Joey Lawrence shares real last name, regrets he and his brothers changed it as child stars
Joey Lawrence and brothers Matthew Lawrence and Andrew Lawrence surprised fans when they revealed their real last name.
On Friday, Joey, 48, Matthew, 45, and Andrew, 37, whose legal last name is Mignogna, appeared on a panel at 90s Con, where they recalled why they all adopted "Lawrence" as their stage name when they rose to fame as child stars.
"It was my middle name," Joey, who was born Joseph Lawrence Mignogna, said via Entertainment Weekly. "So, I was named after our dad, and our grandfather on our dad's side. And in the early '80s, it was like, 'No one can pronounce Mignogna. That's not a name people will say.'"
"Today, things like that are celebrated," the "Blossom" star continued. "In the '80s, it was like, 'We're going to need to water this down. There are silent Gs.'
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"Because you spell our last name [Mignogna] like filet mignon,'" Joey added. "So, they were like, 'Let's call him Joey Lawrence.' So that's just what they did."
Joey noted that "it just made sense" for Matthew and Andrew to use their brother's fake surname when they followed in his footsteps and began working as child actors in Hollywood.
Matthew shared his view that the trio's parents, Joseph and Donna Mignogna, also saw the advantage that using a different last name would provide their children.
"I also think my parents, and wisely so, [knew] there was an insulation factor, where, before the internet, you could hide behind that at, you know, at school," Matthew said.
"Some people might check in old-school ways, but it would be very, very hard to find us," he added. "That was a great thing."
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However, the brothers agreed they now wish they hadn't used Lawrence as their last name instead of Mignogna.
"It would have made it easier," Andrew said. "It's really a pain in the butt, honestly, having two names. You have to prove you're both people."
Matthew explained that he had also encountered difficulties due to the name change.
"Now I'm just stuck with two different names, and I can't travel internationally," he said. "For a while there, the government only recognized me as Matt Lawrence because I paid taxes from the time I was a toddler to 18 as Matt Lawrence.
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"But, really, my name is Matthew William Mignogna," Matthew added. "So, when I grew up and used my real name on my passport, there was absolutely no correlation. I didn't exist."
Joey launched his career at the age of 5 in 1981 when he appeared in a Cracker Jack commercial. He made his breakthrough when he starred in the hit NBC sitcom "Gimme a Break!" from 1983 to 1987. Joey became a teen idol in the '90s when he played Joey Russo, the older brother of Blossom Russo (Mayim Bialik), in the hit NBC series "Blossom."
Matthew was 3 years old when he began acting after he was cast in the hit soap opera "Dynasty." During the '90s, he starred in numerous TV shows and movies, including playing Robin Williams' son Chris in 1993's "Mrs. Doubtfire" and Jack Hunter in "Boy Meets World."
Andrew also entered the entertainment industry at the age of 3, playing the younger version of his brother Joey in "Blossom." He later voiced the lead character of T.J. Detweiler in the '90s animated sitcom "Recess" as well as the 2001 feature film "Recess: School's Out" and two direct-to-video movies.
Joey, Matthew and Andrew starred together as the Roman brothers in the sitcom "Brotherly Love" for two seasons from 1995 to 1997.
The trio now host the "Brotherly Love Podcast," which they launched in 2023.