Celebrities Birth Names – How many do you know?

Better known as Michael Caine. And not many people know that. 

Before he was Sir Michael Caine, the English actor and British film icon, he was simply Maurice Joseph Micklewhite Jr. The son of a fish market porter father, and of a mother who was a charwoman and cook. He went on to appear in over 130 films which as of February 2007 have grossed over $7.8 billion worldwide. He is ranked no 20 on the list of highest-grossing box office stars.

Better known as David Bowie. 

Named as the "Greatest Rock Star Ever" by Rolling Stone, Bowie was a cultural icon and one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, selling over 100 million records during his lifetime which made him one of the best-selling artists of all time. No stranger to re-inventing himself, Bowie was born David Robert Jones on 8 January 1947, in Brixton, London, but changed his name during the mid-sixties as he was unhappy with it and also there was already a Davey Jones of the Monkees. He therefore named himself after 19th-century American pioneer James Bowie.

Better known as John le Carré the famous spy novelist, whos most famous work is the novel Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1974).

Born David John Moore Cornwell on 19 October 1931 in Poole, Dorset, Le Carré was a real life MI5 officer and also worked for MI6. It was during his time at MI5 that he began writing, and left the service to write full-time after the betrayal of British agents covers to the KGB by Kim Philby, the infamous British double agent who was part of the Cambridge Five, a spy ring in the UK that passed information on to the Soviet Union.

Better known as the flamboyant and extremely talented singer/songwriter Freddie Mercury. 

Born as Farrokh Bulsara on the 5 September 1946, in Zanzibar, Freddie's parents were from western India and in 1964 moved him to Middlesex, England, to escape the violent revolution in Zanzibar. He had gone by the name Freddie even at school but in around 1970 when Queen was formed, he changed it legally to Freddie Mercury and the rest is history as they say. He is now regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of rock, writing many of their most famous songs such as Bohemian Rhapsody, We Are The Champions, Killer Queen, and Somebody to Love. In 1990 Freddie and the other members of Queen were awarded  the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music. Mercury died in 1991 due to complications from AIDS. He was ranked number 58 in the BBC's 2002 poll of the 100 Greatest Britons.

William Michael Albert Broad is known professionally as Billy Idol, the famous singer who gave us some great hits in the 1980's such as White Wedding (1982), Rebel Yell (1983), and Eyes Without A Face (1984).

Priscilla Maria Veronica White OBE is better known to us all as the wonderful Cilla Black, singer, actress, TV presenter and author. 

Born Priscilla Maria Veronica White in Liverpool in 1943, Cilla went on to have 11 top 10 hits, including Anyone Who Had A Heart, which reached number 1 and was the UK's biggest selling single by a female artist during the 1960s. Her other number 1 was "You're My World". From the late 60's onwards Cilla became a regular face on British television with her long-running shows such as Cilla (1968 - 1976), Blind Date (1985 - 2003), and Surprise Surprise (1984 - 2001), and in 2013 she celebrated 50 years in show business, which ITV honoured with a special show in October of that year called The One and Only Cilla Black, which featured Cilla herself and was hosted by Paul O'Grady.

Cilla Black died in 2015 after a fall in her Spanish villa, she was aged 72.

Better known as Jimmy Nail, and as "Oz" in the TV show "Auf Wiedersehen, Pet", and as Spender in the TV show of the same name. 

James Michael Aloysius Bradford was born in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1954, and describes himself as an angry kid, expelled from school for setting fire to curtains. He later went to prison for fighting after a football game. It was his partner Miriam who encouraged him to audition for a television show, and although having no previous acting experience he won the role as Oz, in the ITV comedy "Auf Wiedersehen, Pet" which made him a household name during the 80's. He is also a successful singer-songwriter having several hits in the UK including the 1992 number 1 hit single "Ain't No Doubt" which he sang, co-wrote, and co-produced.

Graham McPherson is better known to us all as Suggs from the British ska band Madness, one of the most successful bands in Britain during the late 70's and early/mid 1980's, with their songs spending 214 weeks on the UK Singles Chart from 1980 to 1986, their most successful period. Hits by Madness include One Step Beyond, Baggy Trousers, House of Fun, It Must Be Love, Wings of a Dove, and Our House. In 2000 Madness received the Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Song Collection.

Madness continue to perform to this day with 6 of the 7 original members, as Chas Smash embarks on a solo career.

Michael Ebenezer Kwadjo Omari Owuo Jr. or simply Michael Omari Jr, is better known as British multi-award-winning rapper Stormzy. 

Stormzy was born in Croydon, London, in 1993. His mother is Ghaniaian and raised him herself, along with his three siblings. Although he confesses to being a naughty child, Stormzy finished school with six A*s in his GCSEs and before he left, his teachers were backing him to get into Oxford University. However that is not the path he followed, and after a brief stint on an Oil Rig job where he would write lyrics on post-it notes whilst at work,  Stormzy started grabbing attention in the UK underground music scene with his Wicked Skengman series of freestyles over classic grimes beats,  and in just a few years went on to become one of Britain's most successful musicians, winning multiple MOBO Awards, Brit Awards, an Ivor Novello Award, and many others.

Ilyena Lydia Vasilievna Mironov is better known as award-winning actress Helen Mirren.

Her mother was a working class Englishwoman from West Ham, London, her father was the son of a Russian aristocrat who had settled down in London after being stranded here by the Russian Revolution in 1917. Helen's father Vasily Petrovich Mironoff changed the family name to Mirren in 1951 when Helen was just 6 years old. She started acting at school, attended the New College of Speech and Drama in London, and was accepted into the National Youth Theatre after auditioning at the age of 18, which led her to being invited to join the Royal Shakespeare Company and she went on to become a star of the West End stage, and success on Broadway and film would follow. Helen Mirren has won many awards for her performances, including a Laurence Olivier Award, and is one of the few actors to achieve the "Triple Crown of Acting" in the US.

Better known as Ringo Starr, famous drummer from The Beatles.

Ringo was born in 1940 Liverpool, as Richard Starkey and after a life-threatening illness during childhood, a job at British Rail,  and a job as a machinist, he became a drummer, eventually joining the Beatles in 1962, replacing Pete Best who was fired from the band before they became famous worldwide. After a shakey start, Ringo secured his place in the band that would go on to be what many regard as the most influential band of all time. The Beatles hold the record for the most number-one albums on the UK Albums Chart, the most number-one hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and the most singles sold in the UK. They have recieved 7 Grammy Awards, 4 Brit Awards, an Academy Award, and 14 Ivor Novello Awards plus a special Ivor Novello Award. They have continued to win awards long after their 1970 breakup, with over 50 awards won so far, such is their lasting influence and legacy in the world of popular music.

Reginald Kenneth Dwight is best known to us as Sir Elton John, one of the best-selling music artists ever having sold over 300 million records. 

Elton legally changed his name from Reginald Kenneth Dwight on 7 January 1972, becoming Elton Hercules John. He became a CBE in 1995, and for his charitable work was knighted by the Queen in 1998, becoming Sir Elton John. 

Elton has won many awards throughout his life and career, including 3 Brit Awards, 2 Golden Globes, 2 Academy Awards, 4 Grammy's, and 3 Ivor Novello Awards.

A biopic of his life was recently released in 2019, starring Taron Egerton as Elton, and Jamie Bell as Bernie Taupin, Elton's legendary songwriting partner.

Leigh Francis is the real name of the British comedian who portrays Keith Lemon, which is the name many know him by. His shows include Bo Selecta, Celebrity Juice, Keith Lemon's LemonAid, Through the Keyhole, and The Keith Lemon Sketch Show.

Born in Leeds in 1973,  Leigh was discovered and encouraged by TV presenter Davina McCall, who helped get him his first TV role on Dom and Kirk's Nite O'Plenty. He has since gone on to become a popular face on TV, usually as one of his celebrity guises such as Keith Lemon, which many people know him as.

Keith has recently made his acting debut in the Elton John biopic Rocketman. Though only a short role where he speaks four lines as shop worker Pete, Lemon found the work exciting as he did the scene with Taron Egerton and Jamie Bell, two of the films main stars.