielder, he had to chime in to admit that he struggles switching between the two names and normally only uses Emily and not Emma when speaking about the Poor Things actress.
“Before we continue, I’d like to say something. Her name’s Emily, but she goes by Emma professionally. 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,” he said.
“You can say Emma. You can say anything,” Stone let him know.
The interviewer had asked her if she would go as far as correcting any fans who would address her as Emily instead of Emma. “No. That would be so nice. I would like to be Emily,” she responded.
The only reason the Easy A actress uses Emma as a stage name and not her real name is because her real name was taken by another actor in the SAG-AFTRA union.
She’s previously admitted that at one point she “freaked out” over wanting to be known as Emily, despite already establishing her acting career under the name Emma.
“I freaked out a couple of years ago. For some reason, I was like: ‘I can’t do it anymore. Just call me Emily.’ Nathan calls me Em, which is easier,” she told The Hollywood Reporter.
As for how the La La Land actress came up with the name Emma, it was after her favorite Spice Girl, Baby Spice, whose real name is Emma Bunton.
“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 during a 2018 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
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