ICONIC
What is Carmen Electra’s real name? Actress legally changes her name
Prince gave her the name in the 90s
Carmen Electra has made her name official. After more than 30 years, the actress and singer legally changed her birth name, Tara Leigh Patrick, to her stage name. Decades ago in the 90’s, the famous singer Prince, gave her the famous name, Carmen Electra.
Electra, who joined OnlyFans in 2022, made the filing two months ago, on Dec. 29, 2023. At the time, a source told TMZ she wanted a fresh start for the New Year. The outlet confirmed the request was granted after obtaining legal documents.
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The story behind her famous name
The Baywatch actress met Prince in 1991 and was the singer’s muse. Prince gave her the stage name from a 1954 film, “Carmen Jones.” “Electra,” is said to have been added after the Greek goddess.
Talking to Vanity Fair, she said she met him at his home when she was a teenager after Robin Power spotted her in a nightclub in LA. She described Prince as “mysterious” when he first saw him standing in a doorway.
Power was casting a Prince-produced all-girl band, and he invited her to perform vocal exercises. But then he left a note asking her to watch movies. “I wanted to be in this band, but I didn’t want to have an intimate relationship,” she told the outlet. “I didn’t feel that for him.”
Electra didn’t make the band, but Prince influenced her career in other ways. The “When Doves Cry” singer negotiated her out of a Capitol demo deal in 1991 so she could live with him in Minneapolis and record music as a solo artist.
It was during this time that Electra said she “fell in love with him,” but she wasn’t the only woman staying there. After her failed musical debut, she decided to leave. The singer offered her a condo in LA with security, but Electra decided to tackle the big city alone.
The Playboy model said she became “pretty much homeless” overnight. She was in an abusive relationship, and after she was held at gunpoint, she decided to call Prince.
The trailblazer offered her a spot at Erotic City, a weekly dance show at his Hollywood nightclub Glam Slam. She made around $100 a week, and it led to her first collaboration with Playboy in 1996 as a celebrity pictorial model.
She went on to star in independent movies, became the host of Singled Out, and got the call from Baywatch in 1996, and the rest is history.
Although they never got the chance, before Prince died on April 21, 2016, she said they had plans to reunite in the studio.
