She has always been an actor, but she hasn’t always been Emma Stone.
Although the Bugonia star—who is nominated at the Actor Awards presented by SAG-AFTRA March 1 for her role in the Yorgos Lanthimos film—has been part of Hollywood for over 20 years, she recently revealed she’s not entirely known in the city of Stars.
Indeed, Emma’s real name is Emily Stone, but she had to change it when she registered for her SAG card at age 16.
“I actually adopted a stage name for six months,” Emma recalled on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in October 2025. “I was 16, and I decided I wanted to be Riley. For like, six months I was Riley Stone.”
And so, Emma, who is Emily, became Riley—but she quickly realized that was a bit confusing.
“I did a guest part on Malcolm in the Middle,” she recalled, nodding to her 2006 appearance on the Frankie Muniz sitcom. “And they kept going, ‘Riley, Riley!’ and I had no idea who they were talking to. Truly.”
