Emma Stone, the renowned actress known for her versatility and charm, recently shared her thoughts on being known universally by a name that isn’t actually hers. The 35-year-old actress, who has graced the screen since 2004 and made her cinematic debut in the 2007 hit *Superbad*, has always been professionally known as Emma Stone. However, her real name is Emily Stone.
The Arizona native’s breakthrough role in *Superbad*, alongside Jonah Hill and Michael Cera, earned her a Young Hollywood Award and set the stage for her subsequent successes in movies like *Easy A* and *Crazy Stupid Love*. Stone’s career continued to flourish with her portrayal of Gwen Stacy in *The Amazing Spider-Man* and her award-winning performances in *La La Land* and Yorgos Lanthimos’ *Poor Things*.
Aside from her on-screen accomplishments, Stone is also a Broadway star, and together with her husband Dave McCary, runs the production company Fruit Tree, which has produced films such as *Problemista* and *I Saw the TV Glow*. But long before her rise to fame, Stone was compelled to change her first name due to the existence of another actor named Emily Stone in the Screen Actors Guild.
Earlier this year, the *Zombieland* alum discussed the name change. “Before I became famous, there was another actor in the Screen Actors Guild called Emily Stone. Therefore, I elected to be professionally known as Emma Stone,” she explained.
When asked during a recent interview with TODAY’s Craig Melvin if she preferred being called Emma or Emily, Stone expressed her flexibility on the matter. “I’m fine either way,” she said. “My real name is Emily, though.” She elaborated on the necessity of her name change, comparing it to business registration where duplicate names are not allowed. “It was taken at Screen Actors Guild. It’s sort of like when you register a business and you can’t have the same name as someone else,” she added.
Stone also humorously invited fans to call her whatever they wished, even suggesting they could “make up a name!” Reflecting on her adaptability and light-hearted approach, the actress shared a delightful anecdote from the set of her latest project, *Kinds of Kindness*. “During *Poor Things*, I would kind of dance between takes and things. This one was something that Yorgos saw me do, and he was like, ‘We should just recreate this for *Kinds of Kindness*. So just make it up as you go,'” she laughed.
The anthology movie, marking Stone’s third collaboration with director Yorgos Lanthimos, is set to have a limited theatrical release in the US starting June 21.