Sharon Stone's namesake lives in Kfar Saba
Israel's Hollywood stars
New trend: Israeli parents naming their kids after Hollywood stars
Are you familiar with Nicole Kidman from Carmiel? Have you met Elizabeth Taylor at the grocery store? Perhaps you worked out at the gym with Sharon Stone?
It appears that there are dozens of children and adults living in Israel bearing the names of Hollywood stars. Some have changed their original names to names of their favorite movie stars, and others simply share the same name with the big stars.
From records at the Population Registrar at the Ministry of Interior it appears that there are more than 50 "Hollywood stars" scattered throughout the country, among them is Nicole Kidman, Michael Jackson, Michelle Pfeiffer and many others.
One of the girls bearing the glamorous name of Nicole Kidman is 11-years-old and lives in Carmiel. Little Nicole is also following in her namesakes' star-studded footsteps: She has already won prizes on the dance floor; she is an exceptional swimmer and is a talented guitar player.
So how did she get her Hollywood name? "Our former name was Haimov," her mother Marina recounted. "It is a Caucasian name and it was hard to get by with, therefore my husband decided to go back to his grandmother's name – Kidman," she said proudly: "My Nicole's talents don't fall below those of the actress. She is said to be gifted."
Nicole: "At first I didn't like the name because people kept asking me why I was given such a name. But now I have become used to it."
There is also 14-year-old Michelle Pfeiffer from Rehovot. She isn't really a fan of her namesake. "It was a pure coincidence," her mother Kochava said. "Her father is American, and his surname is Pfeiffer, and he always wanted to name his daughter Michelle."
There's also a Sharon Stone in Kfar Saba, but in this case it is a boy. The 16-year-old Stone is laughed at quite a bit but he has come to terms with his name: "My parents probably didn't think that I would be made fun of, but actually it's okay."
