’90s teen idol Joey Lawrence shares actual final title, regrets he and his brothers modified it as youngster stars
Joey Lawrence and brothers Matthew Lawrence and Andrew Lawrence stunned followers after they revealed their actual final title.
On Friday, Joey, 48, Matthew, 45, and Andrew, 37, whose authorized final title is Mignogna, appeared on a panel at 90s Con, the place they recalled why all of them adopted “Lawrence” as their stage title after they rose to fame as youngster stars.
“It was my center title,” Joey, who was born Joseph Lawrence Mignogna, stated through Leisure Weekly.
“So, I used to be named after our dad, and our grandfather on our dad’s aspect. And within the early ’80s, it was like, ‘Nobody can pronounce Mignogna. That’s not a reputation folks will say.’”
“As we speak, issues like which can be celebrated,” the “Blossom” star continued.
“Within the ’80s, it was like, ‘We’re going to wish to water this down. There are silent Gs.’
“Since you spell our final title [Mignogna] like filet mignon,’” Joey added.
“So, they have been like, ‘Let’s name him Joey Lawrence.’ In order that’s simply what they did.”
Joey famous that “it simply made sense” for Matthew and Andrew to make use of their brother’s faux surname after they adopted in his footsteps and commenced working as youngster actors in Hollywood.
Matthew shared his view that the trio’s dad and mom, Joseph and Donna Mignogna, additionally noticed the benefit that utilizing a unique final title would supply their kids.
“I additionally assume my dad and mom, and correctly so, [knew] there was an insulation issue, the place, earlier than the web, you may disguise behind that at, you realize, at college,” Matthew stated.
“Some folks would possibly verify in old-school methods, however it could be very, very onerous to seek out us,” he added.
“That was an awesome factor.”
Nonetheless, the brothers agreed they now want they hadn’t used Lawrence as their final title as an alternative of Mignogna.
“It might have made it simpler,” Andrew stated.
“It’s actually a ache within the butt, truthfully, having two names. You need to show you’re each folks.”
Matthew defined that he had additionally encountered difficulties as a result of title change.
“Now I’m simply caught with two totally different names, and I can’t journey internationally,” he stated.
“For some time there, the federal government solely acknowledged me as Matt Lawrence as a result of I paid taxes from the time I used to be a toddler to 18 as Matt Lawrence.”
“However, actually, my title is Matthew William Mignogna,” Matthew added.
“So, once I grew up and used my actual title on my passport, there was completely no correlation. I didn’t exist.”
Joey launched his profession on the age of 5 in 1981 when he appeared in a Cracker Jack industrial.
He made his breakthrough when he starred within the hit NBC sitcom “Gimme a Break!” from 1983 to 1987.
Joey grew to become a teen idol within the ’90s when he performed Joey Russo, the older brother of Blossom Russo (Mayim Bialik), within the hit NBC sequence “Blossom.”
Matthew was 3 years outdated when he started appearing after he was solid within the hit cleaning soap opera “Dynasty.”
In the course of the ’90s, he starred in quite a few TV exhibits and films, together with enjoying Robin Williams’ son Chris in 1993’s “Mrs. Doubtfire” and Jack Hunter in “Boy Meets World.”
Andrew additionally entered the leisure trade on the age of three, enjoying the youthful model of his brother Joey in “Blossom.”
He later voiced the lead character of T.J. Detweiler within the ’90s animated sitcom “Recess” in addition to the 2001 characteristic movie “Recess: College’s Out” and two direct-to-video films.
Joey, Matthew and Andrew starred collectively because the Roman brothers within the sitcom “Brotherly Love” for 2 seasons from 1995 to 1997.
The trio now host the “Brotherly Love Podcast,” which they launched in 2023.
