Sigourney Weaver changed her name from Suzy because it was "too cute".
'It was too cute': Why Sigourney Weaver changed her name
The 73-year-old actress was born Susan but switched to Sigourney at the age of 13 as she felt her nickname was too sweet for her when she was already six foot tall and she wanted something more fitting.
She told Red’s September issue: "The truth is, I chose it because I was trying to get away from being called Suzy, which is too cute a name for someone who at 13 was already six feet tall! However, in my life now, everyone calls me Siggy, so you really can’t escape your destiny."
Sigourney is starring in Prime Video's upcoming seven-part television miniseries 'The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart', which tells the story of a young girl whose life changes dramatically when her parents die in a mysterious fire and she is sent to live with her grandmother on a flower farm.
Sigourney plays the girl's grandmother June and she jumped at the chance to play a strong and vulnerable woman.
She said: "I don’t think you could do a story like this, with such deep emotions involved, without it leaving a permanent record on you. It’s not a scar but a feeling; and it’s something I feel very close to. When we talk about why June makes some decisions, the trauma of that is like we shot it yesterday.
"To me, women are strong and resilient, but that doesn’t mean they’re not vulnerable. It just means they keep going because there’s no one else – a man isn’t going to ride in on a white horse. We’re on the front lines of so much. We’re the ones who take care of the family and older people. I’m not making a political statement; I’m just absolutely reflecting the way I see women. So, when people say that I play strong women – no. I play women who find strength, as women do.”
Read the full interview in Red’s September issue, on news-stands now.
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