Christina Milian quickly became a household name in the early 2000s, starring in Black teen comedies and beyond. But before she could truly launch her career, the starlet changed her name.
The 44-year-old actress and singer, born Christina Flores and who hails from Jersey City, New Jersey, opened up about the decision during a recent appearance on the “Richer Lives” podcast.
“It was absolutely a business decision,” she admitted, adding, “I’m Afro-Cuban — especially in the early phases of my career, you didn’t see as many of our faces on TV.”
The “Meet Me Next Christmas” star recalled that when she auditioned under her given last name, casting directors often didn’t know what to do with a Black Latina performer.
“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,” she continued. “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 “Dip It Low” singer said it dawned on her to use her mother’s last name, one that sounded 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,” she explained.
“It’s not something that I’m proud of, that being the reason,” she added. “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 broke through starring alongside Nick Cannon in 2003’s teen romcom “Love Don’t Cost A Thing,” and has since built a career spanning pop music, TV, and film. In the years since, from Zoe Saldaña — who recently became the highest-grossing actor — to Gina Torres, Rosario Dawson, Tatyana Ali, the late Naya Rivera, and Broadway and film star Ariana DeBose, Hollywood has made strides toward embracing Black Latina talent.
Still, throughout her career, Milian has been candid about proudly embracing her heritage despite the pressure to conform.
“Since early, it’d be like, I’m Cuban but [people] didn’t get it because I was also brown-skinned, and you usually see a fair-skinned Latino,” she told Huffington Post in 2015. “So it was just like, ‘Oh, what are you? Are you black? Are you white?’ I didn’t feel like I had to make a choice. I am what I am.”
