Carmen Electra is officially Tara Leigh Patrick no more!
Goodbye, Tara Leigh Patrick! It's officially Carmen Electra from now on.
The Baywatch alum, who has been going by her famed stage name for decades now, made it official when she filed to formally change her name to Carmen Electra. According to a decree filed in January and obtained by ET, there were no objections to the proposed name change and Electra's request was granted nine days into the new year.
It was the late Prince who Electra credits with giving her the moniker more than 30 years ago when she was an aspiring performer. Her 1993 debut studio album, released through Prince's Paisley Park record label, was named Carmen Electra.
After his untimely death in 2016 at 57 years old, Electra recalled Prince's support in an interview with ET, remembering how great it was to have "this incredibly generous person believe in me, give me a career, record music for me, write the music [and] give me a name."
"If he believed in you he was rooting for you. He was the biggest cheerleader," Electra, who had also been romantically involved with Prince, said at the time. "He did that for me. He gave me confidence. To go to the school of Prince -- that was college to me."
As for what she would have told the iconic musician if she had one more chance? "I just always wanted to tell him that I love him… And thank you for the inspiration," she said. "Thank you for making me who I am today."
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