News | Entertainment
4 Apr 2025 21:08
NZCity News
NZCity CalculatorReturn to NZCity

  • Start Page
  • Personalise
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • Finance
  • Shopping
  • Jobs
  • Horoscopes
  • Lotto Results
  • Photo Gallery
  • Site Gallery
  • TVNow
  • Dating
  • SearchNZ
  • NZSearch
  • Crime.co.nz
  • RugbyLeague
  • Make Home
  • About NZCity
  • Contact NZCity
  • Your Privacy
  • Advertising
  • Login
  • Join for Free

  •   Home > News > Entertainment

    Joey Lawrence had to choose a "bland" name at the start of his career

    The 48-year-old actor was born Joseph Lawrence Mignogna III, but when he, along with his brothers Matthew and Andrew, began appearing on screen, they decided to drop their surname and simplify everything


    Speaking live on stage as part of a 90s Con panel, he said: "It was my middle name. I was named after our dad and our grandfather on my dad's side. And then, in the early 80s, no one could pronounce Mignogna. That's not a name people will say. Today, things like that are celebrated. But in the 80s, it was like, 'We need to water this down.' The silent Gs. ... They were like, 'We need to go with something a little more bland.' So they're like, 'Let's call him Joey Lawrence,' and then that's just what we did. It just made sense."

    The former 'Melissa and Joey star was joined by his siblings and Matthew - who is known for his roles in 'Boy Meets World' and 'Mrs. Doubtfire' - added that it was easier to "hide behind" their original monikers in the days before information was so accessible online.

    He said: "There was [also] an insulation factor. Before the internet, you could hide a little bit behind that. It would be very, very hard to find us!"

    Matthew added that his stage name was the only way the government would recognise him for a period of time, so there was "no correlation" between his pseudonym and his real name.

    He added: "For a while there, the government only recognised me as Matt Lawrence because I paid taxes from the time I was a toddler to 18 as Matt Lawrence. But really, my name is Matthew William Mignogna. So when I grew up and used my real name on my passport, there was absolutely no correlation. I didn't exist."

    Meanwhile, Andrew explained that it is a "pain in the butt" having to go by two names and admitted that things would have been "easier" had they just become known under what they were called at birth.

    He said: "It's really a pain in the butt, honestly, having two names. You have to prove you're both people."

    © 2025 Bang Showbiz, NZCity

     Other Entertainment News
     04 Apr: Tarek El Moussa thinks Christina Haack will get married for a fourth time
     04 Apr: Richard E. Grant has used "blind faith" to get through difficult times
     04 Apr: Cher will "miss" her "pain in the a**" ex-boyfriend Val Kilmer
     04 Apr: Weston Cage has been granted a two-year mental health diversion programme by a judge
     04 Apr: Kristen Doute struggled to come to terms with her miscarriage because there were "no answers" for her
     04 Apr: Jim Carrey has paid tribute to Val Kilmer's "grace and courage"
     04 Apr: Tristan Thompson still "appreciates" what Khloe Kardashian does for him
     Top Stories

    RUGBY RUGBY
    Wallabies and Brumbies playmaker Noah Lolesio has announced he's leaving Australian rugby to play in Japan More...


    BUSINESS BUSINESS
    Economists are still expecting a drop in interest rates - despite strong headwinds in the global trade environment More...



     Today's News

    Entertainment:
    Tarek El Moussa thinks Christina Haack will get married for a fourth time 20:48

    Entertainment:
    Richard E. Grant has used "blind faith" to get through difficult times 20:18

    Entertainment:
    Cher will "miss" her "pain in the a**" ex-boyfriend Val Kilmer 19:48

    Entertainment:
    Weston Cage has been granted a two-year mental health diversion programme by a judge 19:18

    Politics:
    National wants to get the Treaty Principles Bill over and done with 18:57

    Entertainment:
    Kristen Doute struggled to come to terms with her miscarriage because there were "no answers" for her 18:48

    Politics:
    It's expected the Treaty Principles Bill will soon be dead and buried 18:37

    Entertainment:
    Jim Carrey has paid tribute to Val Kilmer's "grace and courage" 18:18

    Law and Order:
    North Sentinel Island: How have the Sentinelese people stayed isolated for so long? 18:17

    Business:
    Economists are still expecting a drop in interest rates - despite strong headwinds in the global trade environment 18:07


     News Search






    Power Search


    © 2025 New Zealand City Ltd