--- description: It's a shorter version of her first name title: Orange Is The New Black: Crazy Eyes' Real Nickname image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt70c063a6ec5a51f0/69868d0813c79f2538191dba/time-100-gala-uzo-aduba-crazy-eyes-orange-is-the-new-black.jpg?branch=production&width=1440&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [TIME 100](/tag/time-100/) ## TIME 100 Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # This Is Crazy Eyes' Real-Life Nickname  by [Lily Rothman](/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Apr 30, 2014 4:05 AM CUT  Uzo Aduba attends the TIME 100 Gala, TIME's 100 most influential people in the world, at Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 29, 2014 in New York City. Uzo Aduba attends the TIME 100 Gala, TIME's 100 most influential people in the world, at Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 29, 2014 in New York City.Ben Gabbe—Getty Images for TIME  by [Lily Rothman](/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Apr 30, 2014 4:05 AM CUT Uzo Aduba is the actress known for her role as Crazy Eyes in _Orange Is The New Black_. But she revealed her real nickname at [the TIME 100 gala](http://time.com/81117/time-100-gala-time-magazine/ "undefined"). Surprise: It’s Uzo. Her full first name is actually Uzomaka, which means “the road is good.” Her parents selected the name because they had to journey from Nigeria to the United States. But it was worth it, because they met and had her. Aduba offered her thoughts on the show as it gets ready to debut its second season. The show’s creator Jenji Kohan recently told [NPR](http://www.npr.org/2013/08/13/211639989/orange-creator-jenji-kohan-piper-was-my-trojan-horse "undefined") that the main character is a Trojan horse to draw in viewers so they can meet the other characters. “Jenji said it best,” Aduba said. “Now that we’re inside we get to go deeper into who they are, not just through Piper’s lens. It’s next level.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/82111/orange-is-the-new-black-crazy-eyes/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/82111/orange-is-the-new-black-crazy-eyes/"},"headline":"This Is Crazy Eyes' Real-Life Nickname","datePublished":"2014-04-30T04:05:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-07-21T07:15:12.362Z","description":"It's a shorter version of her first name","url":"https://time.com/82111/orange-is-the-new-black-crazy-eyes/","keywords":["TIME 100","TIME 100","TIME 100 Gala"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt70c063a6ec5a51f0/69868d0813c79f2538191dba/time-100-gala-uzo-aduba-crazy-eyes-orange-is-the-new-black.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lily Rothman","jobTitle":"Rothman is managing editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt70c063a6ec5a51f0/69868d0813c79f2538191dba/time-100-gala-uzo-aduba-crazy-eyes-orange-is-the-new-black.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Uzo Aduba attends the TIME 100 Gala, TIME's 100 most influential people in the world, at Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 29, 2014 in New York City.","caption":"Uzo Aduba attends the TIME 100 Gala, TIME's 100 most influential people in the world, at Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 29, 2014 in New York City.","creditText":"Ben Gabbe—Getty Images for TIME","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-100/","name":"TIME 100"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/82111/orange-is-the-new-black-crazy-eyes/","name":"This Is Crazy Eyes' Real-Life Nickname"}}]}] ```