Photo: Getty Images North America
Actress and singer Christina Milian has revealed the reason she changed her last name early in her career.
During a recent appearance on the "Richer Lives" podcast, Milian, born Christina Flores in Jersey City, New Jersey, said the pressures of Hollywood and its limited roles for Black Latina performers led to her changing her birth name.
“It was absolutely a business decision,” she said. “I’m Afro-Cuban — especially in the early phases of my career, you didn’t see as many of our faces on TV.”
Milian recalled how her birth name became a barrier in auditions as casting directors often struggled to categorize her.
“A lot of auditions I would go for… I would try to go in as Latina, but my skin color didn’t really match the last name to what was appealing at that time,” Milian said. “Then, when I was going for an African American role, they’re like, ‘Flores, oh, she’s Hispanic. She can’t even come to this audition.’”
Eventually, the actress decided to use her mother’s last name, Milian, which she described as more ambiguous.
“Same picture, same headshot. Changed the last name to Milian. We sent it to the same casting directors, and do you know just that one small little change changed the trajectory of my whole career,” Millian explained.
“It’s not something that I’m proud of, that being the reason,” she continued. “But I’m happy we see more Black Latina faces on television now. If I was currently getting into the business now, I feel like I wouldn’t have to change my last name for that to happen.”
Milian first broke through starring alongside Nick Cannon in the 2003 teen romantic comedy Love Don’t Cost a Thing and has since built a career spanning music, television, and film. She highlighted the progress in Hollywood over the years, pointing to stars like Zoe Saldaña, Gina Torres, Rosario Dawson, Ariana DeBose, and the late Naya Rivera as examples of growing representation for Black Latina talent.
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