DAILY DIRT: What? She wasn’t born Lady Gaga?

For the record, Steve Eighinger is my real name, although I was once rumored to be a distant relative of J. Robert Gough  … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 991 of The Daily Dirt.

1. Have you been surprised — or even disappointed — when you found out a celebrity’s real name is quite different than the one you are accustomed to hearing?

For instance, were you aware that:

• Lady Gaga was born Stephanie Germanotta. (Well, duh. I kind of guessed her parents didn’t name her Lady Gaga.)
• Miley Cyrus’s name at birth was Destiny Hope Cyrus. (If you didn’t know, Billy Ray Cyrus is her dad. Yes, the same Achy-Breaky Billy Ray Cyrus.)
• Rihanna was born Robyn Fenty? (To her credit, Rihanna is her middle name.)
• Jamie Foxx was born Eric Marlon Bishop.
• Drake, the famous (and very rich) rapper, came into this world as Aubrey Graham. 
• Reese Witherspoon’s real name is Laura? (For the record, Reese is one of her two middle names.)
• Lana Del Rey was born Elizabeth Grant. (For her first album, she actually went by Lizzy Grant.)
• Award-winning actress Natalie Portman was known as Neta-Lee Hershlag in her early years.
• Joaquin Phoenix was born Joaquin Bottom, then went by Leaf Phoenix before eventually settling on his current name tag.
• Bruno Mars was born Peter Gene Hernandez.

2. Did you know (Part 52):

• That Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz, Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine COMBINED to strike out Tony Gwynn THREE times in their careers. Those four pitchers combined to strike out more than 12,000 other batters, but here’s how they did against Gwynn: Maddux and Martinez never struck out Gwynn, Smoltz fanned him once and Glavine did it twice.
• That Jamie Lee Curtis is Jake Gyllenhaal’s godmother.
• That Mariska Hargitay (“Law and Order: SVU”) is the daughter of the legendary Jayne Mansfield.
• That Dionne Warwick is the late Whitney Houston’s cousin.
• That Manny Ramirez once played for the Rays, Ken Griffey Jr. for the White Sox,  Anthony Rizzo for the Padres and Mike Piazza for the Marlins.

3. One national publication has listed the following sites as the 10 toughest places for a visiting college football team to play:

• 1. Kyle Field, Texas A&M.
• 2. Bryant-Denny Stadium, Alabama.
• 3. Tiger Stadium, LSU.
• 4. Ohio Stadium, Ohio State.
• 5. Sanford Stadium, Georgia.
• 6. Beaver Stadium, Penn State.
• 7. Camp Randall Stadium, Wisconsin.
• 8. Gaylord Family Memorial Stadium, Oklahoma.
• 9. Doak Campbell Stadium, Florida State.
• 10.Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Florida.

Steve Thought O’ The Day — Speaking of family relationships, did you realize Snoop Dogg and Brandy are cousins?

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. For the record, he and Mr. Gough are NOT related.