Joaquin Phoenix
Joaquin Phoenix has lived a fascinating life journey so far and his name seems to have been on a parallel path. The third of five children, he was originally named Joaquin Rafael Bottom. He comes from a family of unconventional, nearly exotic names including siblings River, Liberty, Rain, and Summer. Joaquin’s parents met in the late 1960′s, joined a religious cult and as a result moved to South America. Less than a decade later they decided they’d had enough of the cult, moved back to the US, and changed their family’s last name to Phoenix. The name represented to them rebirth and it was a time for great change in the family. Not only were they starting a new life with a new last name, but they also became vegan at this time and the family’s mother, Arlyn, changed her name to Heart. And Joaquin was ripe for some change of his own.
It was in this period that Joaquin (pronounced wah-keen) became dissatisfied with his own name. He began referring to himself as Leaf mostly because he wanted a name in a similar vein to his siblings but also because he was frustrated and embarrassed by his name which was not so well-known in the US. He said this about the change, “I was born in Puerto Rico and Joaquin is a Spanish name. And when I came to the US, nobody could pronounce it. They would say, ‘What’s your name?’ And I would say, ‘Joaquin’ and they would go, ‘Walk-ing? Walk – what?’ And you know how kids always get bothered with that kind of thing. Like, ‘No! My name is…’ So it bothered me and so I changed it.” In fact, Leaf River is the name he is credited with for his first acting parts from his childhood.
However, during his teen years he decided to resume using the name Joaquin. He has twice been nominated for an Academy Award and is the recipient of both a Golden Globe and a Grammy Award. His brother is the well-known late actor River Phoenix. Joaquin dated and was even engaged for awhile to actress Liv Tyler. (What a fascinating couple they would have made with both of them having changed their names!)
Early in his career he is quoted as saying, “That kind of fame; I couldn’t have it in my life. I love that we can sit on the lawn in Central Park and I’m just one of the millions. I don’t want to lose that. I just want to be right in the middle.” His fame has probably taken him beyond anything he expected and his name journey from Bottom, Joaquin, Phoenix, and Leaf has been along for the marvelous ride.
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Joaquin is definitely one of those eccentric and phenomenal actors who seems to be “above it all.” He’s had an interesting journey on his way to discovering himself, that’s for sure. Great information as always, Marly!
Mindy
http://www.thesuburbanlife.com