Thanks to her Golden Globe-nominated role in Brooklyn, Saoirse Ronan is the name on everyone’s lips – except we just can’t seem to pronounce it properly. Luckily, Ellen DeGeneres has stepped in to help us out.
The 21-year-old actress appeared on DeGeneres’ talk show yesterday, and schooled viewers in the correct pronunciation of her name – it’s Sur-sha, FYI.
Ellen also presented the star with a handy wearable sign reading ‘Hello, my name is Sur-sha’ in order to prevent any further muddles on the red carpet. Oh, the glamour.
It can't be fun having to constantly call out interviewers on their awful pronunciation, but Saoirse seems to see the funny side of these mishaps. Discussing the awkward moment when actor Dennis Quaid called her ‘Sheesha’ as he announced her Golden Globe nomination, she said: ‘The day [the nominations] came out I was in Dublin and I was getting my nails done. I had no idea that my name had been completely butchered on national television.’
She added, ‘I spent the next two hours doing phoners in the corner of this nail salon with Justin Bieber playing in the background.’
Ellen isn’t the first star to help us pronounce Saoirse. When presenting her with the New Hollywood Award at the Hollywood Film Awards last November, Ryan Gosling explained to the audience, ‘It’s Ser-sha, like inertia.’ Cheers, Ryan.
Ronan faces competition from Cate Blanchett, Brie Larson, Rooney Mara and Alicia Vikander in the Best Actress category at the Golden Globes, which will take place on Sunday.
Saoirse Ronan isn’t the only celebrity name that has us stumbling over our words. Here’s our handy guide to the most commonly mispronounced celebrity names, to prevent any awkward 'Adela Dazeem' moments.
The Celebrity Names You're Probably Pronouncing Wrong
**Chiwetel Ejiofor: **CHOO-ih-tell EDGE-ee-oh-for
Quvenzhané Wallis: Kwuh-VEN-jah-nay Wall-iss
Amanda Seyfried:* Amanda SIGH-freed*
**Mia Wasikowska: **MEE-uh VAH-see-KOF-ska
** Zoe Deschanel: **Zo-ee Day-shuh-NELL
**Ralph Fiennes: **Rafe FINES
**Shia LaBeouf: **SHY-uh Luh-BUHF
**Lupita Nyong'o: **Lew-PEET-tuh en-YON-go
**Rachel Weisz: ****Rachel VICE
**Chloe Sevigny: **KLO-ee SEV-uh-nee
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