13 stars who abandoned illustrious surnames (14 photos)

Kendall Jenner, Brooklyn Beckham and Lily-Rose Depp, like many offspring of stars, follow the beaten path and, of course, use illustrious surnames. However, there are exceptions. Children of the rich and famous sometimes hide their origins in order to achieve success on their own.





1. Angelina Jolie



Angelina Jolie was born in 1975 in the family of actors Jon Voight and Marcheline Bertrand.

The parents separated when the girl was less than a year old. Angelina had a difficult relationship all her life with her father, who gained fame after his role in the film Midnight Cowboy.

In 2002, the Lara Croft singer dropped her surname Voight in favor of Jolie.

2. Nicolas Cage





Nicholas Kim Coppola was Cage's name at birth. He is the nephew of famous director Francis Ford Coppola.

Although Nicholas starred in several films by the creator of The Godfather early in his career, he subsequently changed his last name, borrowing it from comic book hero Luke Cage and avant-garde composer John Cage.

3. Henry Wolfe



Henry Wolfe is a musician whose real name is Henry Gummer. He is also the only son of Meryl Streep and famous American sculptor Don Gummer.

Like his sister Louise, Henry uses his middle name professionally.

He once told American Songwriter: "Wolfe is my middle name. It was given to me, and I thought I could use it instead of my last name."

4. Olivia Wilde



Olivia Jane Coburn was born into the family of journalist Andrew Coburn and television producer Leslie Coburn. She is related to Evelyn Waugh, author of Brideshead Revisited. The novelist Emma Tennant was also a distant cousin, and her grandfather, Claude Cockburn, was a famous journalist and writer who fought alongside Ernest Hemingway during the Spanish Civil War.

Olivia chose her pseudonym in honor of the writer Oscar Wilde.

5. Norah Jones



Nora was born into the family of American concert producer Sue Jones and Indian sitar virtuoso Ravi Shankar.

At the age of 16, with the consent of both parents, the singer of the hit Don't Know Why officially changed her last name to Jones.

The 44-year-old singer had virtually no contact with her father until she was 18 years old.

6. Emilio Estevez



American actor and director Emilio Estevez is the son of actor Martin Sheen and the older brother of Charlie Sheen. The Breakfast Club star has abandoned his father's stage name.

In 2023, Emilio told Today that his father regretted the last name change.

7. Joan Fontaine



Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland was born in 1917 to the family of British lawyer Walter Augustus de Havilland and stage actress Lilian Augusta Ruse, known under the pseudonym Lilian Fontaine.

Since her sister Olivia began her acting career earlier, the future Hollywood film star took her mother’s theatrical surname.

8. Louise Jacobson



Louise Jacobson's birth name is Louise Gummer. She is the daughter of Meryl Streep and Don Gummer.

While her sisters, Mamie and Grace, go by their real last name, she uses her middle name to avoid confusion with actress Louise Gummer.

9. Leila George



31-year-old model Leila George, whose real name is Leila D'Onofrio, is the daughter of actors Vincent D'Onofrio and Greta Scacchi.

Leila uses her middle name as her stage name.

10. El King



Songwriter and singer Elle King was born Tanner Elle Schneider. She is the daughter of a comedian, actor andformer SNL star Rob Schneider.

The singer of the hit "Ex's and Oh's" goes by her middle name and her mother's maiden name.

"It wasn't that I wanted to be a celebrity. I wanted to be an artist," Elle told ABC News in 2015.

11. King Princess



King Princess's real name is Michaela Mullaney Strauss. As a child, she spent a lot of time in recording studios with her father, sound engineer Oliver Strauss.

In addition, Oliver is the owner of the Mission Sounds studio, where bands such as Arctic Monkeys worked. It was here that King Princess recorded her debut album, Cheap Queens.

The Strauss family name is also known outside the music industry. Isidor Strauss, the singer's great-great-grandfather, was a co-owner of the largest American department store chain, Macy's. He died along with his wife Ida in the sinking of the Titanic in 1912.

12. Tori Spelling



Tori Spelling is the daughter of media mogul Aaron Spelling.

She first heard about Beverly Hills, 90210 from her agent. After learning that her father would be the executive producer of the series, she decided to audition under the stage name Tori Mitchell. She borrowed her last name from Heather Locklear's character.

13. Maybelle



Mabel Alabama-Pearl McVeigh was born in Spain in 1996. She is the daughter of British producer Cameron McVey and Swedish singer Neneh Cherry. However, the 27-year-old Brit Awards winner performs under a mononym.