Oscar winner Emma Stone revealed that she used a “beautiful” stage name for six months after learning she couldn’t utilize her birth name, Emily Stone, while pursuing her career in Hollywood.
Choosing a Stage Name
During her appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the 36-year-old actress shared, “I actually adopted a stage name for, I would say, like six months. Because the Screen Actors Guild, it’s like the Business Bureau. You can only have one person with that name.”
At just 16, Stone decided to call herself Riley for a brief period. “So I was Riley Stone, which is a beautiful name,” she added.
Struggles with Identity
However, Stone found it challenging to adjust to her new name during her work. She recounted an experience: “I did an episode, like a guest part, on Malcolm in the Middle, and they kept going like: ‘Riley! Riley!’ And I had no idea who they were talking to. Truly. And I was like: ‘I cannot be Riley.’ Like, it’s such a … It came out of nowhere.”
She humorously remarked, “I was just like: ‘Cool name. I’ll just be Riley.’”
Transition to Emma
Eventually, Stone opted for Emma Stone, as it was reminiscent of her real name. “So I then changed it to ‘Emma’ because it’s close enough to ‘Emily’,” she noted.
The Oscar-winner has expressed a desire to revert to Emily, citing confusion. She mentioned to The Hollywood Reporter, “When I get to know them, people that I work with do (call me Emily). It’s just because my name was taken (by another actress). Then I freaked out a couple of years ago. For some reason, I was like: ‘I can’t do it anymore. Just call me Emily.’”
When asked if she would correct a fan who mistakenly called her Emily instead of Emma, the actress replied, “No. That would be so nice. I would like to be Emily.”