People are only just realising they’ve been saying these celebrity names all wrong – after Barbra Streisand revealed she phoned Apple boss about Siri mispronouncing her surname
- It turns out that the public have been mispronouncing many household names
- READ MORE: Barbra Streisand opens up about her ‘unexpected and extraordinary friendship’ with King Charles in her new memoir
She’s a Hollywood superstar with two Oscars, five Emmys, ten Grammys, and King Charles III as fan.
But despite her glittering 60-year career, Barbra Streisand revealed that fans have consistently mispronounced her name, and she even had to call the chief executive of Apple to complain that Siri was getting it wrong.
The actress and singer contacted CEO Tim Cook over Apple’s AI assistant, which called her ‘Strei-zand’, instead of the correct ‘Strei-sand’, with a softly pronounced ‘s’.
Speaking to the BBC in what she said was her final ever interview, Ms Streisand said: ‘My name isn’t spelt with a Z. It’s Strei-sand, like sand on the beach. How simple can you get?’
But it turns out that Barbra is not alone in her problem, and stars with stellar careers across film, television, and music, face the same predicament.
In what she said was her final interview ever, Barbra Streisand told the BBC she contacted Apple’s CEO to complain that Siri had mispronounced her name
While Barbra Streisand is the latest star to reveal that her distinctive moniker had been mispronounced, celebrities have long had to clarify the pronunciation of their names.
The likes of Ariana Grande, Martin Scorsese and Jake Gyllenhaal are household names all over the globe, but that doesn’t mean fans are calling them by the correct name.
So much so, that the celebrities themselves have often chosen to move forward with the incorrect pronunciation.
Last year, British singer-songwriter Adele revealed that she prefers people to call her ‘uh-dale’ instead of ‘uh-dell’, staying true to her North London roots and accent.
Elsewhere stars such Lindsay Lohan and Chrissy Teigen have previously made headlines after confirming that they monikers have always been said wrong by the general public.
Here, FEMAIL reveals the other celebrity names you’ve been saying wrong this whole time.
Adele
Adele revealed she prefers people to call her ‘uh-dale’ instead of ‘uh-dell’, staying true to her North London roots
Pronounced: Uh-dale
Adele confessed that most of her fans have been saying her name wrong last year.
Speaking during Happy Hour with Adele with Benito Skinner after her ‘I Drink Wine’ music video was released, one fan asked her about writing 30 and her journey to self-love.
The fan, talking on a video, happened to nail the pronunciation of her name in the process, leaving Adele, 34, impressed.
Referring to an area near where she was born she said: ‘Where’s she from, Enfield? She said my name perfectly!’
The mother-of-one then said that she prefers people to call her ‘uh-dale’ instead of ‘uh-dell’, staying true to her North London roots and accent.
Margot Robbie
During an interview to promote Babylon, Margot Robbie revealed that she prefers the pronunciation in Australia
Margot Robbie revealed that she prefers the pronunciation of her name which is ‘Ma-go’, instead of ‘Marr-go’
Pronounced: Ma-go Robbie
During a recent interview to promote her film, Babylon, Margot Robbie revealed the unknown different in how her name is pronounced in her homeland.
The Queensland-born star said she loves returning to Australia because she feels how ‘proud’ her home country because Aussies correctly pronounce her name, compared to Americans.
She explained: ‘ You know, you have the premiere and people scream out your name.
‘I just love hearing my name with an Aussie accent too because in America everyone hits the R.
‘They go “Marr-go” not “Ma-go”.’
Jake Gyllenhaal
Jake Gyllenhaal has been a star since a young boy having filmed cult-favourite Donnie Darko when he was just 19, but fans across the globe have been saying his name wrong
Contrary to popular belief, the correct way to say Jake and Maggie’s last name is ‘Yen-lee-hey-lo’
Pronounced: Jake Yee-Len-Hey-Lo
Jake Gyllenhaal has been a name on people’s lips since he was a young actor but the universal pronunciation couldn’t be more inaccurate.
Fans of both Jake and his sister Maggie usually say ‘Jill-en-hall’ but the actor opened up about the unexpected why his Swedish last name should be said.
In an TV interview with Conan O’Brien, he joked that ‘only two places that that is pronounced correctly, my last name, is in Sweden and in Ikea.’
The correct way to say his name is ‘Yen-lee-hey-lo’.
Ariana Grande
Ariana Grande has previously revealed that her last name is ‘gran-dee’ as opposed to the commonly said ‘Granday’
Pronounced: Ariana Gran-dee
Pop star Ariana Grande has previously revealed she allowed her last name to be pronounced wrong by the media.
The 30-year-old singer, who has been performing since she was a child, explained her last name is less like the coffee, and actually rhymes with candy.
She told Beats 1’s Ebro Darden that she had pronounced her last name as ‘gran-dee’ when she was growing up.
In fact, the pronunciation has always been ‘gran-dee’ in the Grande family.
A video of the singer pronouncing her name as ‘Grandee’ and not ‘Granday’ left many fans stunned.
However she has continued to go with the popular pronunciation since the reveal.
Martin Scorsese
Legendary director of Killers of the Flower Moon, Martin Scorsese confirmed that it should be ‘Scor-sess-see’
https://youtube.com/watch?v=bbPp13icx1c%3Frel%3D0
Pronounced: Martin Scor-sez-zee
At 80 years old, Martin Scorsese is still very much on the creative scene, with his latest hit Killers of the Flower Moon and Chanel advert with Timothee Chalamet.
However, many fans of legendary director Martin Scorsese have been saying his name wrong for years.
Indeed, the popular way to pronounce the name is ‘Scor-say-zee’.
However, he confirmed that it should be ‘Scor-sess-see’ in the fifth series of Entourage.
Chrissy Teigen
Chrissy Teigen might be a household name but not many people say her surname ‘tie-ghen’ like they should
Pronounced: Chrissy Tie-ghen
Chrissy Teigen has become a household name — but as it turns out, the name everyone is saying is wrong.
The 32-year-old star shocked her Twitter followers when she tweeted that nearly everyone mispronounces the name – which is Norwegian.
Though most people say it as ‘tee-ghan,’ the correct way to say her last name is actually ‘tie-ghen’.
The star has confirmed several times that this is how she was taught how to pronounce her name when she was growing up.
Timothée Chalamet
Timothée Chalamet’s name is meant to be said with French pronunciation, meaning it is ‘Timo-tay’
https://youtube.com/watch?v=Py1kqrCug4A%3Frel%3D0
Pronounced: Timo-tay Shala-may
As one might expect, Timothée Chalamet’s name is meant to be said with French pronunciation.
Though most fans say his name like ‘Timothy’, the star has confirmed many times that it should be ‘Timo-tay’.
Speaking in an interview with Frank Ocean, the Call Me By Your Name star revealed that the actual pronunciation of his full name is ‘Timo-tay Shala-may.’
‘My dad is from France, so it’s a French spelling, but it seems like too much of an obligation to ask people to call me that,’ he explained.
In another chat, he stated: ‘I can’t ask people to call me that; it just seems really pretentious’.
Amanda Seyfried
Amanda Seyfried’s name has been pronounced in a variety of ways but it is actually meant to be ‘Sigh-fred’.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=FGIUaI1jkMo%3Frel%3D0
Pronounced: Amanda Sigh frid
Ever since finding fame in Mean Girls, Amanda Seyfried’s name has been pronounced in a variety of ways.
While ‘Say-freed’ and ‘Sea-fred’ are two of the more common options, the star confirmed it is actually meant to be ‘Sigh-fred’.
Amanda confirmed as much during the announcement of Oscar nominations by Brad Pitt as she tweeted: ‘Correct pronunciation of “Seyfried” by Brad Pitt. Thank you, @theacademy.’
In an interview with Hollywood Streams, the actress said the worst pronunciation of her last name would be ‘Say-fried’ or ‘Sig-freed’.
Lindsay Lohan
Linday Lohan fans were stunned to learn that her last name is ‘Lo-wen’ instead of the commonly said ‘Lo-han’
Pronounced: Lindsay Lo-wen
For her TikTok debut in 2022, Lindsay Lohan left fans stunned when she highlighted the way her last name is said.
‘Hey everyone. It’s Lindsay Lohan, and guess what? Now I’m on TikTok,’ she said in the five-second video.
Lindsay unwittingly corrected fans by saying her last name is pronounced ‘Lo-wen’ instead of ‘Lo-han.’
The brief video showcased the Mean Girls star outside, wearing a white sweater and diamond earrings, making a smiling proclamation.
The Parent Trap star’s simple video caused a flurry of comments as one fan wrote: ‘Wait. Lindsay, “LOWEN”?!?! I’ve been saying it wrong my whole life?!?”’
Justin Theroux
Justin Theroux (left) clashed with his cousin Louis Theroux (right) over how to pronounce their surname
Pronounced: Justin The-roh
Hollywood actor Justin Theroux and his British cousin Louis Theroux clashed over how to pronounce their surname during a light-hearted interview in 2021.
During the conversation, the pair admitted they disagree over the pronunciation of their surname.
Introducing his cousin with his full name, Louis said: ‘I hesitate to give our common name the mispronunciation you insist on.’
‘You go by “ther-oo” and I go by “ther-oh”,’ Justin explained,’ prompting Louis, 52, to respond: ‘Or to put it another way, I use the correct pronunciation, and you use some weird, incorrect one.’
Backing up his argument, Louis pointed to the French origin of the surname.
‘Theroux, it’s a word of French origin,’ he pointed out. I guess the related words would be ones like “roux” (pronounced “roo”), as in roux sauce…’
Not to be outdone, Justin retorted: ‘If you wanted to get technical, when you go to France they say “Bonjour, Mr Terr-oo”, they put the “T” on it, so maybe you’re wrong, maybe we’re both wrong.’
Prior to the pair’s chat, Justin’s uncle also commented on how the actor preferred to say his name during an interview with Apple TV+.
Paul Theroux stated: ‘The main character is played by Justin Theroux, my nephew… Sometimes he calls himself Justin Tha-row [laughs]. It’s a French name, it’s Tha-roo.’
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