True Celebrity Names (Born in the 1980s) Quiz

Answer: Melanie Elizabeth Bownds

Born March 2nd, 1980 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, Melanie Elizabeth Bownds (AKA Rebel Wilson) is an actress, comedienne and producer who has been active in the entertainment industry since graduating from the Australian Theatre for Young People in 2003. A highlight of her career was her role in 2012's "Pitch Perfect" where she received the MTV Award for Best Breakthrough Performance.

Oddly, considering the prevalence of the use of stage names by celebrities, there was backlash against Wilson regarding her name, which she legally changed in 2002. Claims were made that she had lied to the media about her (historical) real name and age at various points of her career.

Answer: Neta-Lee Hershlag

Born June 9th, 1981 in Jerusalem, Israel, Neta-Lee Hershlag (AKA Natalie Portman) began her acting career at the age of 12 with the 1994 film "Léon: The Professional," and soon found herself on Broadway. At the 64th Academy Awards she earned the Oscar for Best Actress for her role in "Black Swan" (2010).

Where did 'Portman' come from? In order to protect her privacy as a child actress, Neta-Lee (Natalie) adopted her paternal grandmother's maiden name.

Answer: Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr.

Born September 27th, 1982 in New Orleans, Louisiana, Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. (AKA Lil Wayne) is a prolific rapper, singer/songwriter, record producer and entrepreneur who has been active since he was 'discovered' at the age of 13 and joined the label Cash Money Records. Since then he has had many achievements, including multiple Grammy, BET, Billboard Music, MTV Video Music and NAACP Image Awards, and is counted among the worlds best-selling music artists.

When asked in an interview by Katie Couric about his rapper name, Lil Wayne replied, "I dropped the D because I'm a junior and my father is living and he's not in my life and he's never been in my life. So I don't want to be Dwayne, I'd rather be Wayne." (source: Wikipedia)

Answer: Donald McKinley Glover, Jr.

Born September 25th, 1983 at Edwards Air Force Base, California, Donald McKinley Glover, Jr. (AKA Childish Gambino) is a comedian, actor, rapper, singer/songwriter, DJ who rose to fame through his role as Troy Barnes in the sitcom "Community." Not limited to acting, Glover has also made a name for himself in the other fields named above, and has been recognized with multiple awards, including two Emmys, two Golden Globes, five Grammys, to name a few.

Reportedly, the name he chose for his musical career, Childish Gambino, was created by a Wu-Tang Clan name generator.

Answer: Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson

Born October 25th, 1984 in Santa Barbara, California, Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (AKA Katy Perry) is a singer/songwriter who started out her career in gospel music before moving over to the mainstream pop genre. There she has achieved great success, winning multiple awards and reaching the top of the charts numerous times and becoming one of the best-selling artists of all-time.

Katy Perry published her first (gospel) album in 2001 using her real name and titling it "Katy Hudson," but once she became more well-known, she changed her name to use her mother's maiden name, largely to allay confusion with actress Kate Hudson.

Answer: Peter Gene Hernandez

Born October 8th, 1985 in Honolulu, Hawaii, Peter Gene Hernandez (AKA Bruno Mars) is yet another multi-faceted performer (singer, dancer, songwriter, record producer) who began his career in earnest after moving to Los Angeles in 2003. His first album in 2010 saw great success and he just kept on going from there. He has won over 120 awards (out of over 400 nominations), including ten Grammys.

In an article on Elite Daily, Mars revealed that his stage name was born out of a nickname his dad called him (Bruno) for how he resembled wrestler Bruno Sammartino. And the last name? He reportedly "came up with Mars to add some 'pizazz' to his name, joking that since girls would call him 'out of this world,' he might as well be from Mars."

Answer: Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta

Born March 28th, 1986 in New York City, New York, Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (AKA Lady Gaga) is a singer, songwriter, record producer and actress who began schooling in the theatre arts before choosing to pursue a singing career. Her first album in 2008 shot her to fame, and she has only built from there, receiving awards to the tune of more than 250 out of more than 350 nominations. Her role and musical contribution to the 2018 film "A Star is Born" made her the first person to win an Academy Award, Grammy, BAFTA and Golden Globe in one year.

Her stage name was inspired by the Queen song, "Radio Gaga."

Answer: Cameron Jibril Thomaz

Born September 8th, 1987 in Minot, North Dakota, Cameron Jibril Thomaz (AKA Wiz Khalifa) is a rapper, singer/songwriter and actor was 'discovered' at age 16 and went through a time of development before he achieved mainstream success with his 2010 single "Black and Yellow" reaching Number One on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.

Wiz Khalifa's stage name came from a combination of the word 'wisdom' (shortened, of course) and the Arabic word 'khalifa' that means 'successor.'

Answer: Sonny John Moore

Born January 15th, 1988 in Los Angeles, California, Sonny John Moore (AKA Skrillex) is a musician, singer/songwriter, DJ and record producer who began his entertainment career as a singer for the band From First to Last at the age of sixteen. He moved on to pursue a solo career in 2007 and began producing and DJ-ing under the name of Skrillex.

In and interview with Westword, he explained that Skrillex "has no meaning and was 'a stupid old online AOL screen name.'"

Answer: Lily Chloe Ninette Thomson

Born April 5th, 1989 in Esher, Surrey, England, Lily Chloe Ninette Thomson (AKA Lily James) is a singer and actress who began her acting career with the British TV series "Just William" in 2010 after studying at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. Her breakthrough role came with 2015's "Cinderella," and was followed with other significant parts in popular movies.

Lily took her father's first name as her stage surname when she learned that there was already an actress with the same (Lily Thomson) name.