Mindy Kaling Reveals Her Real Name and Surprising Initials!

Offscreen, Mindy Kaling is known by several other names.

And that’s a choice that The Office alum—born Vera Mindy Chokalingam—made early on in her career.

On February 23rd, Mindy shared a peek into her real-life initial preference on Instagram Stories. As she was getting ready for a flight from Los Angeles to San Francisco, she casually displayed a red luggage tag with the monogram VMK on it, which is seemingly a blend of her real name and stage name, hinting at how she identifies herself in her personal life.

The luggage tag may carry a K (for Kaling), but it also recognizes the V (representing Vera, her birth name).

Only when she embarked on her stand-up comedy career did the creator of “Never Have I Ever” consider altering her professional name.

In an interview with NPR in 2020, she mentioned that the hosts of the comedy shows often found her last name difficult to pronounce. They would then make a joke about it, saying something like, “I have no idea what it means! It’s just this girl, Mindy.

Although she grappled with the idea of hiding her South Indian roots by omitting her name from the limelight, in the end, she concluded that it would be advantageous for her to proceed this way.

She noted that when one engages in comedy, figures like Albert Brooks and Woody Allen – individuals who have altered their names – are part of that group. For her, changing her name seemed the most straightforward choice.

The creator of the show The Mindy Project still feels that changing her surname was beneficial, remarking, “It’s a mix of emotions, but I must admit, having a name that people could easily pronounce significantly boosted my career.

In 2005, when Mindy Kaling launched her acting and writing career on “The Office”, it seemed to be a smart move, as she quickly became a widely recognized figure – only four years after she had earned her playwriting degree at Dartmouth.

And just last week, she received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

She posted on Instagram yesterday, “Yesterday was extraordinarily significant for me,” accompanied by her photo. “I was informed that I became the first South Asian woman to receive a star on the Walk of Fame, and it filled me with humility. I take immense pride in being South Asian, and my goal is to make my community proud of every accomplishment I achieve. However, what truly matters to me is paving the way for the next generation of South Asian stars who are currently making a massive impact worldwide.

Read on for more celebs who have ditched their real names for stage names.

For over three decades, Cher believed her legal first name was Cherilyn. However, it wasn’t until the late 1970s, when she requested her birth certificate to legally change her name to only “Cher,” that she found out she had actually been registered as “Cheryl.

In her 2024 memoir titled “Cher: The Memoir, Part One”, the pop legend recounted how her mother, Georgia Holt, responded upon learning about this particular revelation.

She replied, “Let me take a look at that!”, reminiscing about the difficult time she had as a 19-year-old mother. She continued, “I was just a teen myself, feeling a great deal of pain. Cut me some slack.

Originally known as Collins Obinna Chibueze, this outlaw country musician is commonly called Shaboozey. This nickname was given to him because of a spelling mistake in his last name at his Virginia high school, and he later officially adopted it as his stage name as an artist.

Kudos to Post Malone, whose stage name includes his last name. Interestingly, though, he prefers his pals to address him using his actual given name instead.

At the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards, Taylor Swift called her collaborator by the name “Austin” when they were honored with the Best Collaboration award for their song “Fortnight”.

Initially, the singer had released a Christian album under her birth name in 2001. However, she believed that her stage name, Katy Perry (named after her mother’s maiden name), would captivate pop music fans more effectively.

Cardi B adopted the name Bacardi following relatives and acquaintances who nicknamed her sister Hennessy. Over time, she abbreviated it to a form that felt more fitting for herself.

Before she became the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle was briefly known as Rachel.

During an interview on Apple Music’s Home Now Radio, Shania Twain recounted the origin of her stage name: “Originally, I was named Eilleen Regina Edwards. After being adopted, I became Eilleen Regina Twain. As a professional singer, I sought a stage name that didn’t sound too much like my grandmothers’, Eilleen and Regina, as I am named after both of them. In truth, I didn’t want to be called their names onstage, so I chose the name Shania Twain instead. I had encountered someone named Shania before, and I thought it was a lovely name, thus Shania Twain came into being.

The stage character of “Chappell Roan,” sung by the performer known for “Good Luck, Babe!”, has consistently been a drag persona. This allows her to establish limits and maintain a distinction between her private life and her professional career in the entertainment industry.

Interestingly, the model we know as Gigi Hadid received her stage name in school because her teacher often mixed her up with another girl named Helena. Since her mother affectionately called her “gigi” at home, she requested that the teacher use this nickname instead, and it just became a part of her identity.

If you’re looking for an explosive action-star name, how about Vin Diesel instead?

Miley Cyrus’s radiant grin was the reason behind her being called ‘Smiley’ during her childhood. Over time, this moniker got abbreviated to simply ‘Miley’, a name that has since become synonymous with her.

It appears that the singer resembled Bruno more than Peter. One day, his father began addressing him as Bruno, a name he’s been recognized by ever since, thus becoming Bruno Mars.

Before the meat dresses and chart-topping music, Lady Gaga was just an everyday girl from New York.

As a die-hard fan bursting with excitement, let me share this intriguing tidbit: In an exclusive interview on Today, the one and only Jason Sudeikis revealed that he bears his father’s first name, Daniel. However, due to some mix-up, his mom opted for using his middle name, Jason, to prevent any future confusion!

Emma Stone decided to use a stage name instead of her birth name after discovering that the Screen Actors Guild had an existing member with the same name as hers.

It appears that “Reese Witherspoon” isn’t actually named after her mother, as one might assume. Instead, she picked the name to honor her mother, who bore the surname Reese before marriage.

Every artist usually has a secret identity or alternate self, and Lana Del Rey serves as the preferred persona for the singer in this case.

In 2014, Frank Ocean legally changed his name because, why not?

An intriguing detail about the actress Tina Fey, best known for her role in 30 Rock, is that her real name is Elizabeth. As a clever nod to her given name, she named her character on the show Liz Lemon.

This pioneer of West Coast rap would later go on to be known as Snoop Dogg.

It seems that the singer known as “Royals” has a strong interest in the nobility, which likely influenced her choice of the name Lorde (pronounced: Lord), but with a distinctly feminine touch.

Prior to entertaining crowds with his hit songs, the well-known music sensation Ricky Martin was simply known by this common name.

It’s hard to believe that Iggy Azalea was born Amethyst Kelly!

Fans were puzzled when Taylor Swift acknowledged Adam during an award acceptance speech, which eventually revealed that Calvin Harris is just a stage name. The DJ explained to Shortlist magazine that he adopted the name because his debut single had a soulful vibe and he wanted something slightly more “ethnically neutral.

Before she became a household name, this was what erstwhile Friend Jennifer Aniston answered to.

Alicia Keys didn’t always have such a musical name.

Before he became arguably the biggest movie star in the world, Tom Cruise went by this name.

In the year 1980, it was Natalie Portman who made her grand entrance into the world, little did we know that she would one day become a renowned actress.

Prior to gaining stardom on television and marrying Ellen DeGeneres, Portia de Rossi went by another name.

Guess music superstar Elton John didn’t think his original name would be a hit with audiences.

2025-02-25 05:17

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