Surprise: Carmen Electra wasn't the actress and model's legal name. Now, she wants it to be.
According to Today, the 51-year-old has filed a petition to the Los Angeles Superior Court to have her name legally changed from her given name of Tara Leigh Patrick to Carmen Electra.
The moniker was given to her by Prince in the early 1990s before she released her eponymous 1993 debut album on Paisley Park Records. Before she was signed to Prince's label, Electra originally auditioned for him to become a part of a girl group that he was constructing.
Prince renamed Electra, then known under her birth name, as she recounted to The Hollywood Reporter in 2016. “You’re not a Tara. You’re not Tara. You’re Carmen," she said he told her.
Electra also elaborated on Prince's decision during a recent visit to The Yo Show. "At first I thought it sounded kinda like a super hero type of name which actually it is," she told Michael Yo. "So I was hesitant but it just sorta grew on me and that's it. I'm Electra now."
The two were rumored to be romantically involved while Electra was under Prince's mentorship. She also mourned Prince upon his death in 2016, saying in a statement, "He gave me my name, he believed in me, and he has inspired an entire generation. I will always love him."
A hearing for Electra's request will take place on Feb. 26.
