There are a lot of iconic stage names in showbiz, especially in the music industry. Names like Bono, Sting, Elton John, Slash, Flea...and Prince come to mind immediately.
There's always a fascinating back story of how celebrities chose their stage names too. Usually, artists take names from people or things they like. Lana Del Rey took her name from the actress Lana Turner and the Ford Del Rey sedan. Elton John put his name together by combining the names of saxophonist Elton Dean and vocalist Long John Baldry.
Carmen Electra is another great stage name with a great backstory, one that Electra will never forget. No one is born with a name as cool as that, and in fact, her birth name was not as electrifying. But she didn't choose to change it; actually, someone else changed it for her, and she didn't really have a choice in the matter.
Here's how the name Carmen Electra was bestowed upon the Baywatch actress.
She Wanted To Be A Dancer And A Singer First
While we know Electra from her acting career, her relationship with Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro and her 6-day marriage to Dennis Rodman, there was once a day in her early career where she wanted to become a dancer.
Both her parents were entertainers, so it was in her blood. She studied dance in her early school days and later enrolled at the School for Creative and Performing Arts and the Barbizon Modeling and Acting School.
In 1990, she began her professional dancing career under her real name, Tara Patrick.
A year later, she moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and being in that city changed her life forever. Minneapolis was, of course, the music legend Prince's stomping ground. Pretty much any music that came out of it was either made by him or produced in some way by him. He was the creator of the Minneapolis Sound.
So it didn't take long for Electra and the Purple One to cross paths, especially since they were in the same business, and once they did, Tara Patrick went out the window.
"I auditioned for an all-girl group that he was putting together, and he ended up signing me to his label Paisley Park," Carmen told The Yo Show. "After I danced for him, he said, 'You look like Electra. That should be your name.'"
It's not surprising, one, that Prince was putting together an all-girl group, he lived for making new proteges, and two, that he wanted to change her name. Prince would later change his own name to an unpronounceable symbol, the love symbol as it became known as.
"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 just sorta grew on me, and that's it. I'm Electra now."
Talking to OWN, she told the story a little differently. She said, "I received a call from Prince saying 'I think you should be your own artist and not backup anyone else, I'm going to write you a song, and if you like it, you can record it.' So the next day, I hear the song that-the name of the song was called "Carmen on Top." My name's Tara, so I was confused. I loved the song, I loved it, but he said, "Mmm-mmm. You're not a Tara. You're not a Tara. You're Carmen.' And I went, 'Okay, I can get into this.'"
Either way, Prince changed her name whether she liked it or not. But that's how he rolled. Shortly after, he helped her release her self-titled debut studio album. It was her only album, but working with Prince made it special.
Later on, she was also romantically involved with the legend.
Electra Paid Tribute To Prince After He Died
After Prince died in 2016, Electra released a statement via her rep saying she was "shocked and heartbroken" by her mentor's death.
"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," said Electra. "He gave me my name, he believed in me, and he has inspired an entire generation. I will always love him."
Electra wasn't Prince's only protege, but she was the only one that he renamed. If Prince never believed in her, we would have never seen all the great things Electra eventually did. Leave it up to Prince to be able to find the future stars, though.