Liv Tyler's Real Name: Liv Rundgren

Quick answer: Liv Tyler was born Liv Rundgren on July 1, 1977, in New York City. Singer Todd Rundgren signed her birth certificate and gave her his last name. As a child she learned that Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler was her biological father, and she later changed her surname to Tyler. She went on to star in Armageddon and to play Arwen in The Lord of the Rings (Biography.com; People).

Real name and early life

Her mother is model and musician Bebe Buell. Biography.com reports that Buell had a brief relationship with Steven Tyler in late 1976, and that their daughter was born in New York City the following July. Steven was struggling with drug addiction at the time. Todd Rundgren, Buell's partner, knew he might not be the father but signed the birth certificate, "gave her his last name, and stepped in to raise her as his own." Buell said she and Rundgren "made a pact that he would be Liv's father, and if it ever became an issue, we'd tell her at 18."

Liv worked it out sooner. She first met Steven at about 8 or 9 at one of Rundgren's concerts. Then, at an August 1988 Aerosmith concert in Mansfield, Massachusetts, she noticed that she looked strikingly like Mia Tyler, Steven's daughter with Cyrinda Foxe. She asked her mother, "Is Steven my dad?" Buell told her the truth. People reports that Liv confirmed it with a paternity test at "11 or 12." According to Biography.com, she then built a relationship with Steven and "eventually changed her last name from Rundgren to Tyler."

She has spoken warmly of both men. In 2017 she told The Guardian, as People quoted, "I'm so grateful to Todd for choosing to be a father figure to me." The Library of Congress name authority files her as "Tyler, Liv," born July 1, 1977, in New York City.

Career highlights

Tyler modeled before acting. As a high school student, she appeared with Alicia Silverstone in Aerosmith's 1994 "Crazy" video. She made her film debut in Silent Fall (1994). That was followed by Empire Records (1995), Bernardo Bertolucci's Stealing Beauty (1996), and Tom Hanks's That Thing You Do! (1996).

In 1998 she starred opposite Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck in the disaster film Armageddon. She then played the elf Arwen in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001–03). Later work includes HBO's The Leftovers and Marvel's The Incredible Hulk (2008).

Name notes for searchers

Her birth surname was Rundgren, from the man who raised her as her father. Tyler is her biological father's surname, which she adopted after learning the truth. Her first name, Liv, has stayed the same.