Reese Witherspoon has a “big little lie” she’s been keeping from us all.
The “Sweet Home Alabama” star reminded fans of her real first name ― which isn’t Reese ― during a conversation with co-star Nicole Kidman for Vanity Fair.
The two were talking about fellow actor Laura Dern, when Kidman chastised Witherspoon for calling her “Dern” instead of “Laura” and said that she hates it.
“You know why?” Witherspoon said. “Because my name is Laura, and her name is Laura, and it’s confusing to me. My real name’s Laura Jeanne.”
“So I get confused so I just call her Dern,” she explained, adding that the two “can’t both be Laura.”
While Kidman admitted that she’d forgotten her friend’s actual first name, she pointed out that Dern “doesn’t call you Laura, though.”
Witherspoon pretended to get mad at Kidman, and responded with “I don’t understand your point.”
“I don’t like your tone. You’re trying to understand something, so it just makes no sense,” she quipped.
Witherspoon’s real name is Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon.
The “Legally Blonde” actor is one of many in Hollywood who go by their middle name, or a different name entirely. Meghan Markle’s full name is Rachel Meghan Markle, Charlie Sheen was born Carlos Irwin Estevez and Emma Stone is actually Emily Jean Stone.
Stone has spoken out about tweaking her name and said she had to change it when getting her Screen Actors Guild card because there was already an Emily Stone in the guild.
But she also told Jimmy Fallon about another influence when it came to changing her name to Emma.
“Growing up … I was super blonde — and my real name is Emily — but I wanted to be called ‘Emma’ because of Baby Spice,” she told the late night host during an appearance in 2018. “And guess what? Now I am.”