The TODAY show recently profiled a real life woman named the π§♀️fairy taleπ name of ππ Cinderella✨! π€―
ππ Cinderella✨ Kemunto Kidwell explains how she from Kenya, became the bearer of the dreamy, storybookπ / Disneyπ° movieπ₯ name every little girl π§πΏπ§πΎπ§π½π§πΌπ§π»π§ knows the tale of: “Growing up, we were not very well off, and my dad is a big dreamer." To her dad (an English literature teacher with a fondness for fairy tales), π Cinderella✨was a “grass-to-grace” story about perseverance: a young woman who overcame hardship through hard work and ultimately found a better life. But growing up, π Cinderella✨ did not always appreciate having the name of one of the world’s most recognizable fictional characters. “Kids would tease me at school,” she admits. “And I went from being proud of my name to embarrassed.” By age 11, she had asked friends and classmates to call her πCindy instead, a choice that followed her into early adulthood.
After becoming a model, π Cinderella✨ continued to keep her legal name at arm’s length. In 2016, when she won the title of πMiss πWorld
Kenya Kisii County, she used the nickname Cindy, that she had adopted as a child. However, the name she had long kept to herself continued to draw admiration. Whenever people saw “π Cinderella✨” written on official documents, they often remarked on how beautiful it was. And It wasn’t until years later that π Cinderella✨ began to see her own life reflected in the fairy tale her father loved.
At 25, π Cinderella✨ left Kenya and moved to the
United States alone. In America, she found herself starting over without a support system. Back home, she had built a successful career as a model, artist and makeup artist. For the first three years, she worked as a caregiver, setting aside many of the creative pursuits that had once defined her. She spent her days helping others, cooking meals, cleaning homes and caring for clients. But unlike the fairy-tale heroine, however, she says the people she cared for treated her with kindness. Looking back, she can’t help but notice the irony of finding herself in a role that mirrored the character she was named after. “Wake up, clean the house, cook for them, draw with them, sing with them,” π Cinderella✨ recounts.
Then In 2023, π Cinderella✨ magically met her real life π€΄prince, Bradley Kidwell. The
couple married seven months later. “My husband has always treated me like a queen,” π Cinderella✨ gushes.
As far as her distinct name, she is returning to social media and creative work under the name she once tried to hide. “I keep on joking that I’m my own fairy godmother, because I transformed my own life,” π Cinderella✨ jokes. At 30, she says she finally understands why her father chose π Cinderella✨. “Now, I’m becoming proud of it. I’m at the happily-ever-after part of the story.”
Behind The Name says the name ππ Cinderella✨ means "little ashes" in part from the
French name πCendrillon.
πNameberryπsays the name ππ Cinderella✨ means "little ash-girl" and it is "one familiar name never used for real people, for obvious reasons."
πNBπ expands on ππ Cinderella✨: "π°Disney πPrincess πnames are full of magic and wonder. Many successful Disney movies have significantly impacted naming trends, and the princess characters are historically some of the most influential. One of the most widely known fairy tales of all time is the rags-to-riches story of π Cinderella✨. The name π Cinderella✨ is meant to be a mashup of πCinder, as in ashes, and πElla, meaning girl. While π Cinderella✨ has not, nor will it likely ever, get any sort of significant use (π Cinderella✨ entered the US Top 1000π in 1894 and ranked at #1256π. Unfortunately it seemed to peak at popularity last in 1970 at #4807π.) as a given name, some retellings provide a different perspective on the heroine's name. In Disney's 2015 live-action adaptation, as well as the 2013 Broadway adaptation, the character's real name is Ella, and π Cinderella✨ is merely a teasing nickname given by her evil step-sisters due to her job of sweeping chimneys. Ella definitely has a lot more potential, currently ranking at #25 in the US after resurfacing from its 100-year hiatus. It should also be noted that the name πCindy rose significantly after the original Disney movie's release, reaching its peak a few years later in 1957. Coincidence? Maybe. Cindy was already on the rise, but I like to think a few parents may have been inspired by the sweet π Cinderella✨."
ππ Cinderella✨ has a variant spelling: πSinderella. πNames.org says: "Sinderella is a modern, stylized variant of π Cinderella✨. The “Sin-” spelling likely emerged in late 20th–21st century Anglophone pop culture as a playful or edgy respelling, sometimes evoking “sin” for tongue-in-cheek contrast with the virtuous heroine."
πCaliforniaπ and πAlaskaπ₯Ά are the states where the most ππ Cinderellas✨ call home.π‘
Below are a variety of comments from Behind The Name on the name ππ Cinderella✨:
I absolutely love π₯° the name ππ Cinderella✨ being given to a real life girl! π€ It's a beautiful, charming name (I love π the alternate, more modern πSinderella as well) — plus who wouldn't want to be one the very few π Cinderella✨ walking around in the world?! With the πheart-warming story of ππ Cinderella✨ Kemunto Kidwell — it's inspiring π an I'm especially glad she π―embraced her super special name her wonderful father πgifted her. ππΎ
⭐FAMOUS & πNOTEWORTHY ππ CINDERELLAS✨:
ππ Cinderella✨ πΌ (girl sung about in song by π€singer Steven Curtis Chapman)
ππ Cinderella✨"Cindy" Sanyu π€ (singer in ex girl group Blu*3)
ππ Cinderella✨"Cindy" Obenita πΆ♀️ (model & beauty pageant title holder of πMiss Intercontinental 2021)
ππ Diana Cinderella✨ Mildred (Bowes-Lyon) Somervell π (daughter of nobleman John Bowes-Lyon; uncle of πQueen Elizabeth II)
ππ Cinderella✨Welles πΆπ»ππ₯ (baby girl, daughter character of character Tom Welles, played by Nicolas Cage in the movie π8MM)
πSTATS ON THE NAME ππ Cinderella✨:
https://www.mynamestats.com/
☔πIRN RATING OF ππ Cinderella✨: π OR ππππππππππ/10

