Joan Rivers' daughter finally reveals the reason behind THAT name change
The comedienne and presenter, who died in 2014 aged 81, was born Joan Alexandra Molinsky, but became famous as Joan Rivers.
Joan Rivers’ daughter Melissa has revealed the “true and official story” about why her mum changed her name.
The comedienne and presenter, who died in 2014 aged 81, was born Joan Alexandra Molinsky, but became famous as Joan Rivers.
Melissa told her followers she’s questioned regularly about the reasons behind Joan’s moniker choice, so decided to take to her Instagram page to set the record straight.
“A lot of people ask me where the name Rivers comes from. And I'm going to tell you the true and official story,” she began.
Despite Melissa’s confident start to the video, she went on to admit she’s “not really sure”.
She said that Joan told her “it was the last name of one of her managers, or that one of her managers suggested it”.
She added: “And it just sounded good and stuck. So there's the big story!”
Joan expanded further in a 2007 interview, as she told the Television Academy: “I changed it to Joan Rivers because I wanted to be an actress.”
The Fashion Police star, who said she and her friends would spend “hours” thinking about changing their own names, added: “I thought, ‘Just get me some work, I'll change my name’. The first agent that sent me out was a man named Larry Rivers and I said, ‘Okay I'm Joan Rivers.' ”
Joan joked that her name choice “got him so scared he never sent me out again”.
She didn’t need Larry Rivers’ help though - she began to make a name for herself performing at comedy clubs in New York, and went on to earn both Emmy and Grammy Awards later in her career.
Joan was also nominated for a Tony Award for her performance in the 1994 production of Sally Marr… and Her Escorts.
When it came to Melissa, her legal name is Melissa Rosenberg - her dad is producer Edgar Rosenberg.
However, she made the decision in 1990 to change her surname to Rivers.
She explained at the time: “Everyone knows my last name is Rosenberg and I think that it's time my mom has gotten a lot of credit for what she has done.”
