Fans of The Crown star Olivia Colman were thrilled and surprised when the actor’s real name appeared on the list of those to be honored on the Queen’s Birthday Honour’s list, because most thought that “Olivia Colman” was her real name.
The Daily Mail says that when Colman was made a CBE for services to drama on Saturday, after she won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for her portrayal of Queen Anne in The Favourite, her name was announced as “Oscar Winning Actress, Sarah Sinclair,” rather than Olivia Colman.
The actor, who is the latest to play Queen Elizabeth in The Crown , was born Sarah Caroline Olivia Colman, and married actor Ed Sinclair in 2001. Professionally, she uses her middle name, Olivia, and her maiden name, Colman, but legally, she is Sarah Sinclair. This was not widely known, even by her fans who took to Twitter in astonishment to ask if they were the last to know.
“Most surprising thing out of the #QueensBirthdayHonours is finding out that Olivia Colman’s ‘real’ name isn’t Olivia Colman #everydayisaschoolday,” one fan posted.
Others thought that finding out that Colman has another name should have been bigger news than it was, saying it should have been front page news.
Huge congratulations to our supporter Olivia Colman! https://t.co/QDvzuFgrCq
— ERA5050 (@ERA50_50) June 8, 2019
Colman says that she’s “thrilled, delighted and humbled” to be recognized for the honor.
“I’m totally thrilled, delighted and humbled to be in the company of these incredible people, most of whom have been nowhere near as visible as I have, but should be – and hopefully now will be. It’s such an honour,” she said.
Colman has had the biggest year of her career, winning the top awards on both sides of the pond and being tapped to play the monarch in the popular Netflix series, says The Inquisitr . She says she was also thrilled to finally find clothing for awards season that made her feel comfortable.
“I have never felt confident having to do any photographs or red carpet. Being someone else is easy; being me is torture during those events,” she admitted.
She explains that she started working with a stylist who got her to the right designer, Prada, with whom she could work collaboratively to find the right dress, which would allow her to relax for those big nights when the world would be taking her photo.
Colman joked that the process made her feel like a bride on her wedding day, choosing designs and fabrics that allowed her to tap into her confidence.