Annie Walton Doyle
Carmen Electra, the star of the TV smash hit Baywatch, has legally changed her name this week.
You probably know Electra best for her breakout role as Lani McKenzie in Baywatch.
Since then, she’s starred in a whole host of movies, including Scary Movie (2000), Disaster Movie (2008), Get Over It (2001), Starsky & Hutch (2004), and Cheaper by the Dozen 2 (2005).
On top of this, Electra is a successful model, dancer, and recording artist too.
But it turns out, you never actually knew ‘Carmen Electra’ at all…
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It turns out, Electra’s birth name was Tara Leigh Patrick.
But in 1991, aged just 19, she moved to Minneapolis and met the iconic musician Prince.
She became something of a muse to the ‘Purple Rain’ singer, and he encouraged her to take up the stage moniker that made her famous.
During an appearance on Oprah: Where Are They Now? in 2014, the 51-year-old recalled Prince telling her: “You’re not Tara. You’re Carmen.”
And during an interview with The Yo Show! in 2014, she once again said the name was Prince’s brainchild, confirming that he told her: “You look like Electra. That should be your name.”
“At first I thought it sounded kinda like a superhero type of name, which actually it is,” she said. “So I was hesitant.”
But it’s clear that she warmed to the name over time.
Soon after, Electra signed a recording contract with Prince’s Paisley Park Records and made her singing debut with her self-titled debut studio album in 1993.
It shared its title with her brand new stage name, Carmen Electra.
She confirmed: “It just sorta grew on me and that’s it. I’m Electra now!”
But even though that became the name she was known by all around the world, Electra had never legally moved on from Tara Leigh Patrick.
Until now, that is…
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According to court documents obtained by Today.com, the model is requesting to change her given name to her professional name, Carmen Electra.
While it’s not yet been confirmed if the motion has been granted, it seems unlikely that it’ll be refused, particularly as the world has known Electra as Electra for more than 30 years.
Legal name changes don’t typically take a long time, so we can expect to be calling Ms Electra by her legal name in a matter of days!
Though Electra has been married twice, she has never taken the last name of either of her husbands, making this the first time she has ever legally tried to change her name.
She married NBA star Dennis Rodman in 1998, before their divorce the following year in 1999.
After this, Electra was married to musician Dave Navarro from 2003 until 2007.
Since Prince tragically passed in 2016, it could be that her name change is in homage to her former mentor.
“I was so shocked and heartbroken to hear about the loss of my mentor, Prince,” she said in a statement to US Weekly at the time.
“The world has lost a truly incredible spirit and musical genius. What a blessing it is to be one of the chosen ones who had the chance to work so closely with him. He gave me my name, he believed in me, and he has inspired an entire generation. I will always love him.”
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