Rebel Wilson jokes about false identity reports

Actress Rebel Wilson has laughed off tabloid reports in her native Australia suggesting she has been lying about her name and age to further her Hollywood career.

The Pitch Perfect star recently hit headlines Down Under after Woman's Day editors printed an article alleging Wilson's real last name is Bownds and stating her age as 35, instead of 29.

The article included a yearbook photo of a woman named Melanie, who bears striking similarities to Wilson, to prove she is older than she claims, and went on to dispute the comedienne's story that she grew up in a "ghetto" in Sydney, insisting she had a "very normal, upper-middle class upbringing".

A source told the publication, "She was definitely not the class clown; none of us remember her being funny. While Rebel paints a picture of a gypsy upbringing, her family home was certainly not in any ghetto."

The actress, who states her full name as Rebel Melanie Elizabeth Wilson, reacted to the controversy by brushing off the accusations with a joke on Twitter.com on Monday (18May15), writing, "OMG (oh my God) I'm actually a 100 year old mermaid formerly known as 'CC Chalice' ....thanks shady Australian press for your tall poppy syndrome (trying to damage her reputation)".

She then poked fun at her Fat Amy character, aka Patricia, in the Pitch Perfect franchise, adding, "Okay but all jokes aside now... my real name is Fat Patricia".

Editors at the Sydney Morning Herald are refusing to give up the case and even dug out old business records filed with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC), which list the date of birth for "Rebel Melanie Elizabeth Wilson" as 2 March, 1980 - that would make the actress 35.