Cast in STONE

From her breakthrough in the teen rom-com Easy A to her award-winning turns in La La Land and Poor Things, Emma Stone has proven that she's a force to be reckoned with.

- Eleanor le Riche

When a young journalist from Kazakhstan nervously addressed Emma Stone by her birth name, Emily, at a press conference during the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, he probably didn't expect to go viral. But the actress's warm response ('That's my name!' she beamed) sparked an international moment of charm and serendipity. In May 2025, the two were reunited at a press event for Eddington, the new Ari Aster thriller. 'Very good to see you,' she told him sincerely, as he credited the exchange with changing the course of his career. 'I'm so happy that a name could do that,' she replied.

FROM EMILY TO EMMA By the time Emily turned 15, she had set her sights on Hollywood and employed a rather unconventional method to persuade her parents, Krista and Jeff Stone, to make a life-changing move. Using a PowerPoint presentation set to the soundtrack of Madonna's song 'Hollywood', Emma presented 'Project Hollywood'. Her plan was simple: to move from Scottsdale, Arizona, to Los Angeles, California, accompanied by her mom, and pursue her dream of acting. The pitch included being homeschooled while actively auditioning for TV and movie roles. 'It's nuts that they agreed to it,' she says. 'I don't condone it. Everybody should go through high school and graduate.'

No, the last slide didn't feature an Oscar statuette, but considering her subsequent Oscar wins and multiple nominations, it turned out to be a good decision.

The young actress's charm and undeniable talent quickly captured the industry's attention. At 16, she changed her name from Emily Jean Stone to Emma Stone (the name Emily Stone was already taken in Hollywood) and made her film debut in the role of Jules in