Reese Witherspoon fans are left stunned to learn the actress’s REAL name – as even her close friend Nicole Kidman admits she had NO idea the starlet had another moniker

Reese Witherspoon fans are left stunned after the actress reminded the world that the nickname they know her so well by is not actually her real name while taking part in an interview with close friend Nicole Kidman.

The Legally Blonde actress has been in the spotlight all her life, but behind the glitz and glamor and flashing lights, she is known very differently from those closest to her.

When she started her acting career, the 48-year-old – born Laura Jean Reese Witherspoon – decided to shorten the name to her mother’s maiden name.

And the name helped her go far as she became one of the biggest stars in Hollywood.

However, people still often forget that Reese was born Laura — including actress Nicole who let her friend’s real name slip in a recent interview about the production of Big Little Lies.

In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Nicole, 56, reminded her friend Reese of her real name while discussing their co-star Laura Dern.

The Cruel Intentions actress revealed that she referred to their co-star by her last name, confusing Nicole.

“My other favorite thing is I called Dern when we were filming Big Little Lies,” Reese said. Nicole quickly interrupted and made her feelings about the nickname clear.

“I hate how you call her Dern. It sounds strange. I always say ‘Laura’ and you say ‘no, Dern, Dern, Dern,'” the Aquaman star said.

Reese assured her friend that she would tell her why she chose the nickname.

‘Do you know why? Because my name is Laura and her name is Laura and it’s confusing for me,” the blonde beauty said.

Nicole clarified that she had forgotten her boyfriend’s birth name and replied, “Oh, that’s right.”

“So I’m getting confused and that’s why I’m calling her Dern because we can’t both be Laura,” Reese clarified.

However, people still often forget that Reese was born Laura, including actress Nicole who has let her friend’s real name disappear from her mind

When she started her acting career, the 48-year-old – born Laura Jean Reese Witherspoon – decided to shorten it to her mother’s maiden name.

Fans took to social media to express their shock when they discovered the star’s nickname

However, her explanation was cut short when Nicole quickly called her friend.

“But she doesn’t call you Laura,” Nicole added.

Reese jokingly responded, “I don’t understand your point, I don’t like your tone, you’re trying to understand something.”

Nicole noted that she was going to “stay out of it” at the end of the clip.

And the Expats actress wasn’t the only one confused when she heard Reese’s real name.

Fans took to social media to express their shock when they discovered the star’s nickname.

One person said, “I was a year old today when I found out Reese’s real name is Laura Lmao.”

Someone else wrote, “Reese acts like EVERYONE calls her Laura.”

One user wondered, “Reese is Laura?!”

“Even Nicole didn’t know,” someone else added.

One person said: ‘I didn’t know her full name is Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon!’

Someone else added, “Wait Reese has a real name.”

Nicole recently revealed that she and Reese were “fast and furious” on season three of Big Little Lies

‘Reese is LAURA???!!!! I never knew!’ said someone else.

One user added: ‘I never knew that was her real name.’

Nicole recently revealed that she and Reese were “fast and furious” on season three of Big Little Lies.

Based on a novel by Liane Moriarty, the HBO show was initially intended to be a one-season miniseries, but it was such a hit with fans and critics that a second season was added, and now it’s back for another season in the making.

Reese and Nicole both starred in and served as executive producers of the series, which follows the intrigue and scandals simmering beneath the gilded lives of a group of suburban mothers in Tony Monterey, California.

Reese seems to be in the middle of a lot of big projects, as she recently announced that she was working on a prequel series for Legally Blonde.

Following the pink announcement in which the 48-year-old actress reprized her role to break the news about the spin-off TV series – more than twenty years after the film premiered – fans couldn’t contain their excitement and started to theorize about who should star as the blonde beauty.

The prequel, titled Elle, will feature the character’s origin story as the main character works her way through high school before becoming a law student at Harvard.

Many fans took to social media to call for the star’s daughter, Ava, to play young Elle.