13 "Nepo Babies" Who Hid Their Famous Last Names With A Stage Name
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The internet's had a lot to say on the topic of "nepo babies" these past few years. While some celebs acknowledge the inherent privilege of having famous parents and relatives, others would prefer to sweep it under the rug.
Here are 13 famous people's kids who hid their industry connections with stage names:
1.Malia Obama recently made her directorial debut at Sundance Film Festival under the name Malia Ann.
Ann is her middle name.
She's the daughter of former president and first lady-turned-producers Barack and Michelle Obama.
2.When Formula One driver Mick Schumacher first began his motorsports career in karting as a kid, he competed under the name Mick Betsch.
Betsch is his mom's maiden name.
He's the son of Formula One driver Michael Schumacher, who's a seven-time champion, and champion equestrian Corinna Schumacher.
3.Samia Najimy Finnerty makes music under the mononym Samia.
She's named after her maternal grandmother, Samia Najimy.
She's the daughter of actor Kathy Najimy and singer/actor Dan Finnerty.
4.Willow Smith makes music under the mononym WILLOW.
Willow is the youngest child of fellow actors/musicians Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith.
5.When Angelina Jolie made her onscreen debut (in one of her father's movies) as a child, she was credited under her birth name, Angelina Jolie Voight. However, when she began acting full-time, she dropped her surname.
She actually legally changed her name to Angelina Jolie in 2002.
She's the daughter of fellow Academy Award-winning actor Jon Voight.
6.Under the stage name Redfoo, Stefan Gordy rose to fame as one-half of LMFAO.
He felt that Stefan wasn't who he was "in his spirit," so he chose to name himself Redfoo in 1995. His original rap name was "MC Fool That's Red," which was too long. He shortened it to Redfool, which still didn't feel right, so he dropped the last letter.
His dad, Berry Gordy Jr., founded Motown Records.
7.Skyler Gordy, aka Sky Blue, also rose to fame as half of LMFAO.
He's the grandson of Berry Gordy Jr. as well as the half-nephew of his former bandmate.
Redfoo and Sky Blu are only 11 years apart in age.
8.Because there's already an actor working under her birth name, Louisa Gummer uses the name Louisa Jacobson professionally.
Jacobson is her middle name,
She's the youngest child of actor Meryl Streep and sculptor Don Gummer, as well as the sister of fellow actors Henry, Mamie, and Grace Gummer.
9.Nicolas Coppola started using the stage name Nicolas Cage after fellow actors on the Fast Times at Ridgemont High set taunted him over sharing a name with a famous director, to the point of gathering outside his trailer to quote Apocalypse Now.
He chose the name Cage because he liked how simple it was, and also because he associated it with the Marvel hero Luke Cage as well as composer John Cage.
He's Francis Ford Coppola's nephew.
10.Leila George is the stage name that Leila D'Onofrio goes by.
George is her middle name.
She's the daughter of fellow actors Vincent D'Onofrio and Greta Scacchi.
Theo Wargo / Getty Images, Faith Moran / GC Images / Via Getty
11.Elle King is the stage name of Tanner Schneider.
Elle is her middle name, and King is her mom's last name.
She's the daughter of Saturday Night Live alum, Rob Schneider.
12.When Olivia Giannulli was in high school, she started her YouTube channel under the name Olivia Jade.
Jade is her middle name.
She's the daughter of actor Lori Loughlin and fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli.
13.And fianlly, Scott Eastwood began his career under the name Scott Reeves because he wanted to "fly under the radar a little" and see if he could make it as an actor on his own.
Scott Reeves is actually his birth name because his mom, Jacelyn, gave him her last name.
He's the son of Clint Eastwood. He started going by his dad's name when he realized "it didn't really matter."
He told Route Magazine, "You still have to go in the audition room, you still have to win a role, you still have to be good enough to get it. No one’s going to hand it to you. It doesn’t matter what your name is. You have to go in and face the fire and do it, because no one’s going to hand it to you."
