When celebrities reach a certain status or level of fame, they essentially become household names both in the United States and around the world. Interestingly enough, there are plenty of instances when those “household names” aren’t actually the names that were originally given to those people. Brad Pitt, Reese Witherspoon and Miley Cyrus aren’t who you think they are!
Not only do we highlight the celebrities who go by different – or “fake” – names than what’s on their birth certificate, but we also reveal the stories behind when and why they chose to forgo their birth names. Without further delay, here is a list of well-known celebs whose real names might surprise you.
Vin Diesel
For a guy who’s biggest claim to fame is being the backbone of a film franchise centered around ridiculous exploits involving automobiles, it seems a bit too coincidental that said backbone would have a (real) name of “Vin Diesel.” As it turns out, while that’s not his real name, the automotive pseudonym is somewhat coincidental.
Vin Diesel’s real name is Mark Sinclair. The multi-ethnicity movie star would combine a shortened version of the surname of the mother who raised him (Vincent), and a nickname given to him by friends (“The Diesel”). Diesel said the latter nickname was given to him by said friends because the actor was always full of energy.