Random Famous People Who Never Actually Existed (12 items)

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  (#7) Mulan

  • Once Upon a Time, Mulan, Reflections on Ice: Michelle Kwan Skates to the Music of Disney's 'Mulan', Mulan II, The World of Mulan, Mulan, Disney Princess

  Mulan, or Hua Mulan as she’s known in China and outside of Disney movies, is a Chinese warrior princess who disguised herself as a man to fight in combat. Or is she? 

  Mulan's story, which comes from an ancient 300-word poem Ballad of Mulan that was later expanded into a book during the Ming Dynasty, tells of female warrior who disguises herself as a man, serves 12 years in the military and returns home a decorated soldier. 

  Unfortunately, there has been little to no evidence found of a Hua Mulan existing during the Northern and Southern Dynasties period. She's treated more as a legend than a historical person. In fact, Exemplary Women — a compilation of biographies of women during the Northern Wei dynasty — doesn't even mention her name.
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  (#10) Uncle Ben

  The face of Uncle Ben has decorated rice boxes for decades but who was the real Uncle Ben? The man in the portrait is actually Frank Brown, a Chicago restaurant maître d’ known to Gordon L. Harwell, the former president of Uncle Ben’s. 

  And the name? It referred to a Gulf Coast rice farmer known only by Ben who delivered high-quality rice to food buyers in the 1940s.

  In 2007, with hopes of shedding the images racist background, the company re-branded Uncle Ben as Chairman Ben.
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  (#2) Robin Hood

  • When Things Were Rotten, Robin Hood, The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men, Robin Hood, The Adventures of Robin Hood, Blackadder: Back & Forth, Keloglan vs. the Black Prince, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Rabbit Hood, Cinema Paradiso, Robin and Marian, Robin Hood, Time Bandits, Beyond Sherwood Forest, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Robin Hood, The Arrows of Robin Hood, The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Men of Sherwood Forest, Superfantozzi, Man-Eaters of India, Twang!!, The Merrie Men of Sherwood Forest, Der Templer und die Jüdin, Robin Hood, Ivanhoe

  The centuries-old tale of a caped figure hero with his bow and arrow valiantly stealing from the rich to give to the poor sounds too good to be true because it is actually.

  Robin (or Robert) Hood (aka Hod or Hude) was a nickname given to petty criminals from at least the middle of the 13th century. It's no coincidence that the name "Robin" sounds a bit like "robber." The Sherwood Forest folk hero began appearing in 14th- and 15th-century ballads and books which told of his exploits against the sheriff of Nottinghamshire. 

  So while there were men like Robin Hood, it's doubtful that he actually existed. 
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  (#4) Spinal Tap

  As much as we wish they were, Spın̈al Tap was not, in fact, a real band. At least not in the traditional sense, but rather a parody heavy metal rock band. The group and mockumentary, created by songwriter/performer Loudon Wainwright III and writer/director Rob Reiner, did such a great job at imitating rock bands in the late ’70s that fans were disappointed to find out that they didn't really exist, despite a disclaimer at the end of film that states the band is fictional and adds, "There's no Easter Bunny either!"

  In 2010, Reiner told Newsweek:

  When Spinal Tap initially came out, everybody thought it was a real band. Everyone said, ‘Why would you make a movie about a band that no one has heard of?’ The reason it did go over everybody’s head was it was very close to the bone.

  Spinal Tap did release an album and play a few concerts so maybe they are a real band.
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  (#12) Alan Smithee

  You might not be familiar with the name Alan Smithee but this famous director's pseudonym has appeared in hundreds of films over years such as Twilight Zone: The Movie, Hellraiser: Bloodline, and Mighty Ducks the Movie: The First Face-Off.

  The tradition allegedly started with the 1969 film Death of a Gunfighter after the bad flicks two directors refused to have their name associated with it and the Director's Guild credited the movie to the fake name Alan Smithee. The pseudonym was used on a variety of films until 1997. 

  Why would a director use this fake name? Because they don't want their real name associated with the project, which isn't a very good sign. So if you ever see that a film is directed by Alan Smithee, you might want to take a pass. 
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  (#5) Aunt Jemima

  The friendly face on syrup bottles feels real but an actual "Aunt Jemima" is nowhere to be found. The character is based on the common stereotype of the mammy archetype, a character in minstrel shows in the late 1800s.

  The R. T. Davis Milling Company, the brand behind Aunt Jemima, then hired former slave Nancy Green as a spokesperson for the Aunt Jemima pancake mix in 1890, the first of several different women who would be the face behind the brand. 

  In 2014, responding to a $2 billion lawsuit by Green's family, Quaker Oats, the company that now owns the brand, said:

  "The image symbolizes a sense of caring, warmth, hospitality and comfort and is neither based on, nor meant to depict any one person."

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