Emma Stone, 35, proudly goes by her birth name of Emily, as she revealed during a press conference for her new movie Kinds of Kindness at the Festival de Cannes. Despite being corrected by the movie’s director, Yorgos Lanthimos, Stone insisted that she prefers to be called Emily. This decision to go by her original name stems from the fact that she was named Emily at birth, and she changed it to Emma when she started acting due to another actress with the same name being in the industry. The change to Emma was inspired by her favorite Spice Girl, Emma Bunton, and she has used this name throughout her professional career.
Stone discussed in a past appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon how she wanted to be called Emma after Baby Spice from the Spice Girls, despite her real name being Emily. However, she revealed that she has recently had a desire to return to her roots and go by her given name of Emily, especially among people she is close to. She mentioned how her The Curse costar Nathan Fielder calls her by her given name and how she felt a need to go back to it a couple of years ago. Despite this, she admitted that she wouldn’t correct fans who refer to her as Emma, as she would find it nice to be called Emily.
Regarding her interactions with others in the industry, Stone mentioned in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that when she gets to know people, they tend to call her Emily. She explained that the change back to her original name was due to her feeling a need to make that change and deciding to embrace her birth name once again. Fielder joked about how he plans to switch between calling her Emma, Emily, or Em, showcasing the support and light-heartedness surrounding her decision to go back to being called Emily in her personal and professional life.
Stone’s reunion with Lanthimos for Kinds of Kindness comes after their previous collaboration on Poor Things in 2023. The movie debuted at Cannes on May 17, where Stone addressed the press conference and asserted her preference to be called Emily. She expressed her gratitude when a reporter from Kazakhstan’s 98 Magazine referred to her as Emily, showing her pride in her original name. Despite having used the name Emma for her acting career, she has now embraced her given name of Emily and feels comfortable being called by the name she was given at birth.
