We’ve Been Mispronouncing Chrissy Teigen’s Last Name
As Destiny’s Child once sang, you better “say my name.”
For a handful of celebrities, the chart-topping song couldn’t be more true. A-listers like Chrissy Teigen, Gal Gadot, Ralph Fiennes, Ariana Grande (yes, really!) and many others have dealt with people mispronouncing their names.
In 2018, the Cravings cookbook author dropped jaws when she revealed the correct way to say, Teigen—which is supposed to be pronounced like Tie-Ghen, and not Tee-Ghen.
“It’s been 25 years. I’m tired of correcting people and I never correct people,” she said during an appearance on Live With Kelly and Ryan. “You know, on Twitter, I’m very outspoken and I love to correct people on there but as far as like… if someone does something wrong or calls me the wrong name, you can call me anything. I’ll respond to it.”
Another star whose name people get wrong? Charlize Theron. Despite being a household name, the Hollywood star admitted that her last name is almost always said incorrectly.
“They screw it up,” the Bombshell actress told Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show in 2014. “I almost want to make an audiotape on how to pronounce my name.”
Of course, we’re only scratching the surface here. Find out the proper way to pronounce your favorite stars’ names in our gallery below.
Dave Meyers
Ariana Grande (Pronounced: Gran-Dee)
The pop star dropped jaws in 2018 after she explained the correct way to say her last name. When speaking about her engagement to Pete Davidson at the time, Ariana discussed whether or not she’d take his last name in an interview with Beats 1’s Ebro Darden. That’s when she blurted out the “gran-dee” pronunciation when describing her own last name.
MediaPunch/Shutterstock
Chrissy Teigen (Pronounced: Tie-Ghen)
The Cravings cookbook author blew everyone’s mind when she shared the real way to say her last name. During an appearance on Live With Kelly and Ryan in 2018, the model admitted it was her “fault” for the mispronunciation. “It’s been 25 years, I’m tired of correcting people,” she expressed.
Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images for Gucci Fragrance
Gal Gadot (Pronounced: Guh-Dote)
The lasso of truth! The Wonder Woman actress chatted with Jimmy Kimmel about the pronunciation (guh-dote) and the meaning of her last name, which is “Riverbank” in Hebrew. “The Gadot used to be Greenstein,” she confessed of her original last name, but her parents “felt” it had more oomph.
Andrew Lipovsky/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank
Jake Gyllenhaal (Pronounced: Yee-Len-Hey-Lo)
Prepare to be mind blown. During an appearance on Conan in 2012, the actor shared the “only two places that that is pronounced correctly, my last name, is in Sweden and in Ikea.”
Kurt Krieger/Corbis via Getty Images
Ralph Fiennes (Pronounced: Ray-F Fines)
The star has openly discussed just how frequently people screw up his name. However, in 2011, he told The Hollywood Reporter he’d never change it because he was named after his step-grandfather, who pronounced it in the same way.
Brill/ullstein bild via Getty Images
Sade Adu (Pronounced Shar-Day)
According to the legendary singer’s IMDb page, her stage name is pronounced shar-day.
Andrew Lipovsky/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
Steve Buscemi (Pronounced: Boo-Sem-Ee)
In 2014, the Fargo alum confirmed his last name is pronounced boo-sem-ee during a panel for Running Late with Scott Rogowsky. However, he said he doesn’t “correct people” if they say boo-shh-em-me because “it’s not wrong.”
Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
Charlize Theron (Pronounced: There-In)
The Bombshell actress has become a household name but it appears we’ve been all saying it wrong. In 2014, Charlize told Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show that her last name is always botched. “They screw it up,” she quipped. “I almost want to make an audiotape on how to pronounce my name.”
Michael Tran/FilmMagic
Amanda Seyfried (Pronounced: Sigh-Frid)
The Mean Girls alum has us all feeling like Karen because she revealed in 2012 during an interview with Hollywood Streams that the correct pronunciation of her last name is sigh-frid. Although, she admitted that her “sister says it differently” than she does.
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