Stage name

A stage name, also called a screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.

Motivation to use a stage name

A performer will often take a stage name because his/her real name is considered unattractive, dull, or unintentionally amusing, is difficult to pronounce or spell, has been used by another notable individual, or projects an undesired image. Sometimes a performer adopts a name that is unusual or outlandish to attract attention. Other performers use a stage name in order to retain anonymity. The equivalent concept among writers is called a nom de plume or pen name, while the term ring name is used in professional wrestling. In radio, the term "radio name" or "air name" is used. For example, well-known talk radio host Rush Limbaugh, who now uses his real name, was known under the radio name Jeff Christie in his days as a top-40 disk jockey.

Family connection

Jamie Foxx

Eric Marlon Bishop (born December 13, 1967), known professionally as Jamie Foxx, is an American actor, singer, and comedian. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor, BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, and Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy, for his work in the 2004 biographical film Ray. The same year, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the action film Collateral.

Other prominent acting roles include the title role in the film Django Unchained (2012), the supervillain Electro in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) and William Stacks in the 2014 version of Annie. Foxx also starred in the 1990-1994 sketch comedy show In Living Color and his own television show from 1996 to 2001, the sitcom The Jamie Foxx Show, in which he played Jamie King Jr.

Foxx is also a Grammy Award-winning musician, producing four albums which have charted highly on the US Billboard 200: Unpredictable (2005), which topped the chart, Intuition (2008), Best Night of My Life (2010), and Hollywood: A Story of a Dozen Roses (2015).

Mike Tyson

Michael Gerard "Mike" Tyson (/ˈtaɪsən/; born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer. He held the undisputed world heavyweight championship and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF heavyweight titles at 20 years, 4 months, and 22 days old. Tyson won his first 19 professional bouts by knockout, 12 of them in the first round. He won the WBC title in 1986 after defeating Trevor Berbick by a TKO in the second round. In 1987, Tyson added the WBA and IBF titles after defeating James Smith and Tony Tucker. This made him the first heavyweight boxer to simultaneously hold the WBA, WBC and IBF titles, and the only heavyweight to successively unify them.

In 1988, Tyson became the lineal champion when he knocked out Michael Spinks in 91 seconds. Tyson successfully defended the world heavyweight championship nine times, including victories over Larry Holmes and Frank Bruno. In 1990, he lost his titles to underdog James "Buster" Douglas, by knockout in round 10. Attempting to regain the titles, he defeated Donovan Ruddock twice in 1991, but pulled out of a fight with undisputed heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield due to injury. In 1992, Tyson was convicted of raping Desiree Washington and sentenced to six years in prison but was released after serving three years. After his release, he engaged in a series of comeback fights. In 1996, he won the WBC and WBA titles after defeating Frank Bruno and Bruce Seldon by knockout. With his defeat of Bruno, Tyson joined Floyd Patterson, Muhammad Ali, Tim Witherspoon, Evander Holyfield, and George Foreman as the only men in boxing history to that point to have regained a heavyweight championship after having lost it. After being stripped of the WBC title, Tyson lost his WBA crown to Evander Holyfield in November 1996 by an eleventh-round TKO. Their 1997 rematch ended when Tyson was disqualified for biting part of Holyfield's ear off.

Iggy Azalea

Amethyst Amelia Kelly (born 7 June 1990), better known by her stage name Iggy Azalea (/əˈzeɪljə/), is an Australian rapper, songwriter, and model. Born in Sydney and raised in Mullumbimby, Azalea moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a career in hip hop music, residing in the southern part of the country. She earned public recognition after releasing YouTube music videos for her songs "Pu$$y" and "Two Times". She signed a record contract with T.I.'s record label Grand Hustle in 2012, gaining attention from her debut mixtape Ignorant Art.

Her debut studio album, The New Classic (2014), peaked among the top five of several charts worldwide and received generally mixed reviews. The album spawned five singles: "Work", "Bounce", "Change Your Life", "Fancy" and "Black Widow". "Fancy" topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for seven consecutive weeks, making Azalea the fourth female rapper in the history of the chart to reach number one. Additionally, Azalea was featured on Ariana Grande's single "Problem", which peaked at number two while "Fancy" was number one; Azalea joined The Beatles as the only acts to rank at numbers one and two simultaneously with their first two Hot 100 entries. Azalea also went on to pass Lil' Kim as the female rapper with the longest-leading number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100.

Calvin Harris

Adam Richard Wiles (born 17 January 1984), better known by his stage name Calvin Harris, is a Scottish DJ, singer, songwriter, record producer, recording artist and remixer. His debut album, I Created Disco, was released in 2007 and was the precursor to his top-10 singles "Acceptable in the 80s" and "The Girls". In 2009, Harris released his second studio album, Ready for the Weekend, which debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and earned a gold certification from the British Phonographic Industry within two months of release. Its lead single, "I'm Not Alone", became his first number one on the UK Singles Chart.

Harris rose to international prominence in 2012 with the release of his third studio album, 18 Months. Topping the UK charts, the album became his first to chart on the Billboard 200 in the US, reaching number 19. All eight of the album's singles; "Bounce", "Let's Go", "We'll Be Coming Back", "Sweet Nothing", "Drinking from the Bottle", "I Need Your Love", "Thinking About You" and "Feel So Close", along with "We Found Love" reached the top 10 of the UK Singles Chart.