Diane Kruger Reveals Daughter’s Unique Name

Diane Kruger just shared her 3-year-old daughter’s name for the first time!

Kruger shares the little one with actor Norman Reedus, and she’s opening up to People about how the couple chose the toddler’s unique moniker: Nova Tennessee.

She explained, "I had her late in life at 42, and [Norman] had a child when he was much younger," she said, adding, "'Nova' in Latin means new beginning, and a nova star keeps changing and is reborn. And we love Tennessee and the Smoky Mountains; we do motorcycle trips there."

Diane also shared her sweet nicknames like "Noonoo" and "Neenee.”

Sharing her daughter’s name goes hand-in-hand with Kruger’s new children’s book, due out October 25. The book is titled “A Name from the Sky,” and was inspired by her own name as well as choosing her daughter’s.

Kruger grew up in Germany and “Diane” wasn’t a common name there. "I remember coming home crying because kids were making fun of my name.” Her attitude toward her name changed when she learned she was named after the Roman goddess Diana, and her mom read her a book about the deity.

"It truly changed my life," Kruger said. "And how I see myself today." She said of her book, "I think as children, we suffer through things. Whether that's a given name, or somebody says something mean to you. Everything is so up in the air. In time, your powers will come, and you don't have to worry. That kind of was the idea of the book."

Diane also opened up about becoming a mother, saying she loves “to rediscover firsts” with Nova.

"So many things at my age, you've done a thousand times, but just seeing it through her eyes again. Whether it's having ice cream for the first time or seeing snow for the first time there's just something so refreshing and simple about that life as mother and daughter that I've just found magnificent,” she shared.

Kruger added, "[Nova] was a surprise. I thought it wasn't going to happen, and she came into my life when I was ready. I'm grateful that happened for me and our family. She's changed my world and the way I look at everything."

Back in January, “Extra’s” Special Correspondent Jenny Taft spoke with Kruger about returning work after Nova’s birth for the film “The 355.”

Diane said she leaned on the women in the cast like Jessica Chastain and Penelope Cruz and asked questions as a first-time mom. She revealed, “My daughter was 6 months. I was just worried, is she going to forget about me?… I had extreme separation anxiety.”

She continued, “It’s exhausting… You work all week when you make a film… Then on weekends, when most people relax and recharge the batteries, you have to be mom. It’s a full-time double job.”

The actress added, “It was… empowering to see Jessica has kids, Penelope has kids, how they manage to do it all and where they put the priorities and where they also say no.”