Kristen Bell had a ‘weird’ name change that most people don’t know about

Following the success of Netflix's latest rom-com Nobody Wants This, telly-lovers have been hoping to learn everything there is to know about the show's leading lady Kristen Bell.

Only recently did many discover, however, that the much-loved actress actually has a self-confessed 'weird' alias that she's still known by to her friends and family, despite always having gone by the name 'Kristen' since skyrocketing to fame.

The actress went by a different name until she was 16 (Monica Schipper/Getty Images)

Kristen Bell is known by countless different names, depending on who's asking.

To billions of children around the world, she's known as 'Anna' from Frozen, to comedy fans she's the titular blonde beauty in Noughties hit Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and to horror movie buffs, she's Mattie from the 2006 hit Pulse, which also happened to be her breakthrough role.

As for lovers of romance, they might just recognise her as Joanne from Nobody Wants This, a formidable sex podcaster who falls head over heels for a Jewish rabbi, much to the dismay of their respective communities.

To many of the mother-of-two's friends and family, however, Bell goes by a different name entirely.

The actress claimed she was very demanding as a youngster (Stefanie Keenan/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)

Making the revelation on Jimmy Kimmel some years ago - in a clip which has since reemerged following the success of her latest Netflix project - the now 44-year-old said she hated the name Kristen as a child.

"I hated the name Kristen when I was little," the movie star began. "When I was about three-and-a-half, I said, 'No more, you will call me Smurfette or nothing at all'.

"And my parents were like, 'We'll see'."

She continued: "And then there were a couple of weeks where I didn't answer to anything else, which is dangerous when you have a child on the playground and you say, 'Kristen, come here', and nobody runs to you.

"So, they sat me down and said, 'This isn't gonna fly', and I said, 'Fair enough, my name is now Matthew'."

Having already set the audience off into a fit of laughter, Kristen went on: "They said, 'That's not going to work', and so it was a negotiation.

"Annie had come out - the movie in the early 80s - so we settled on Annie, and I was called Annie by my whole family until I was 16.

"My grandparents still call me Annie, my sisters - I still get phone calls to the house! It's weird, I know!"

Despite the actress' concerns, the news has come somewhat as a source of amusement to fans, fans of whom took to the comments of Jimmy Kimmel's YouTube video to support her.

"Kristen Bell is such a gem. She seems so down to earth and fun," one wrote.

Another went on: "She gives the best interviews."

"Her attraction level just skyrocketed," added a third.

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