5 Things You Didn’t Know About Emma Stone

Now, she’s taking what is perhaps the biggest leap of her career with La La Land. Singing and dancing her way through the movie musical, Hollywood’s favorite girl next door is a natural fit for the part. “It’s such a fun job, and it can be silly and light and about making people laugh,” Stone once told Vogue. “I’m not saving anyone from any life-threatening illnesses. But I get to tell stories, and that’s a pretty important task.” In celebration of her latest foray into film, here are five things you may not have known about Emma Stone.

1. Before Emma Stone was, well, Emma Stone, she was Emily Jean Stone. Growing up in Arizona, Stone was a huge fan of the Spice Girls, Emma Bunton being her favorite. So she started going by “Emma” in elementary school, and later registered with the Screen Actors Guild under the same name. “I wanted to dress like the Spice Girls,” Stone has said. “I got platform Skechers. I had bell-bottoms. A lot of peace signs. I cut bangs like Baby Spice because I had blond hair.” (More on that later.) Offering further proof of her fandom, Stone was driven to tears during a 2014 interview after she was shown a video message from Mel B (Scary Spice), who admitted she is a fan of Stone’s.