How did Emma Stone get her stage name? Actress says she “would like to be” called by her birth name, Emily

Two-time Academy Award winner Emma Stone opened up about how she felt about being called by her real first name, Emily. Stone and Nathan Fielder sat down with The Hollywood Reporter to talk about their 2023 show, The Curse, in an interview published on Wednesday, April 24. During the interview, Stone was asked if she'd correct a fan if they called her Emily. Stone replied:

"No. That would be so nice. I would like to be Emily,"

Emily Jean "Emma" Stone revealed that she could not use her real name in Hollywood as another actor part of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was already using the name Emily Stone. Earlier, during a 2018 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Stone told Fallon that as a kid she wanted to be known as Emma after Baby Spice from the Spice Girls, Emma Lee Bunton.

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Emily Jean Stone once went by Riley Stone before landing on Emma Stone

During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Emma Stone sat alongside her co-star in The Curse, Nathan Fielder, and opened up about her Hollywood name change. After talking about congratulating Emma via text after her second Oscar win, Fielder interjected by adding a quick little fact. He told the publication:

"Before we continue, I’d like to say something. Her name’s Emily, but she goes by Emma professionally. So when there’s people that don’t know her, I end up saying Emma. But I’m going to just say Emily from here on."

Fielder and Stone starred in 2023's 'The Curse' (Image via YouTube/SHOWTIME)

Stone replied by telling Fielder that he could call her Emma or anything he liked. Emma Stone's real name is Emily Jean Stone. The interviewer asked Stone if anyone in Hollywood called her Emily. The actress replied:

"When I get to know them, people that I work with do. It’s just because my name was taken [by another actress in SAG]. Then I freaked out a couple of years ago. For some reason, I was like, “I can’t do it anymore. Just call me Emily.” Nathan calls me Em, which is easier."

Fielder replied that calling Stone 'Em' was his way of bridging the gap. Stone also told the interviewer that she would not correct a fan if they called her Emily. In fact, Stone said that she would actually like to be known as Emily.

Emma Stone had earlier revealed the story of how she had to change her due to another actress having the same name back in a 2017 interview with W magazine. She had said at the time that picking a new name, especially for a 16-year-old girl was an "interesting prospect". However, back then she initially decided to go by Riley Stone. Emma told W magazine in 2017:

"For about six months I was called Riley. I landed a guest spot on Malcolm in the Middle, and one day they were calling, ‘Riley! Riley! Riley! We need you on set, Riley!’ and I had no idea who they were talking to."

She added:

"At that moment, I realized that I just couldn’t be Riley. So I became Emma. But I miss Emily. I would love to get her back."

Fast forward to 2018, Emma Stone further revealed in an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon that she wanted to be known as Emma when she was a kid due to being a superfan of the Spice Girls and Emma Lee Bunton. She told Jimmy Fallon:

"It wasn’t necessarily because of her, but yes, in second grade, did I go up to the teacher and ask her on the first day to call me Emma? Yes, I did,"

She added:

"Was it because of Emma Lee Bunton of the Spice Girls? Yes, it was."

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2024 was a huge year for Emma Stone. The actress bagged her second Academy Award win for Best Actress for her performance in Poor Things, for which she also won a Golden Globe. Furthermore, Stone also received a Golden Globe nomination for her performance in The Curse.