Emma Stone is embracing her pre-Hollywood moniker. In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter alongside her The Curse costar, Nathan Fielder, the actor revealed that she “would like” to go by her given name, Emily, rather than her stage name.
When asked if she’d correct a fan who referred to her as Emily, Stone told the outlet, “No. That would be so nice,” adding that her colleagues call her Emily “when I get to know them.” The actor also explained that she changed her name to Emma early in her career, as Emily Stone “was taken” by another actor and SAG-AFTRA member.
“Then I freaked out a couple of years ago,” she continued. “For some reason, I was like, ‘I can’t do it anymore. Just call me Emily.’ Nathan [Fielder] calls me Em, which is easier.”
This isn’t the first time Stone has discussed her real name. Appearing on The Graham Norton Show in 2014, the Oscar winner revealed, “My name was Emily, but it was taken when I became an actor, so now it’s Emma.”
In 2018, Stone explained on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon that she previously wanted to be called by her stage name because of her favorite Spice Girl, Baby Spice, otherwise known as 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,” she said. “And guess what? Now I am.”
Clarifying that Baby Spice “wasn’t necessarily” the only reason she once preferred her Hollywood name, Stone added on The Tonight Show, “In second grade, did I go up to the teacher on the first day and ask her to call me Emma? Yes I did. And was it because of Emma Lee Bunton from the Spice Girls? Yes it was.”
The actor again spoke of her love for the Spice Girls in a January 2024 interview with LADbible. “My favorite growing up was always Baby Spice,” she said. “But to choose one of all five is not even fair.”
Adding that Ginger Spice (aka Geri Horner) “is incredible,” Stone said that choosing a “superior Spice Girl is insane.” She continued, “I believe in all things. You can have a favorite, a personal favorite, without saying they’re superior.”
