Anne Hathaway'S Surprising Name Request: Please, Call Me Annie!

Anne Hathaway's Name Dilemma

Anne Hathaway, the beloved Hollywood actress, recently shared a quirky yet relatable request with her fans – please, call her anything but 'Anne'. During a candid chat on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon back in 2021, Hathaway revealed that the only person who uses her full name is her mother, and that's only when she's in trouble. "Call me Annie, everybody, everybody, call me Annie, please," she urged.

The Birth of 'Anne' and Its Unintended Consequences

The story began when Hathaway was just 14 years old and had to choose a name for her Screen Actors Guild (SAG) card. "I was like, 'Well, it should be my name. My name's Anne Hathaway’," she explained. It seemed like a logical choice at the time, but young Hathaway never imagined it would stick with her for life. "It never occurred to me that for the rest of my life, people will call me Anne," she reflected.

“The only person who calls me Anne is my mother and she only does it when she's really mad at me, like really mad. So, every time I step out in public and someone calls my name, I think they're going to yell at me," she continued.

Why 'Annie' Feels Right

Hathaway's preference for 'Annie' stems from the way the name 'Anne' feels when called out. It immediately puts her on edge, as if she's in trouble. "People are like, 'Anne!' And I'm like, 'What? What did I do?' It doesn't fit. I'm an Annie," she shared.

Emma Stone's Name Change Tale

Interestingly, Hathaway's story isn't the only celebrity name tale out there. The actress Emma Stone also had her own name change experience. Born Emily Jean Stone, she had to switch to Emma at the start of her acting career to avoid confusion with another Emily Stone. "I’m fine either way. I really am. My real name is Emily, though," Stone told the Today show.

Stone's choice was inspired by none other than the Spice Girls, specifically Baby Spice. "Growing up, I was super blonde, and my real name is Emily, but I wanted to be called Emma because of Baby Spice," she revealed on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. "And guess what, now I am.”

Both Hathaway and Stone's stories remind us that names, while seemingly simple, can carry significant personal meaning and history.