Myha'la would like to make something clear: When she made the choice to drop her surname, she was not trying to be Cher. Not yet. "There was somebody online who was like, 'She can't just give herself a single name!'" the actress, known onscreen as Industry's infamous Harper Stern, says. "'She can't just be a mononym because she chooses to! Do you think Cher just woke up one day and decided to be Cher?' And I was like, 'Damn! I'm not trying to put myself in the same category as Cher. How do I earn it?'"
The professional switch from Myha'la Herrold to Myha'la, which became official as of last year, was more a byproduct of the actress's personality than a ploy to become the next Zendaya. (Not that she'd object.) Her full name, Myha'la Jael Herrold-Morgan, is not only "long as hell," she says, but "Herrold," in particular, never felt true to her: singular, eclectic, self-assured. These traits—in addition to her "very unique" first name—are, in her estimation, antithetical to "the most white, fucking-are-you-60-plus-years-old name I've ever heard in my life," she says. She adds a quick disclaimer: "No shade to my family."
She'd planned to abandon "Herrold" years ago, she claims, but the way her acting jobs and accompanying paperwork lined up, the change took longer than she'd anticipated. Now, however, the Industry season 3 credits read Myha'la, and she's proud to be her—even if not everyone understands what she signifies. "I was like, 'Oh, no,'" she says. "Are people going to think that I think I'm Madonna?' Not yet. I'll get there." |
Industry's infamous Harper Stern, says. "'She can't just be a mononym because she chooses to! Do you think Cher just woke up one day and decided to be Cher?' And I was like, 'Damn! I'm not trying to put myself in the same category as Cher. How do I earn it?'" 
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