Emma Stone Would Like to Be Called Her Real Name: ‘That Would Be So Nice’

Actress Emma Stone said that she is ready to abandon her stage name and go back to her real name – Emily. The 35-year-old actress was born Emily Jean Stone, and took the stage name “Emma” because “Emily Stone” was already in use by another Screen Actors Guild member when she first joined. In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, she said that fans, friends and colleagues are welcome to call her “Emily” going forward.

Stone sat for a joint interview with THR with her co-star on The Curse, Nathan Fielder. When asked if she would be put off by someone calling her Emily instead of Emma, she said: “No. That would be so nice. I would like to be Emily.” She then revealed that “people I work with” already use her given name “when I get to know them,” and she reiterated the story of how she ended up taking her stage name. She said that in recent years, she found it hard to go by this psuedonym.

“Then, I freaked out a couple of years ago,” she said. “For some reason, I was like ‘I can’t do it anymore. Just call me Emily.’ Nathan calls me Em, which is easier.”

Stone has discussed her stage name a few times over the years – notably in a 2018 interview on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. When she was eligible to join SAG, the name “Emily Stone” was already in use, and she considered using her middle initial like many other Hollywood professionals do. She considered using “Emily J. Stone,” noting it would give her something in common with Michael J. Fox, and also considered taking on a completely different name such as “Riley Stone.” However, she revealed that she had settled on “Emma” not just because it was close to her real name, but because she was a huge of The Spice Girls and Emma Bunton.

I was super blonde, and my real name is Emily, but I wanted to be called Emma because of Baby Spice and guess what, now I am,” she said. “So, that’s pretty messed up.”

Stone and Fielder were promoting The Curse, their hit dark comedy series that aired on Paramount+ and Showtime from October to January. The whole series is streaming now, and they do not plan on making any more episodes in the future. Stone will continue to be credited as “Emma,” but fans who meet her in person can use her given name.