I wonder if anyone here could help me determine which actors and actresses were named after other famous figures?

Here are a few examples:

Lana Clarkson (1962-2003) = named after Lana Turner (1921-95); both were blondes.

Linda Cardellini = named after Linda Ronstadt? Question may seem plausible enough since Cardellini was born in 1975, and 1975 was the year Linda Ronstadt had a Billboard Hot 100 #1 hit with her cover of Betty Everett's "You're No Good."

Freddie Prinze, Jr. = aptly named after his own comedian-actor father, Freddie Prinze, who committed suicide when Jr. was 10 months old.

Natasha Gregson Wagner = first daughter of Natalie Wood (1938-81), whom she gave birth to during her short marriage to English talent scout Richard Gregson. "Natasha" was the name chosen for the occasion for it served a double purpose: besides being a kid form of "Natalia" (Wood's given name at birth), Wood herself was also called "Natasha" after her Russian immigrant parents changed their family name from Zakharenko to Gurdin shortly after moving from San Francisco to Santa Monica (where Wood's sister, Lana Wood, was born).

Maureen McCormick = named after Maureen Stapleton? Or Maureen O'Sullivan?

~Ben

I wonder if anyone here could help me determine which actors and actresses were named after other famous figures?

Here are a few examples:

Lana Clarkson (1962-2003) = named after Lana Turner (1921-95); both were blondes.

Linda Cardellini = named after Linda Ronstadt? Question may seem plausible enough since Cardellini was born in 1975, and 1975 was the year Linda Ronstadt had a Billboard Hot 100 #1 hit with her cover of Betty Everett's "You're No Good."

Freddie Prinze, Jr. = aptly named after his own comedian-actor father, Freddie Prinze, who committed suicide when Jr. was 10 months old.

Natasha Gregson Wagner = first daughter of Natalie Wood (1938-81), whom she gave birth to during her short marriage to English talent scout Richard Gregson. "Natasha" was the name chosen for the occasion for it served a double purpose: besides being a kid form of "Natalia" (Wood's given name at birth), Wood herself was also called "Natasha" after her Russian immigrant parents changed their family name from Zakharenko to Gurdin shortly after moving from San Francisco to Santa Monica (where Wood's sister, Lana Wood, was born).

Maureen McCormick = named after Maureen Stapleton? Or Maureen O'Sullivan?

~Ben

The names Lana, Linda and Maureen are quite common, just because they happen to share the same name of a well known celebrity is no indication they were named after them.

Selena Gomez, who was born in 1992, has mentioned several times that she was named after the late Tex-Mex singer, Selena (Quintanilla-Perez, 1971-1995). Both also hailed from Texas.

I am going to add another two cents and say that Michelle Williams (the actress, who just recently had been portraying Marilyn Monroe) was named after Michelle Phillips of the '60s pop band The Mamas & the Papas (she is the only member of the group still alive as of 2007, when the last original Papa, Denny Doherty (who was also the only Canadian-born member of the group), died at age 66).

EDIT 1-22-2013: I further this statement by the fact the two Michelles both have blonde hair... and green eyes.

~Ben

I read someplace that Whitney Houston was named for TV star Whitney Blake (real-life mother of Meredith Baxter), but I'm not sure if that's true or if it's just urban legend.

Joan Van Ark was named after Joan of Arc.

I can see a bit of thought to Joan Van Ark to Joan of Arc but the first name could be anyone. Many people name their children after family members.

Christopher Walken actual name is Ronald Walken, he was named after english actor Ronald Colman

I'm wondering if Lana Parrilla (Once Upon a Time), because she was born on July 15, 1977... that her parents originally considered naming her Linda, after Linda Ronstadt (as the two share the same July 15 birthday, and some ethnicities)?

Both have dark brown hair and brown eyes.

~Ben

Summer Altice, a Maxim Hot 100 cover model, actress and DJ, was named after Miss USA 1975 (also the third $ale of the Century hostess) Summer Bartholomew. They even share the same Hispanic ethnicity.

~Ben

I am beginning to think Catherine Reitman, the daughter of Ghostbusters director Ivan Reitman, was named after Catherine Bach (Daisy on The Dukes of Hazzard).

Her 1981 year of birth might seem to suggest why... the Dukes was enjoying solid ratings back then.

~Ben

I might be able to say that Jodie Sweetin was named after Jodie Foster.

But here's another tough one: wasn't Sally Pressman (nee Bernstein), of Army Wives, named after Sally Struthers? The blonde hair seems to be a clue.

~Ben

Matt Dillon the actor might have been named after Marshall Matt Dillon from Gunsmoke !

Shirley MacLaine was named after Shirley Temple. She's mentioned it in interviews. I've read that Shirley Jones was also named after Shirley Temple. Lucie and Desi Arnaz, Jr. were named after their famous folks.

Shirley MacLaine was named after Shirley Temple. She's mentioned it in interviews. I've read that Shirley Jones was also named after Shirley Temple. Lucie and Desi Arnaz, Jr. were named after their famous folks.

At least you can provide some evidence while the OP has only speculation to back him up. Just because two well-known people happen to share the same first name is no indication that one was named after the other. Although my birth name is Charles, I was called Chuck while in school and someone got the idiotic notion that I was named after actor Chuck Connors and I would've been very proud if that were true but I had to explain that Chuck was only a nickname and that I was named Charles after both of my grandfathers.

I know Robert Wagner's first daughter (with Marion Marshall-Donen), Katie, was named after the legendary actress Katharine Hepburn.

I want to know if Michelle Williams (the actress) was in fact named after Michelle Pfeiffer?

~Ben

BUMP 12/5/2014

Does anyone familiar with the 1986-91 TV series Head of the Class know whether or not one of its leads, Tannis Kathleen Vallely, was named after Tannis G. Montgomery (the younger sister of actress Belinda Montgomery)? I want to think she was given the 20-plus-year age gap between the two.

~Ben

I want to know if Michelle Williams (the actress) was in fact named after Michelle Pfeiffer?~Ben

Michelle Pfeiffer's acting career began in 1979, Michelle Williams was born in 1980. Michelle is also a very common name so it's highly unlikely that she was named after her.

Is it true that Maureen McCormick named her daughter Natalie after that of Natalie Schafer (who was not only famous as Mrs. "Lovey" Howell on Gilligan's Island, but also appeared on a final-season Brady Bunch episode "The Snooperstar," the one where Cindy pretended to be Shirley Temple)?

~Ben

Leonardo DiCaprio was named after the artist Leonardo da Vinci. The story goes that his pregnant mother was looking at a da Vinci painting in a museum in Italy when DiCaprio first kicked!