The Celebrity Traitors returned to BBC One on October 1, with Claudia Winkleman welcoming 21 famous faces into the castle to compete for a £100,000 prize pot for charity. Among them is actress Myha'la, known for her role as Harper Stern in the HBO drama Industry and appearances in Black Mirror.
Claudia selected actor Richard E. Grant and Love Island host Maya Jama as this year's Traitors, though Richard, 69, reportedly told other contestants he was a Traitor minutes after being chosen. Myha'la was not selected as a Traitor, but viewers have been curious about her background, particularly her name.
Why Did Myha'la Change Her Name?
The actress changed her professional name from Myha'la Herrold to just Myha'la in 2023, saying her surname did not accurately reflect her identity. She told Elle that her first name never fit with "the most white, f*****-are-you-60-plus-years-old name I’ve ever heard in my life. No shade to my family."
Fans had strong reactions to the change, with one commenter questioning whether she could simply adopt a single name. Myha'la shared: "There was somebody online who was like, ‘She can’t just give herself a single name.' '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, ‘D***! I’m not trying to put myself in the same category as Cher. How do I earn it?'"
Is Myha'la in a Relationship?
Myha'la is married to fellow actor Armando Rivera, whom she met in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. He sent her an Instagram DM after the first season of Industry, saying: "Congrats on the show, I'm a huge fan, I wish you all the success in the world."
She thanked him, but he kept the conversation going. On Late Night With Seth Meyers, Myha'la said: "The next day I woke up to a string of video messages and I was like 'It's gonna be something weird'. So I looked at the profile and I was like 'Oh, he's kind of cute I guess I'll watch it.'" Armando asked if she was available for an interview for his class project, and they ended up on a Zoom call that lasted 40 minutes instead of the planned five to ten.
The couple met a month later and married secretly in 2025, with Myha'la announcing the marriage to fans in January of this year. The Celebrity Traitors continues on BBC One and iPlayer tonight at 8pm.
