HIGHLIGHTS: A list of names you may not be pronouncing correctly includes Matthew McConaughey, Thandiwe Newton, Mads Mikkelson, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Timothée Chalamet.
FULL STORY: We’re far from the days of Cary Grant and Lana Turner. Celebrity names are a lot harder to pronounce these days. And in many cases, you might be doing it wrong. Here are some examples:
1. Matthew McConaughey: You probably pronounce it with an “ee” at the end, but it’s actually muh-KAH-nuh-HAY.
2. Brendan Fraser: It rhymes with “razor” . . . so, FRAY-zer.
3. Domhnall Gleeson: It’s DOH-nal, it rhymes with “tonal”.
4. Thandiwe Newton: For years, people misspelled her name as “Thandie”, and she let it go. But it’s really pronounced tan-DEE-way.
5. “Cobra Kai” star Xolo Maridueña: You are forgiven for not being able to figure this one out. It’s SHOH-loh mah-ree-DWEN-yah.
6. Mads Mikkelson: The “d” in his first name is actually silent, so it’s Mass MICK-el-son.
7. Saoirse Ronan: SUR-shuh RO-nan. Her first name rhymes with “inertia”.
8. Steve Buscemi: Steve has actually been known to pronounce his last name boo-SEM-ee. But the proper Italian pronunciation is boo-SHAY-me.
9. Jake Gyllenhaal: Yes, we all say “JILL-in-hall”. But it’s Swedish, so it SHOULD be pronounced YEEL-en-HAUL. Jake says, quote, “The only two places [it’s] pronounced correctly . . . is in Sweden and in IKEA.”
10. Timothée Chalamet: The proper French pronunciation is TEE-moh-tay SHAL-uh-may.
(Check out more here . . . along with videos of the stars themselves pronouncing their names correctly.)
(I’m adding this one, because EVERYBODY gets it wrong: Rihanna is pronounced ri-ANNE-uh. Don’t believe me? Believe this. Although she does say she doesn’t care if you pronounce it ri-AH-nuh.)
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