Demi Moore is one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, especially now after her comeback that led to an Oscar nomination with her outstanding performance in The Substance.
But the siren’s image was not always so slick.
The St Elmo’s Fire actress was born with a very different name that did not quite have a ring to it: Demi Gene Guynes.
Her last name changed to Moore after marrying musician Freddy Moore in 1979.
And the Landman actress grew up far from the klieg lights of the movie industry: her hometown is Roswell, New Mexico, a city in the southeastern part of the state, known primarily for the alleged 1947 UFO incident.
Earlier this year Demi told fans how to say her first name properly: Moore confirmed that she pronounces her name as ‘Duh-mee’ because it ‘works better’ with her last name.
Demi Moore is one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, especially now after her comeback that led to an Oscar nomination with her turn in The Substance. But her image was not always so slick; seen in April in NYC
The Substance actress was born with a very different name that did not quite have a ring to it: Demi Gene Guynes. Her last name changed to Moore after marrying musician Freddy Moore in 1979. And the Landman actress grew up in Roswell, New Mexico
Her name has an interesting background.
Her biological father, Air Force airman Charles Foster Harmon Sr., left her mother, who was only 18-years-old at the time, before Demi’s birth.
When Moore was three months old, her mother married Dan Guynes, a newspaper advertising salesman who often switched up his jobs; as a result, the family moved many times.
Moore learned that Guynes was not her real father at age 13, when she discovered a marriage certificate and inquired about the circumstances since she ‘saw my parents were married in February 1963. I was born in ’62.’
Moore said in 1991, ‘My dad is Dan Guynes. He raised me. There is a man who would be considered my biological father who I don’t really have a relationship with.’
Her biological father Harmon died in 1997 from liver cancer in Texas.
Demi and her mother shared plenty of drama: they became estranged in 1989, but reconciled shortly before Guynes death in 1998.
When Demi was 14 she and her mom moved to West Hollywood, where she started modeling and taking acting classes.
In 1979, three months before her 17th birthday, Moore wed Moore, and they divorced in 1985. That is how she became Demi Moore.
Her first blockbuster was Ghost in 1990 with Patrick Swayze and Whoopi Goldberg
Her career took off at a young age.
Her first film was Choices (1981), then Parasite (1982), and next she was in the soap opera General Hospital. Following that came her famous Brat Pack phase.
Moore recently said she felt ‘a little terrified’ when she was cast in General Hospital.
The actress joined the cast of the hit soap opera in 1981, and the role proved to be a real turning point in her career.
The Hollywood star told People: ‘I think the first big moment that kind of gave me a little bit of encouragement of, wow, this could be possible, is when I got ‘General Hospital’ because it was a real job on a show that was successful for a soap opera.
‘In fact, it was at a heightened state because Elizabeth Taylor had just been a guest on a soap opera.’
Demi quickly became convinced that she had a long-term future in the entertainment industry.
Demi – who became the world’s highest-paid actress in the 90s – recalled: ‘Literally, it was a month before my 19th birthday. And so it was like a real job where I was going to be paid and have an actual salary. Meaning that I didn’t have to have another job. I could actually live by doing this thing that I loved and hoped I could do. So that was like the first moment to really kick it off.’
Her latest hit show is Landman; seen with Jacob Lofland, Ali Larter, Billy Bob Thornton and Andy Garcia from Landman
Moore has retained her movie star looks and slim figure
Despite this, Demi still felt anxious about joining the cast of the hit TV show.
Looking at a photo from a publicity shoot for General Hospital, Demi said: ‘I got General Hospital a month before my 19th birthday, so I think I’m 19 years old. Super dolled up, heavy duty made up.
‘You know, I just was so excited for all of it. But if I’m looking at this photo, I think I was probably a little terrified also.’
In December, Demi revealed that she feels more ‘liberated’ than ever in her career.
The actress has been working in Hollywood for decades, and Demi has now reached a place of ‘radical acceptance’ in her life.
The movie star – who was married to Bruce Willis between 1987 and 2000 – told ‘Extra’: ‘I think it’s the most liberated that I feel. The place is of greater, or I would say, of radical acceptance.’
