Reneé Rapp’s Name Was A Pop Star Plan From The Start
Reneé Rapp reveals her mom’s hilarious, genius plan to give her a pop star-worthy name—before she was even born.
Reneé Rapp's journey to pop stardom may have started before she was even born—thanks to some early planning by her mom.
During the May 27 episode of Good Hang with Amy Poehler, the Mean Girls star shared how her mom, Denise Rapp, picked her name with a possible music career in mind.
"My mom chose my first and last name to be, well, okay, arguably chose my first and last name to both have [two letter R's],” said Reneé. “She was like, ‘Alliteration, just in case she wants to be a pop star’ before I was born.”
Reneé admitted the idea sounded a bit bold. Still, she appreciates it now. “I’m like, thank you, God,” she added.
Host Amy Poehler was impressed by the story. “She gave you a pop star name just in case, because Reneé Rapp is a huge pop star name,” Poehler said.
Reneé also spoke about her parents’ influence while she was growing up, especially when it came to music. Her father, Charles Rapp, who has relative pitch and a strong musical background, didn’t hold back on feedback.
In a 2023 interview with The Los Angeles Times, he explained their approach. “I’m very competitive, and I think Denise is competitive,” he said. “Growing up, we would tell Reneé if [her voice] didn’t sound good. I used to tell her, ‘OK, that was fantastic, Reneé, but what could you have done differently? How could you have done it better?’”
That push for improvement seems to have worked. Reneé first gained attention as Regina George in the Mean Girls Broadway musical, then returned to the role for the 2024 film. She also starred in HBO Max’s The Sex Lives of College Girls.
In late 2022, she released her debut EP Everything to Everyone, followed by her first full-length album Snow Angel in 2023. Her second album, Bite Me, is set to release on August 1.
Music has been a part of her life since the beginning. Speaking to PEOPLE in 2023, Reneé said, “My introduction to music was honestly pretty young. My parents were always very, very, very adamant about constantly playing music whenever I was anywhere as a baby… It was just such a big part of my life.”
The timing couldn’t have been better. Just one day before the podcast episode aired, Reneé performed her new single, “Leave Me Alone,” live for the first time at the 2025 American Music Awards.
Looks like her mom’s early instincts were right after all.
