Featured Image Credit: YouTube/Vanity Fair
Topics: Celebrity, Entertainment, Hollywood
Callum Jones
Many fans have been left shocked after finding out Reese Witherspoon's real name.
It's certainly not uncommon for celebrities to go by variations of their birth name.
I mean, Bruno Mars' real name is in fact Peter Gene Hernandez, while Katy Perry is the stage name for the singer Katheryn Hudson.
And earlier this year Emma Stone even revealed that she would like to be called by her real name - Emily.
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However, many social media users have been left surprised this week to discover that actor Reese Witherspoon was actually born with a different name.
Despite the Legally Blonde star being on our screens since 1991, it seems a lot of people did not know her real name until now.
And one of those who cannot seem to process the news is fellow actor Nicole Kidman, who stars in Witherspoon's comedy-drama Big Little Lies.
Despite seemingly being pals for years, it appears that Kidman often forgets Witherspoon's actual name.
Appearing side-by-side together in a Vanity Fair interview earlier this week, Kidman began the discussion by opening up about her dislike of fellow Big Little Lies actor Laura Dern's nickname.
She told Witherspoon: "I hate how you call her Dern. It sounds so weird. I'm always like 'Laura,' and you're like 'No, Dern, Dern,' and I'm like, 'Why?'"
Well, Witherspoon decided to interrupt the rant to explain the nickname, which included a surprising submission about herself.
"'Cause my name is Laura, and her name's Laura, and it's confusing to me," she said.
And before you head to Google, yep, her actual birth name is in fact Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon.
Revealing she 'forgot' her friend's real name, Kidman continued to express her confusion, before adding that Laura Dern 'doesn't even call you Laura, though'.
"You're trying to understand something that just makes no sense," Witherspoon joked.
The reason as to why Witherspoon goes by a different moniker isn't clear.
But one thing is for sure though... fans have been left shocked after making the discovery.
Many have flocked to social media to express their disbelief.
"Reese Witherspoon’s real name is Laura but she looks like a Reese or does she look like a Reese because she told us she was a Reese?" one person on X wrote.
"Just found out Reese Witherspoon real first name is actually Laura omg wtf," a second added, while a third remarked: "I was today years old when I found out that Reese Witherspoon's real name is Laura Jeanne."
Meanwhile, a fourth commented: "Reese Witherspoon real name is Laura Jeanne and I feel LIED to."