Katy Perry admitted she was 'scared' of how fans would react to her real name
Topics: Katy Perry, Celebrity
Callum Jones
Featured Image Credit: Monica Schipper/Getty Images
Topics: Katy Perry, Celebrity
Katy Perry has previously admitted she was 'scared' of how her fans would react to her real name.
Yep, the 'Roar's singer's actual birth name is actually not in fact 'Katy Perry', with that instead being a stage name the 41-year-old has adopted for some time now.
The singer's real name is in fact Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson, and in 2017, Perry sat down with the Guardian to discuss her birth name and how she ended up being known as 'Katy Perry'.
Raised by devouted Christian and fundamentalist parents, both of whom were pentecostal pastors, Perry opened up on a difficult childhood and the feeling she wanted to 'liberate' herself.
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Ultimately, it was her upbringing that made her change her name entirely.
"A lot of people are living in fear from something that happened in their childhood, or some form of PTSD they picked up along the way," she explained.
"And I created this wonderful character called Katy Perry that I very much am, and can step into all the time, but I created that character out of protection."
The singer then touched on fears of how her fans would react to her actual birth name.
Perry continued: "I was scared that if you saw me, Katheryn Hudson, the girl wearing the Bioré strip on my nose, you’d be like, ‘That’s not glamorous’.
"It was me going, ‘OK, I’ve been upset my whole childhood so I’m going to show the world I am something, that I am going to do something and that I am enough’.
"I didn’t want to be Katheryn Hudson. I hated that, it was too scary for me, so I decided to be someone else."
While the 'I Kissed A Girl' singer may have spoke about her birth name on numerous occasions, fans were left stunned at the 2024 VMAs after her then partner, Orlando Bloom, introduced the singer by her real name.
"You fell in love with her as Katy Perry," Bloom said as he awarded Perry with the MTV Video Vanguard Award.
He then revealed her real name, saying: "I fell in love with her as Katheryn Hudson.
"You know her as a global superstar who brings love, light, and her unique sense of humor to every song she writes and music video she creates. I know her as a mother, as a partner who brings that same love and joy to our family."
It was confirmed in June 2025 that the couple had decided to go their separate ways, with a source telling People at the time: "Katy has every intention of maintaining a positive and respectful relationship with Orlando. He's the father of their daughter and that will always come first for her.
"They've been through a lot together and while they've decided to go their separate ways, there's still a mutual respect between them. They're still very much in touch and co-parenting Daisy together. For the sake of their daughter, they're committed to keeping things amicable."