Kat Dennings revealed she chose her stage name at just 9 years old during a March 13 interview on the “Not Gonna Lie” podcast with Kylie Kelce. Dennings, whose real last name is Litwack, said, “At 9, I was like, ‘This isn’t gonna work for me.’”
The actress explained that her last name, “Dennings,” was inspired by her mother’s best friend, children’s author Lloyd Alexander, and his wife, Janine Denni. She decided to take Janine’s last name with a twist. As for her first name, Dennings chose “Kat” after Christina Ricci’s character in Casper.
Dennings also shared her tough early acting experiences. Her first manager sent her to an acting class where she was harshly criticized. “The teacher said, ‘You’re never going to be an actress. You have no instincts,’” she recalled. Despite the criticism, Dennings went on to star in films like Raise Your Voice and Thor, and TV shows such as 2 Broke Girls and WandaVision.
Reflecting on the experience, Dennings said, “He can suck it. I’m sure he’s a great person, but I didn’t have a great experience.”
