biography of lady gaga wikipedia

Pop icon Lady Gaga's debut album, 'The Fame,' included the hits "Just Dance" and "Poker Face." She also won a Golden Globe for her role in 'American Horror Story' and an Oscar nomination for her co-starring role in 'A Star Is Born.'

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Early Life and Career

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Lady Gaga attended New York University's Tisch School for the Arts but left to find creative expression. Her debut album, The Fame , was a huge success, and the single "Poker Face" topped charts in almost every category, in almost every country. Lady Gaga has since earned acclaim for subsequent albums, including a collaboration with Tony Bennett , as well as her acting skills, nabbing a Golden Globe for her contributions to American Horror Story and an Oscar nomination for her co-starring role in A Star Is Born .

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta was born on March 28, 1986, in Yonkers, New York, to Cynthia and Joseph Germanotta. Now known as Lady Gaga (the inspiration for her name came from the Queen song "Radio Ga-Ga"), she has become an international pop star.

Gaga learned to play the piano by the age of 4. At the age of 11, she was accepted to the Juilliard School in Manhattan, but instead attended a private Catholic school in the city. She continued studying music and performing, writing her first piano ballad at the age of 13, and she held her first performance in a New York nightclub at the age of 14.

A few years later, Gaga was granted early admission to New York University's Tisch School of the Arts — she was one of only 20 students in the world to receive the honor of early acceptance. While there, she studied music and worked on her songwriting skills. She later withdrew from school to find creative inspiration. To make ends meet, she took three jobs, including a stint as a gogo dancer, while she honed her performance-art act.

In 2005, Lady Gaga was briefly signed by Def Jam Records, but was dropped just months later. Being dropped by the label propelled the singer to perform on her own in clubs and venues on New York City's Lower East Side. There, she collaborated with several rock bands, and began her experimentation with fashion.

In 2007, at the age of 20, Gaga began work at Interscope Records as a songwriter for other artists on the label, including Britney Spears , New Kids on the Block and The Pussycat Dolls. R&B singer Akon discovered Gaga while she was performing a burlesque show that she created, called "Lady Gaga and the Starlight Revue." Impressed, Akon signed the performer to his label under the Interscope umbrella, Kon Live. Through 2007 and 2008, Gaga wrote and recorded her debut album, The Fame . The record received positive reviews and was successful in the United States. With the help of her own creative team, "Haus of Gaga," the performer also began to make a name for herself internationally.

'Just Dance,' 'Poker Face'

Lady Gaga's debut single, "Just Dance," was released to radio in early 2008, and received both popular and commercial acclaim. The song was then nominated for a Grammy Award (for best dance recording) in 2008. The song lost to Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger," but this didn't keep Gaga from reaching No. 1 on the mainstream pop charts in January 2009. The second single off The Fame , "Poker Face," earned Gaga even more success. The song topped singles charts in almost every category, and in almost every country. Both songs were produced by Akon's affiliate RedOne, who co-wrote most of Lady Gaga's album.

Later in 2008, Lady Gaga opened for the newly reformed New Kids on the Block. She also collaborated with them on the song "Big Girl Now" from the group's album The Block . The following year, Gaga released an album of eight songs, The Fame Monster , followed by 2011's Born This Way . In 2013, Lady Gaga released her third studio album, Artpop . The album didn't resonate as strongly with her audience as her previous works. Among the shake-ups in her inner circle, she and her manager parted ways.

In 2014, she released an album of jazz duets with crooner Tony Bennett entitled Cheek to Cheek , which later won a Grammy for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. In an interview with Parade , Lady Gaga said of her latest collaboration, “Working with Tony has reaffirmed everything I knew but that you start to forget when your life changes and it gets really noisy. For ­Tony, it’s all about great music.”

Gaga continued to showcase her versatility and strength as a vocalist at the Academy Awards telecast in February 2015, paying tribute to the 50th anniversary of The Sound of Music and actress/singer Julie Andrews by performing selections from the musical.

In 2021, Gaga and Bennett released their second collaborative album Love for Sale , which won best traditional pop vocal album at the Grammys in 2022.

Later that year, Gaga also showed her gifts as an actress by co-starring in American Horror Story: Hotel , earning a Golden Globe for her portrayal of The Countess. At the ceremony, a visibly stunned and emotional Gaga acknowledged that acting was her first dream before she embraced music, and thanked her fellow cast members and producer Ryan Murphy for their support. Gaga returned to the show for its sixth season, playing a witch in American Horror Story: Roanoke .

In February 2016, Gaga, joined by guitarist/producer Nile Rodgers, performed a tribute to the late David Bowie . Paying homage to one of her biggest musical heroes, a red-wigged Gaga sang a short medley of Bowie's hits. She also performed at the 88th Annual Academy Awards, performing "Til It Happens to You" after being introduced by then-Vice President Joe Biden . The song was from the 2015 documentary The Hunting Ground , which looked at the issue of rape on college campuses. Assault survivors were brought to the stage toward the close of the song, with the performance earning a standing ovation.

In October 2016, Gaga released her fifth studio album, Joanne , her fourth album to reach No. 1 in the United States and top the charts in countries around the world. Partnering with producer Mark Ronson, Gaga tapped into her own life story for the album that is named after her aunt and father's sister, Joanne Germanotta, who died of lupus complications at the age of 19 before Gaga was born. “Returning to your family and where you came from, and your history ... this is what makes you strong,” Lady Gaga told People magazine . “It’s not looking out that’s going to do that – it’s looking in. Joanne is a progression for me. It was about going into the studio and forgetting that I was famous.”

She also told People that her relationships influenced the stories she tells in Joanne . “When you listen to the album, it’s clear the influence that all the men in my life have made on this record," she said. "That’s at the center of it, as well: I always wanted to be a good girl. And Joanne was such a good girl. But I have such a rebellious spirit, and my father was always very angry. He drank because of his sister’s death. I was trying to understand him through making this record, and in that, also trying to understand why I love men that are cowboys.”

Gaga launched the Joanne World Tour in support of her latest album in August 2017. She later nabbed a Best Pop Solo Performance Grammy for the album's title track.

In 2016, Lady Gaga performed the national anthem at Super Bowl 50, and she returned the following year to headline the Super Bowl LI halftime show. She began her powerhouse performance on the roof of the NRG Stadium in Houston, singing parts of "God Bless America" and "This Land is Your Land" and reciting an excerpt of the pledge of allegiance before diving through the air suspended by wires to the stage. Her halftime show included a medley of her iconic songs including "Edge of Glory," "Bad Romance," "Poker Face," "Born This Way," "Telephone," "Just Dance," as well as "Million Reasons" from her album Joanne .

In 2016, it was announced that Gaga had been cast in a remake of A Star Is Born as Ally, a role previously inhabited by Janet Gaynor, Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand . She was slated to co-star with Bradley Cooper , who was also making his directorial debut with the project.

A Star Is Born became a hit with audiences upon its October 2018 release, grossing an impressive $400 million globally. The co-stars both earned Academy Award nominations for their performances, while their duet for the film, "Shallow," produced Golden Globe, Grammy and Oscar wins for Gaga.

On December 19, 2017, Gaga announced via Instagram that she had signed on for a Las Vegas residency. The following August, she confirmed that she would begin her residency at MGM Resorts' Park Theater at the end of the year, performing two separate shows over 27 dates: Lady Gaga Enigma, a collection of her most popular songs, and Lady Gaga Jazz & Piano, which features stripped-down versions of her greatest hits as well as selections from the Great American Songbook.

With her sixth studio album, Chromatica , on the way, Gaga in February 2020 released the dance-worthy single "Stupid Love," her first new music in three years, along with a typically eye-catching video that showed her defeating the forces of evil with her "Kindness punks." Her follow-up single with Ariana Grande , "Rain on Me," dropped in late May, one week before the release of the well-received Chromatica .

Meanwhile, Gaga had teamed with the international advocacy group Global Citizen to organize the "One World: Together At Home" virtual concert in April. Featuring performances from luminaries like Paul McCartney , Elton John and Taylor Swift , the event raised more than $127 million to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

On Valentine’s Day 2015, Lady Gaga became engaged to Chicago Fire actor Taylor Kinney. After five years together, in July 2016, it was reported that the couple called off their engagement and parted ways.

Gaga then got engaged to her agent, Christian Carino, in summer 2017. In February 2019, after the singer attended the Grammys without her fiancé, a representative confirmed that the engagement was off.

In early 2020, the entertainer extraordinaire went public with her relationship with tech CEO Michael Polansky.

FULL NAME: Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta BORN: March 28, 1986 BIRTHPLACE: New York, NY ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Aries

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Personal details

• Apple Music
• 5′ 1″ (1.55 m)
• March 28 , 1986
• Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
• No Children
• Parents Cynthia Germanotta
• Natali Germanotta (Sibling)
• Other works Album: "The Fame" (Interscope Records). Singles released from the album are: "Just Dance" (2008), "Poker Face" (2008), "Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)" (2009), "LoveGame" (2009) and "Paparazzi" (2009).
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Did you know

• Trivia Gaga's manager, without consulting her, denied permission to "Weird Al" Yankovic, when he asked for permission to parody her song "Born This Way". Gaga only discovered this when one of her close friends showed her the YouTube video of the parody Yankovic had just uploaded to his account, called "Perform This Way", after having gone viral via Twitter. Her manager forced Yankovic to go through (at his own expense) the process of writing, recording, mixing and mastering the song, all while Yankovic was on tour in Australia, prior to denying permission to him. Yankovic felt that if he had to jump through all those hoops, it should still be heard, if not on his album, then online. When Gaga finished watching the video, she personally called Yankovic, and emphatically overruled her manager. Gaga stated that she was never told he had even reached out to her, and would have given him permission on the spot. She also said she was a huge fan of his, she loved what she had heard in the video he had uploaded and felt it was "very empowering" and "a rite of passage" to be parodied by Yankovic, and to release the song on his album as he originally planned. This came just in time, since pulling the parody would have meant delaying Yankovic's album by several weeks or months. Both Gaga and Yankovic agreed to donate proceeds and royalties from the parody to the Human Rights Campaign.
• Quotes [on Donatella Versace ] She's iconic and powerful, yet people throw darts at her. She's definitely provocative.
• Trademarks Often gives empowering speeches during shows to her fans about the importance of self-confidence and 'being whoever you want to be'.
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The Tragic Real-Life Story Of Lady Gaga

When it comes to women in pop music, the multi-talented Lady Gaga is in a league all her own. Per Britannica , her career took flight in 2008 with the release of her debut album "The Fame" and its immediate follow-up, 2009's "The Fame Monster." The world quickly fell in love with the quirky wonder of Lady Gaga — whose career is a tribute to David Bowie and is named after the Queen song "Radio Ga Ga" — and her disco-inspired electronic dance hits like "Just Dance," "Poker Face," and "Bad Romance." She's friends with musical icons like Elton John and Tony Bennett , and, as of 2022, she has released six albums, taken home 13 Grammys , and generated a devoted following of Little Monsters who refer to her as their Mother Monster (per Diggit Magazine ).

And music is only part of her story. As Vogue notes, the songstress is also a fashion icon, regularly shocking the world with her meat dresses, armadillo heels, and bizarre stunts like emerging from a giant egg on stage . More recently, she has also demonstrated her acting skills in movies like 2018's "A Star Is Born" and 2021's "House of Gucci" (per Britannica). But beneath the larger-than-life personality of sequins, fake blood, and lace is a real woman with very real struggles. By age 36, the pop star had already had quite a turbulent life. From bullying to sexual abuse to the endless trappings of fame, here is the tragic real-life story of Lady Gaga.

She was bullied in school

Born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, the Italian-American youth who would become Lady Gaga spent her formative years attending an all-girls Catholic school in New York City (per Britannica ). As she notes in "Channel Kindness"  — a book published by her charity, the Born This Way Foundation — the experience was far from constructive. Germanotta describes an instance when her high school bully interrupted her diligently prepared presentation to ask her why she was still talking, causing her to burst into tears in front of her entire class. She also claims that a group of boys — encouraged by girls from her school — once picked her up and threw her into a trash can, telling her that was where she belonged. Older girls also pinched her and called her a slut.

Unfortunately, her torment did not end with high school. As former classmate Lauren Bohn wrote on Facebook (via Upworthy ), Germanotta experienced difficulties while attending New York University as well. Bohn claims that a group of students created a Facebook group called "Stefani Germanotta, you will never be famous" that was purely devoted to slamming the future Lady Gaga, whom Bohn described as "a pretty Norah Jones-esque young 18-year-old ... who sang and played piano at local bars." While the joke is now on them, Lady Gaga claims the effects of bullying never went away. In a 2011 Google interview, she said, "I was never the winner. I was always the loser. And that still stays with me."

Lady Gaga made music in an attempt to heal her father

Stefani Germanotta showed musical promise at a young age. Per Biography , she began playing the piano when she was just four years old, and by age 13, she had written her first piano ballad. But tragically, her musical development was largely driven by her father's suffering. In a 2020 interview with Zane Lowe , Lady Gaga said she initially wrote songs on the piano to cheer her father up and hoped her music would heal his pain. As she explained in a 2017 interview with V Magazine , her father's sister, Joanne, died at age 19 due to complications from lupus, causing her family lasting sadness.

In 2010, Lady Gaga told MTV that she felt deeply connected to her Aunt Joanne, though they had never met. Joanne was a poet and a painter but died before publishing her works. So, as a gift to her father, Lady Gaga printed her aunt's poetry in the liner notes of her 2008 debut album "The Fame." Later, she released her 2016 album " Joanne " as a tribute to her late aunt — and as a further attempt to heal her father's trauma (per Zane Lowe). The experience left her depressed, and in 2020, she told Zane Lowe: "I realized that no matter what I make, no matter how big I become, no matter how many sold-out stadiums I have, I can't fix my dad."

Eating disorders have been a lifelong struggle for her

Growing up in an Italian home, Stefani Germanotta struggled to keep her figure while eating the food her family served. At the 2012 "It's Our Turn" conference hosted by Maria Shriver at a California school (via Radar Online ), Lady Gaga told students that she used to throw up all the time in an attempt to stay thin, explaining, "I wanted to be a skinny little ballerina, but I was a voluptuous little Italian girl whose dad had meatballs on the table every night." She later said she stopped making herself vomit after eating when she realized how damaging it was to her vocal cords and cautioned the students against believing the inaccurate images of women portrayed in the media.

Still, Lady Gaga continued to struggle with her body image and fame only complicated matters. In a 2010 interview with New York Magazine , she said "pop stars should not eat," suggesting that she stayed thin by starving herself. Later, in an essay in her charity the Born This Way Foundation's book "Channel Kindness," she admitted as much by stating that she had previously suffered from both anorexia and bulimia. She also explained how seeing news stories about her weight gain — however trivial — still causes her to have panic attacks.

If you need help with an eating disorder, or know someone who is, help is available. Visit the National Eating Disorders Association website or contact NEDA's Live Helpline at 1-800-931-2237. You can also receive 24/7 Crisis Support via text (send NEDA to 741-741).

She was raped and held captive by a producer

In 2014, Lady Gaga shocked the world by revealing that she was raped by a record producer on the Howard Stern Show . She elaborated further in a 2015 interview with The New York Times , stating that she did not tell anyone about the incident for seven years because she blamed herself for it. In 2021, Lady Gaga fully opened up about her experience on Oprah Winfrey and Prince Harry's series "The Me You Can't See" (via The Guardian ), claiming that she was raped repeatedly and held captive by a record producer when she was 19. The producer insisted that she undress or he would destroy her music. Her assault ended months later when her abuser dropped her off on a street corner sick and vomiting. As it turned out, she was pregnant.

Following the sexual abuse, Lady Gaga claimed that she "was not the same girl," according to "The Me You Can't See" (via The Economic Times ). To make matters worse, she told Oprah in a 2020 interview that no one in the music industry was willing to help her prosecute the producer. She has not named her abuser as she has chosen not to relive her trauma. She did, however, perform the song "Til It Happens to You" for "The Hunting Ground," a 2015 documentary about sexual assault on college campuses (per Billboard ). Her 2013 song "Swine" is also about the experience (via  Songfacts ).

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

Her first record label dropped her

In 2006, after years of underground performing, Lady Gaga thought she had finally made it. According to Johnny Morgan in his book "Gaga," she and her producer had written several electronica songs incorporating a synthesizer, a beatbox, and a piano that were unlike anything currently being played in the New York club scene. The two started pitching the songs to music industry big wigs, and eventually gained the ear of Joshua Sarubin, the head of A&R at Island Def-Jam. Following an audition, Sarubin and his employer Antonio "L.A." Reid signed an artist development deal with her with the goal of releasing an album in nine months.

Lady Gaga was over the moon. But three months into the deal, Reid stopped meeting with her to discuss the album. Desperate, she sat outside of his office for days hoping for a chance to salvage things, but, despite her best efforts, the deal stalled out. As Lady Gaga told E! News in 2011, she was in the hospital when she found out that she had been dropped from the label — an event later recreated in her music video for "Marry the Night." Per Morgan, losing her first record deal devastated Lady Gaga, drove her to drug use, and strained her relationship with her parents.

She struggles with mental health issues

On a 2016 episode of "The Today Show," Lady Gaga revealed that she suffered from PTSD. Per Mayo Clinic , PTSD — short for post-traumatic stress disorder — is a mental health condition that is triggered by witnessing or experiencing a traumatic event. Symptoms vary, and, in some cases, can take months or years to present. In a 2018 interview with Vogue ,  Lady Gaga said her PTSD symptoms mimic the feeling just before a roller coaster plunges. She also experiences difficulty breathing, a full-body spasm, and crying.

Later, in a 2021 episode of Oprah Winfrey and Prince Harry's series "The Me You Can't See" (via BBC ), Lady Gaga said she had a psychotic break as a result of her sexual abuse at 19. During the break, she experienced severe physical pain followed by full-body numbness and weeks of sickness. As she notes in a 2020 interview with Oprah , she was admitted to a hospital in a panicked state — completely broken from reality — following a triggering event years after the abuse and was referred to a psychiatrist. She claims not processing her trauma led to both PTSD and the break and she credits her team of doctors with teaching her how to manage her mental health and saving her life.

If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website .

She has self-harmed in the past

In a 2020 interview with Oprah , Lady Gaga admitted that she used to cut herself and throw herself against walls during times of emotional distress. She claimed that the physical pain from self-harming offered a temporary reprieve from the psychological pain but ultimately made her feel more out of control and worsened her mental state. Cutting also allowed her to show others that she was in pain. In a 2020 interview with Zane Lowe , she elaborated on her self-harm, explaining that it allowed her to temporarily express feelings of shame and inadequacy but always left her feeling worse.

Cutting has left permanent scars on her wrists, and she claims that people have made hurtful comments about the marks, compounding her pain. In 2012, Lady Gaga and her mother, Cynthia Germanotta, started the Born This Way Foundation to assist young people with mental health struggles (per HuffPost ). Partnering with universities and psychologists, the organization seeks to provide youths with relevant resources and "make the world a kinder and braver place." One of the teachings Lady Gaga imparts through the foundation is her personal philosophy on combating self-harm: "Tell me, don't show me."

Lady Gaga lives with trauma-induced chronic pain

In 2018, Lady Gaga was forced to cancel the last 10 dates of her European "Joanne" tour following a severe bout of chronic pain caused by fibromyalgia, which she was diagnosed with in 2016 (per ABC News ). Per Mayo Clinic , fibromyalgia is a trauma-induced disorder that causes widespread body pain, fatigue, and mood issues. In a 2020 interview with Oprah , Lady Gaga explained that the condition causes her to experience full-body pain as a trauma response — similar to what she felt after being sexually abused.

Lady Gaga lived and toured with constant pain for years, yet MRIs and medical tests revealed no physical cause for her agony. Prior to the diagnosis, she claims that the intense unexplained pain made her feel like she was going to die. Finally, she was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and received mental health therapy and non-narcotic medication that helped her manage the condition — though the chronic pain never went away entirely.

She has had two failed engagements

Lady Gaga's love life has been tumultuous. According to ELLE , she had a six-year on-again-off-again relationship with fellow musician Lüc Carl that started in New York before her big break and continued until 2011. She wrote the song "Yoü and I" about their final break-up. While shooting the music video for the song in 2011, she met actor Taylor Kinney, who played her paramour in the video. The couple dated for years and Kinney proposed in 2015. But in 2016, Lady Gaga announced their break-up on Instagram , citing their busy schedules. Many believe her sad ballad "Million Reasons" — released that same year — is about their relationship.

In 2017, Lady Gaga began spending a lot of time with her talent agent, Christian Carino (per ELLE). While she kept the details of their relationship private, she addressed him as her fiancé during her ELLE Women in Hollywood acceptance speech in 2018. According to Us Weekly , she called off the engagement in 2019 due to Carino's jealous and controlling behavior. Per Harper's Bazaar , she has been happily dating tech philanthropist Michael Polansky since 2020 so perhaps it was all for the best. 

Lady Gaga has struggled with substance abuse

In a 2011 interview with Howard Stern (via Billboard ), Lady Gaga admitted to having used ecstasy and cocaine to cope with difficult times, noting cocaine made her feel like she had a "friend." Still, she stated that she regretted using it, referred to it as "the devil," and warned fans never to touch it. She shared a similar struggle on a 2013 episode of Elvis Duran and the Morning Show , saying she was once addicted to marijuana, smoked up to 20 joints a day, and regularly "lily-padded" from one substance to another as a form of self-medicating to cope with pain, anxiety, and depression.

Though she has worked on her mental health over the years and does not use narcotics or opioids, Lady Gaga admitted to Zane Lowe in a 2020 interview that she continues to self-medicate with alcohol. In fact, her hit song "Rain on Me" refers to her failed attempts at sobriety and is a metaphor for heavy drinking. As she sings in the song, "I'd rather be dry but at least I'm alive."

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

Her dogs were stolen in a violent attack

On February 24, 2021, Lady Gaga's dog walker, Ryan Fischer, was violently attacked and shot in the chest around 10 p.m. while walking her three French bulldogs in Hollywood (per The New York Post ). After battling Fischer, who refused to surrender the dogs, the attackers fled with two of them — Koji and Gustav — leaving him bleeding in the street with the third dog, Miss Asia. Lady Gaga, who was in Italy filming a movie at the time, posted about the tragedy on Instagram , saying, "My heart is sick and I am praying my family will be whole again with an act of kindness." She offered a $500,000 reward for the safe return of her dogs, and also praised Fischer for his bravery.

According to NPR , Fischer lost part of a lung but recovered. Koji and Gustav were returned two days later by a woman who claimed she had found them tied to a pole. As ABC News notes, she has since been arrested in connection with the crime along with four others — all confirmed gang members. Police believe that Fischer was targeted due to the high value of French bulldogs and that the criminals did not know that the dogs belonged to Lady Gaga. Per NPR, one of the suspects was charged with second-degree robbery and sentenced to four years in prison.

Filming House of Gucci was difficult for her

Lady Gaga commits fully to her art, often to her own detriment. In a 2021 episode of Marc Malkin's podcast, "Just for Variety," she explained how she fully embraces the characters she portrays in films, becoming them full-time in a particularly extreme form of method acting. While playing murderess Patrizia Gucci in 2021's "House of Gucci," Lady Gaga lived her life as Patrizia, speaking with her heavy Italian accent around the clock and immersing herself in Patrizia's darkness.

Compared to Ally in "A Star Is Born," Patrizia is a duplicitous character with a tragic life, and playing the role began to take a toll on Lady Gaga's mental health. In fact, she needed an onset psychiatric nurse to accompany her to the set during the last few days of filming for her own safety. It didn't help that physical safety was also a very real concern while filming on location in Italy. Patrizia was more than a character, she was a real person. And since she was no longer in jail, the cast and crew had to be ready in the event that she showed up to the set and was less than enthused about her portrayal. Turns out, the real Gucci family did have some things to say about the "House of Gucci."

She nearly lost her identity to her persona

Stefani Germanotta originally invented her Lady Gaga persona as a superhero for herself. In a 2020 interview, she told Oprah that Gaga was everything Germanotta wanted to be: confident, self-compassionate, and full of love for others. But over time, the persona became her full identity and she started feeling like she no longer belonged to herself and belonged to the world instead. Therapy helped her work through the concept of objectification and get to know herself.

She elaborated on her struggles with objectification in a 2020 interview with Zane Lowe , claiming that celebrity culture had stripped her of her humanity and reduced her to a robot, which caused her to become depressed and afraid of the public. Despite her apparent bravado, being a woman in Hollywood has never been easy for Lady Gaga. Donning an oversized suit at her 2018 ELLE Women in Hollywood acceptance speech in lieu of a dress, she declared: "We are not just objects to entertain the world. We are not simply images to bring smiles or grimaces to peoples' faces ... We women in Hollywood, we are voices."

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Stefani J. A. Germanotta (9:53 AM)

Gaga's signature

Stefani Germanotta (born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta) was born on March 28, 1986 at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, New York. She is the eldest child of Joseph "Joe" and Cynthia (née Bissett) Germanotta. She is mostly of Italian heritage with some German, Scottish, English and French ancestry on her mother's side. She has a younger sister of six years, Natali . She is better known as her stage name, Lady Gaga which she started using in 2007. She usually prefer to be called Gaga instead of simply just Lady or the full nickname.

• 1 Life and career
• 2.1 Tattoos
• 2.2.1 Haus of Gaga
• 3 Photography
• 4 Discography
• 6 Filmography
• 9 Related pages
• 10 External links

Life and career

• Early years

1986–03: Early life

Gaga was raised Roman Catholic. From age eleven she attended the Convent of the Sacred Heart , a private all-girls Roman Catholic school on Manhattan's Upper East Side. She described her academic life in high school as "very dedicated, very studious, very disciplined" but also "a bit insecure": "I used to get made fun of for being either too provocative or too eccentric, so I started to tone it down. I didn't fit in, and I felt like a freak.

Gaga began playing the piano at the age of four, wrote her first piano ballad at thirteen, and started to perform at open mike nights by the age of fourteen. She performed lead roles in high school productions, including "Adelaide in Guys and Dolls and Philia in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum". She also appeared in a very small role as a mischievous classmate in the television drama series The Sopranos in a 2001 episode titled "The Telltale Moozadell" and auditioned for New York shows without success. She sang in a classic-rock cover band, Mackin Pulsifer , during her freshman year of high school. The band did covers of Led Zeppelin's songs along with Pink Floyd and Jefferson Airplane.

2004–05: Career beginnings

After high school, her mother encouraged her to apply for the Collaborative Arts Project 21 (CAP21), a musical theatre training conservatory at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. By age seventeen, after becoming one of twenty students to gain early admission, she lived in an NYU dorm on 11th Street. In addition to sharpening her songwriting skills, she composed essays and analytical papers on art, religion, social issues and politics, including a thesis on pop artists Spencer Tunick and Damien Hirst. She also tried won the part of an unsuspecting diner customer for MTV 's Boiling Points, a prank reality television show.

In 2005 , Gaga withdrew from CAP21 at 19, in the second semester of her sophomore year, deciding to focus on her musical career. Her father agreed to pay her rent for a year, on the condition that she re-enroll at Tisch if unsuccessful. "I left my entire family, got the cheapest apartment I could find, and ate shit until somebody would listen," she remembers. Settled in a small apartment on Rivington Street towards the summer of 2005, Gaga recorded a couple of songs with hip-hop singer Grandmaster Melle Mel, for an audio book accompanying the children's book The Portal in the Park, by Cricket Casey.

At The Bitter End ( Jan 20 , 2006 )

She also began a band called the Stefani Germanotta Band ( SGBand ) with some friends from NYU – guitarist Calvin Pia, bassist Eli Silverman, drummer Alex Beckham and booking manager Frank Fredericks – in September of that year. The band played a mixture of songs: some self-penned alongside classic rock numbers like Led Zeppelin's " D'yer Mak'er ". Playing in bars like the Greenwich Village's The Bitter End and the Lower East Side's the Mercury Lounge, the band developed a small fan base and caught the eye of music producer Joe Vulpis. Soon after arranging time in Vulpis' studio in the months that followed, SGBand were selling their extended plays Words and Red and Blue (both 2005) at gigs around New York while becoming a local fixture of the downtown Lower East Side club scene.

2006–07: Artistic development

SGBand reached their career peak at the 2006 Songwriters Hall of Fame New Songwriters Showcase at The Cutting Room in June where Wendy Starland, a musician, appeared as a talent scout for music producer Rob Fusari . Starland informed Fusari – who was searching for a female singer to front a new band – of Gaga's ability and contacted her. With SGBand disbanded, Gaga traveled daily to New Jersey to work on songs she had written and compose new material with the music producer. While in collaboration, Fusari compared some of her vocal harmonies to those of Freddie Mercury, lead singer of Queen. It was Fusari who helped create the moniker Gaga after the Queen song " Radio Ga Ga ". Gaga was in the process of trying to come up with a stage name when she received a text message from Fusari that read "Lady Gaga." She texted back, "That's it," and declared, "Don't ever call me Stefani again.

Germanotta and Rob Fusari at Recording Studio ( Nov 4 , 2006 )

Although the musical relationship between Fusari and Gaga was unsuccessful at first, the pair soon set up a company titled Team Love Child in which they recorded and produced electropop tracks and sent them to music industry bosses. Joshua Sarubin, the head of A&R at Def Jam Recordings, responded positively and vied for the record company to take a chance on her "unusual and provocative" performance. After having his boss Antonio "L.A." Reid in agreement, Gaga was signed to Def Jam in September 2006 with the intention of having an album ready in nine months. However, she was dropped by the label after only three months – an unfortunate period of her life that would later inspire her treatment for the music video for her 2011 single " Marry the Night ". Devastated, Gaga returned to the solace of the family home for Christmas and the nightlife culture of the Lower East Side.

Gaga and Starlight at The Slipper Room . Photo by Veronica Ibarra ( Oct 4 , 2007 )

She became increasingly experimental: fascinating herself with emerging neo-burlesque shows, go-go dancing at bars dressed in little more than a bikini in addition to experimenting with drugs. During this time, she met performance artist Lady Starlight , who helped mold her on-stage persona. Starlight explained that, upon their first meeting, Gaga wanted to perform with her to songs she had recorded with Fusari. Like SGBand , the pair soon began performing at many of the downtown club venues. Their live performance art piece was known as " Lady Gaga and the Starlight Revue " and, billed as "The Ultimate Pop Burlesque Rockshow", was a low-fi tribute to 1970's variety acts. Soon after, the two were invited to play at the 2007 Lollapalooza Music festival in August that year.

While Gaga and Starlight were busy performing, producer Rob Fusari continued to work on the songs he had created with Gaga. Fusari sent these songs to his friend, producer and record executive Vincent Herbert . Herbert was quick to sign her to his label Streamline Records , an imprint of Interscope Records, upon its establishment in 2007 .

The Fame era

The Fame Ball in 2009

2009–10: The Fame Monster era

2011–12: born this way era, physical appearance.

Lady Gaga is 5' 1" (1.55 m), have naturally brown hair and her eyes green. She have worn many wigs and a weft (only in 2008) from Blonde to Teal across the years.

Lady Gaga has twenty-three tattoos located on various part on the left side of her body. During the Musicians@Google Presents: Google Goes Gaga , Gaga revealed that she only has tattoos on the left side of her body because her dad asked her to keep one side of her body 'slightly normal'. She referred to her left side of her body like her 'Iggy Pop side' and her right side (without tattoos) her 'Marylin Monroe side'.

During the second leg of The Monster Ball Tour in Japan, she got a temporary tattoo while on her way to Japan, saying, "リトルモンスター" (Ritoru Monsutā), which means "Little Monster".

Fashion is a major key point in the life of Lady Gaga. She has stated that she is " very into fashion " and that it is " everything " to her. Her love of fashion came from her mother , who she stated was " always very well kept and beautiful. "

Outfits worn by Lady Gaga are a mix of high couture designers, young designers from across the world and her own team, the Haus of Gaga . Some of her favorite designers include Chanel, Armani, Gucci.

Haus of Gaga

In 2008, Gaga created the Haus of Gaga, her behind the scenes team that create everything from outfits to art direct the films and various projects. They usually either make the outfits themselves or ask a designers to create the outfits for them.

• Photography
• December 5, 2010
• June 8, 2011

Social media

• Amen Fashion
• LittleMonsters.com

• Makeup by Billy B , digital prosthetics by Millennium FX .
• "Born This Way" promotional poster with "GAGA" written in red on it.
• The Born This Way Ball poster, program and more.

• Makeup by Tara Savelo , hair by Frederic Aspiras , silk shirt by Versace ,

Discography

with

Filmography

• Official Merchandise
• Heartbeats by Lady Gaga (Monster Cable, 2009, 2011)
• Polaroid Grey Label (2011)
• Fame , fragrance (Coty Inc. with Haus Laboratories , 2012)
• Eau de Gaga , fragrance (Coty Inc. with Haus Laboratories , 2014)
• Haus Laboratories , cosmetics brand (2019)
• Book of Gaga (Part of the Super Deluxe Fame Monster Pack of The Fame Monster , 2009)
• Lady Gaga x Terry Richardson (photographs by Terry Richardson , foreword by Lady Gaga, 2011)
• Joanne Trattoria Cookbook (written by Joe Germanotta , foreword by Lady Gaga, 2016)
• Channel Kindness (Notes by Lady Gaga, 2020)
• Inside/Out (26 Jun 2010 – 14 Aug 2010)
• MIT Musem (July 2010-Present)
• Lady Gaga à Gogo (October 24, 2010 - October 30, 2010)
• Nicola’s (September 8-21, 2011)
• Women Who Rock: Vision, Passion, Power (September 7, 2012 - January 6, 2013)
• artRave (November 10, 2013)
• ARTPOP Pop-Up: A Lady Gaga Gallery (November 11-13, 2013)
• Living Rooms (November 13, 2013-February 14, 2014)
• G.U.Y. HOTEL (Mach 28, 2014 - April 10, 2014)
• Art Of Television Costume Design (August 2, 2016 - October 15, 2016)
• Play It Loud: Instruments of Rock and Roll (April 8, 2019-October 1, 2019)
• HAUS OF GAGA/LAS VEGAS (May 30, 2019 - 2020)

Related pages

• Lady Gaga facts

External links

• Official Website
• 1 List of Unreleased Songs
• 2 Jo Calderone
• 3 Joe Germanotta

• Die With A Smile

Die With A Smile Lyrics

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“Die With A Smile” is the comeback single by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars who both haven’t released music in 2 to 3 years. The song was surprise announced a day before the release on August 15th and released at 12am EST alongside the music video.

Gaga confirmed on the announcement post that this song is a song to hold fans over until she releases her highly anticipated seventh studio album which she has teased through out all of 2024.

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

Bruno and I have a lot of mutual respect for each other and were talking about collaborating. I was finishing up my own album in Malibu and one night after a long day he asked me to come to his studio to hear something he was working on. It was around midnight when I got there and I was blown away when I heard what he had started making. We stayed up all night and finished writing and recording the song. Bruno’s talent is beyond explanation. His musicianship and vision is next level. There’s no one like him.

Bruno Mars:

Getting to work with Gaga has been an honor. She’s an icon and she makes this song magical. I’m so excited for everyone to hear it.

— via Variety

Lady Gaga started teasing the track on her Instagram with a piano teaser of the track on August 14. On August 15 Lady Gaga announced the release on her Instagram , saying: “While you wait on LG7…”, also teasing her next album.

Bruno Mars posted a picture on his Instagram wearing merchandise from Lady Gaga on August 15. A few hours later he posted the cover on his Instagram, saying: “Song and video tonight! 9pm PT”.

No, “Die with a Smile” marks the first collaboration between the two.

• Notorious Being*
• Abracadabra*
• Garden Of Eden* (Unreleased)

Genius is the world’s biggest collection of song lyrics and musical knowledge

Lady Gaga Age, Husband, Boyfriend, Family, Biography & More

Real Name	Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta
Nickname(s)	Queen of Pop, Mother Monster, Little Mermaid, Loopy, Gagaloo, and Rabbit Teeth
Profession(s)	Singer, Songwriter, Actress, Record Producer, Businesswoman, Activist
Height (approx.)	in centimeters in meters in feet & inches
Eye Colour	Hazel
Hair Colour	Blonde (Natural Colour is Dark Brown)
Debut	The Fame (2008) The Sopranos (2001)
Awards, Honors & Achievements	• "Rising Star Award" by Billboard Women in Music • "Best International Artist" by Channel V Thailand Music Video Awards • "Best International Music Video" for "Poker Face" by Channel V Thailand Music Video Awards • "Best New Artist" by ESKA Music Awards • "International Female Artist of the Year" by GAFFA Awards (Denmark) • "Most Cumulative Weeks on the UK Singles Chart in One Year" (for Just Dance, Poker Face, Paparazzi, Love Game, Bad Romance) by Guinness World Records • "Most Downloaded Female Act in a Year in the USA" by Guinness World Records • "Breakthrough Solo Artist of the Year" by International Dance Music Awards • "Best Pop Dance Track" by International Dance Music Awards • "Best New Artist" by MTV Video Music Awards • "Best Art Direction" by MTV Video Music Awards • "Best Video" (Just Dance) by Q Awards • "Best Album" (The Fame) by Virgin Media Music Awards • "Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist" by American Music Awards • "Video of the Year" (Video Phone) by BET Awards • "Breakthrough Award" (The Monster Ball Tour) by Billboard Touring Awards • "International Female Solo Artist" by Brit Awards • "Best International Album" (The Fame) by Brit Awards • "Best International Artist" by BT Digital Music Awards • "Best International Newcomer" by ECHO Awards • "Best International Female Artist" by ECHO Awards • "Best International/National Song of the Year" (Poker Face) by ECHO Awards • "International Song of the Year" (Bad Romance) by Gaygalan Awards • "Best Electronic/Dance Album" (The Fame) by Grammy Awards • "Best Dance Recording" (Poker Face) by Grammy Awards • "Most Weeks on US Hot Digital Songs Chart" (Poker Face) by Guinness World Records • "Most Product Placement in a Video" (Telephone) by Guinness World Records • "Best Solo Artist" by International Dance Music Awards • "Best Music Video" (Bad Romance) by International Dance Music Awards • "Best New Artist International" by Japan Gold Disc Awards • "Best International Female" by Meteor Music Awards • "Best Female Artist" by MTV Europe Music Awards • "Best Song" (Bad Romance) by MTV Europe Music Awards • "Video of the Year" (Bad Romance) by MTV Video Music Awards • "Best Female Video" (Bad Romance) by MTV Video Music Awards • "Best Pop Video" (Bad Romance) by MTV Video Music Awards • "Best Dance Video" (Bad Romance) by MTV Video Music Awards • "Best Direction" (Bad Romance) by MTV Video Music Awards • "Best Editing" (Bad Romance) by MTV Video Music Awards • "Best Collaboration" (Telephone feat. ) by MTV Video Music Awards • "Best Dressed" by NME Awards • "Favorite Breakout Artist" by People's Choice Awards • "Favorite Pop Artist" by People's Choice Awards • "Top Female Artist" by RTHK International Pop Poll Awards • "Choice Music: Female Artist" by Teen Choice Awards • "Choice Summer Music Star: Female" by Teen Choice Awards • "Best International Video" by UK Music Video Awards • "Best Collaboration" (Telephone feat. ) by Virgin Media Music Awards • "World's Best Pop/Rock Artist" by World Music Awards • "World's Best New Artist" by World Music Awards • "Best Selling Artist of America" by World Music Awards • "World's Best Album of the Year" (The Fame) by World Music Awards • "World's Best Song of the Year" (Poker Face) by World Music Awards • "International Pop Artist" by Bambi Awards • "Billboard Japan Adult Contemporary of the Year" (Born This Way) by Billboard Japan Music Awards • "Billboard Japan Digital and Overseas Airplay of the Year" (Born This Way) by Billboard Japan Music Awards • "Top Pop Artist" by Billboard Music Awards • "Top Dance Artist" by Billboard Music Awards • "Top Dance/Electronic Album" (The Fame) by Billboard Music Awards • "Fashion Icon Award" by CFDA Fashion Awards • "Best International Artist" by ESKA Music Awards • "Best Pop Vocal Album" (The Fame Monster) by Grammy Awards • "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance" (Bad Romance) by Grammy Awards • "Best Short Form Music Video" (Bad Romance) by Grammy Awards • "Fastest-Selling Single on iTunes" (Born This Way) by Guinness World Records • "Best-Selling Digital Album in the United Kingdom" (The Fame) by Guinness World Records • "Most Searched-For Female on the Internet" by Guinness World Records • "Largest Gathering of Lady Gaga Impersonators" by Guinness World Records • "Most Followers on Twitter" by Guinness World Records • "Best Solo Artist" by International Dance Music Awards • "Best Pop Dance Track" (Alejandro) by International Dance Music Awards • "Big Man of the Year" by Little Kids Rock • "Best Song" (Born This Way) by MTV Europe Music Awards • "Best Video" (Born This Way) by MTV Europe Music Awards • "Wonder Woman Award" by MTV Italian Music Awards • "Best Video with a Message" (Born This Way) by MTV Video Music Awards • "Hottest Woman" by NME Awards • "Hero of the Year" by NME Awards • "Innovative Artist" by O Music Awards • "Must Follow Artist on Twitter" by O Music Awards • "Foreign Song of the Year" (Born This Way) by Rockbjörnen • "The Best Selling English Album" (The Fame Monster) by RTHK International Pop Poll Awards • "Top Female Artist" by RTHK International Pop Poll Awards • "The Record of the Year" (Born This Way) by The Record of the Year • "Most Performed Songs" (Born This Way) by ASCAP Pop Music Awards • "Most Performed Songs" (The Edge of Glory) by ASCAP Pop Music Awards • "Top Dance Artist" by Billboard Music Awards • "Favourite Artist" by Billboard Music Awards • "Most Influential Style" by Billboard Music Awards • "Top Electronic/Dance Album" by Billboard Music Awards • "International Song of the Year" (Born This Way) by Gaygalan Awards • "Outstanding Music Artist" by GLAAD Media Awards • "Outstanding Documentary" (Lady Gaga: Inside the Outside) by Gracie Awards • "Lennon Ono Grant for Peace Award" by LennonOno Grant for Peace • "Winning Video" (Marry The Night) by MTV Video Play Awards • "Favorite Album of the Year" (Born This Way) by People's Choice Awards • "Major Tour of the Year" (The Monster Ball Tour) by Pollstar Awards • "Top Female Artist" by RTHK International Pop Poll Awards • "Most Disappointing" (Lady Gaga Cancels Tour Dates) by Billboard.com Mid-Year Music Awards • "Award-Winning Songs" (You and I) by BMI Pop Awards • "Woman of the Year" by Glamour Awards • "Fastest-Selling US Digital Album" (Born This Way) by Guinness World Records • "Most Famous Celebrity" by Guinness World Records • "Best Music Video" (Lady Gaga Presents the Monster Ball Tour: At Madison Square Garden) by Japan Gold Disc Awards • "Most Innovative Charity of the Year" (Born This Way Foundation) by NewNowNext Awards • "Celebrity/Fan" (Gaga's Workshop) by Webby Awards • "Most Performed Songs" (Applause) by ASCAP Pop Music Awards • "Most Buzzed-About Moment" (Lady Gaga's paint-vomiting SXSW performance) by Billboard.com Mid-Year Music Awards • "Best Tour" (ArtRave: The Artpop Ball) by Billboard.com Mid-Year Music Awards • "Bronze Winner (Experiential)" (Gagadoll) by Clio Awards • "Best International Album" (Artpop) by Japan Gold Disc Awards • "Best Pop Video" (Applause) by MTV Video Music Awards Japan • "Making a Difference Award" by ADL Awards • "Best Cover - Fashion and Beauty" (Harper's Bazaar, March 2014) by American Society of Magazine Editors • "Woman of the Year" by Billboard Women in Music • "Publisher of the Year" (Applause) by BMI Pop Awards • "Award-Winning Songs" (Do What U Want feat. R. Kelly) by BMI Pop Awards • "Humanitarian Award" (Lady Gaga and Cynthia Germanotta) by Columbus Citizens Foundation • "Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album" (Cheek to Cheek with Tony Bennett) by Grammy Awards • "Most Powerful Popstar" by Guinness World Records • "Best Original Song – Documentary" (Til It Happens to You) by Hollywood Music in Media Awards • "Young Artist Award" by National Arts Awards • "Contemporary Icon Award" by Songwriters Hall of Fame • "50 Artists to Watch" by YouTube Music Awards • "Gold Lion (Digital Installations & Events)" by Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity • "Editor of the Year" by Fashion Los Angeles Awards • "Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film" (American Horror Story: Hotel) by Golden Globe Awards • "Jane Ortner Artist Award" by Jane Ortner Education Award • "Best Look" by MTV Europe Music Awards • "Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist" by American Music Awards • "The Honorary Miss Gay America" by Miss Gay America • "International Hit of the Year" (Perfect Illusion) by MTV Millennial Awards • "Top Female Artist" by RTHK International Pop Poll Awards • "Best Actress" (A Star Is Born) by Dublin Film Critics' Circle • "Best Original Song – Feature Film" (Shallow) by Hollywood Music in Media Awards • "Best Original Song" (Shallow) by Houston Film Critics Society • "Best Original Song" (Shallow) by Los Angeles Online Film Critics Society • "Best Music Documentary" (Gaga: Five Foot Two) by MTV Movie & TV Awards • "Best Actress" (A Star Is Born) by National Board of Review Awards • "Best Original Song" (Shallow) by Academy Awards • "Academy Award Honor" (Shallow) by BMI Film, TV & Visual Media Awards • "Best Film Music" (A Star Is Born) by British Academy Film Awards • "Best Song" (Shallow) by Critics' Choice Movie Awards • "Best Actress" (A Star Is Born) by Critics' Choice Movie Awards • "Song of the Year" (Shallow) by Gaygalan Awards • "Mass Appeal Award" by Global Awards • "Best Original Song - Motion Picture" (Shallow) by Golden Globe Awards • "Best Pop Duo/Group Performance" (Shallow) by Grammy Awards • "Best Song Written for Visual Media" (Shallow) by Grammy Awards • "Best Pop Solo Performance" (Joanne-Where Do You Think You're Goin'?) by Grammy Awards • "Song That Left Us Shook" (I'll Never Love Again) by iHeartRadio Music Awards • "International Duo/Group of the Year" (Lady Gaga & ) by NRJ Music Awards • "Innovator of the Year - Tech & Innovation" by Shorty Awards • "TV Musical Performance of the Year" (Shallow at the 91st Academy Awards) by Dorian Awards • "First Person to Be Nominated for Best Actress and Best Original Song Oscars in One Year" by Guinness World Records
Date of Birth	March 28, 1986 (Friday)
Age (as in 2020)
Birthplace	Manhattan, New York City, United States
Zodiac sign	Aries
Signature
Nationality	American
Hometown	Manhattan, New York City, United States
School	Convent of the Sacred Heart, New York City, United States
College/University	Collaborative Arts Project 21 (music school at the New York University)
Educational Qualification	College Dropout
Religion	Christianity
Ethnicity	Italian, French-Canadian
Food Habit	Non-Vegetarian
Hobbies	Bowling, Paying the Piano, Horse-Riding
Tattoo(s)	• Anchor tattoo on her left rib cage • ARTPOP tattoo on her left hand • Cherub tattoo on the back of her head • Cluster of Roses tattoo on her left lower back • David Bowie tattoo on her waist (left side) • Unity of Fire tattoo on her left shoulder • A quote from the book "Letters to a Young Poet" on her left inner arm • Heart tattoo with the word "Dad" written inside it on her left shoulder • "Joanne" tattoo on her forearm • Little Monsters tattoo on her left inner arm • Monster Claw tattoo on her back (left side) • Mother Monster tattoo on her left armpit • Mouse tattoo on her left elbow with her sister Nat's name written below • Musical Note tattoo on her right forearm • Peace sign tattoo on her left wrist inspired by • The word "RIO" written behind her left ear • Rose tattoo on her back • Tokyo Love tattoo on her left shoulder • Treble Clef tattoo on her lower back • Trio Daisies tattoo on her left shoulder back • Trumpet tattoo on her right arm • Unicorn tattoo with "Born This Way" written under it on her left thigh
Controversies	• In 2010, at the MTV Video Music Awards, she wore a dress, boots, hats, and purse made of raw beef. She wore the dress to protest against the US Army's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) policy. She was criticized for the dress from several animal rights activists. • On August 4, 2011, Rebecca Francescatti, a Chicago-based songwriter, sued Gaga for copying her song "Juda" from her album, "It's All About You." She alleged that Gaga "copied and incorporated substantial, original portions of her work." • She has been criticized for her song "Judas," in which she is portraying her love for Judas who had betrayed Jesus. • Several people raised eyebrows when she admitted to dancing semi-nude in bars before she was successful. She said, "I was on stage in a thong, with a fringe hanging over my ass thinking it had covered it, lighting hairsprays on fire, go-go dancing to Black Sabbath, and singing songs about oral sex" • In 2010, her ex-boyfriend, producer, and business partner sued her for $30.5 million claiming compensation for creating her star image, framing her style, and giving her the name "Lady Gaga." They settled out of the court.
Marital Status	Engaged
Affairs/Boyfriends	• Lüc Carl (Bar Owner; 2005-2011) • Robert Fusari (Music Producer; 2006) • Matthew ‘Dada’ Williams (Creative Director; 2008) • Speedy Gonzales (Model; 2009) • Taylor Kinney (Actor; 2011-2015) • Christian Carino (Talent Agent; 2017-2019) • Dan Horton (Audio Engineer; 2019-Present)
Husband/Spouse	• Taylor Kinney (Fiancé; 2015-2016) • Christian Carino (Fiancé; October 2018 - February 2019)
Children	None
Parents	- Joseph Germanotta (Businessman) - Cynthia Germanotta (Philanthropist, Activist, and Businesswoman)
Siblings	- None - Natali Germanotta (Younger; Fashion Designer)
Food	Pizza, Pasta, Salad, Peach Cobbler
Beverages	Tea, Jameson Irish Whiskey on the rocks
Dessert	Panna Cotta
Candy	Gummy Bears
Book(s)	"Letters to a Young Poet" by Rainer Maria Rilke, "The Catcher in the Rye" by JD Salinger Salinger
Perfume(s)	"Ralph" by Ralph Lauren, "Daisy" by Marc Jacobs, "Fame" by Lady Gaga
TV Show Character	Sarah Jessica Parker from "Sex and The City" (portrayed by Carrie Bradshaw)
Cartoon Character	Bugs Bunny
Film	La Haine (1995)
Film Director	Martin Scorsese
Singer(s)	Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie,
Song(s)	"Imagine" by , "Thunder Road" by Bruce Springsteen, "Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zeppelin, "TNT" by AC/DC, "Oh! Darling" by The Beatles, "Rebel Rebel" by David Bowie, "Hold On" by Chord Overstreet
Music Record	"Let's Dance" by David Bowie
Painting	"Nighthawks" by Edward Hopper
Band(s)	Iron Maiden, E Street Band, Black Sabbath, Metallica, AC/DC, Judas Priest
Colour	Black and Lavender
Flower	White Roses
Car Collection	• Rolls-Royce Corniche III • Ford F-150 SVT Lightning • Mercedes-Benz W123 • Audi R8 • Mercedes-Benz E350 • Classic Ford Mustang • Chevrolet El Camino • Lincoln Continental • Ford Bronco • Chevy Nova SS • Porsche Boxster • Lamborghini Huracán • Rolls-Royce Phantom
Net Worth (approx.)	$300 million (as in 2018)

Some Lesser Known Facts About Lady Gaga

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• Lady Gaga is an American singer, songwriter, businesswoman, and actress. She is known for her unconventional style and visual experimentation. She has twelve “Guinness World Records” to her name, and she is also known as the “Queen of Pop.”
• Gaga attended a private all-girls Roman Catholic school. She described her school life as “very dedicated, very studious, very disciplined but also a bit insecure.” Once, in an interview, she said-

I was mocked for being either too provocative or too eccentric. I didn’t fit in, and I felt like a freak”

Lady Gaga playing piano during her younger years

Lady Gaga during her college days

Lady Gaga (kneeling left) during her days in NYU

• In 2005, during the second semester of her sophomore year, she quit school to focus on her music career. However, her father was not happy with her decision.
• The name “Lady Gaga” was suggested to her by her former boyfriend Robert Fusari. Fusari was texting Gaga about the “Queen” song “Radio Ga Ga,” when a glitch changed it to “Lady Gaga.” As soon as she got the text, she replied-

This is it! Don’t call me Stefani ever again”

• Fusari and Gaga had also created a company named, “Team Lovechild” to promote Gaga’s career. They used to record and produce “electropop tracks” and send it to music industry executives.
• “Def Jam Recordings” responded positively to her tracks, and they signed her into “Def Jam” in September 2006. However, she was dropped from the label three months later. She returned home and started performing at “Neo-Burlesque” shows.

Lady Gaga and Lady Starlight (right) at the 2007 Lollapalooza Music Festival

• In November 2007, she struck a music publishing deal with “Sony/ATV.” She was hired to write songs for “ Britney Spears ,” “New Kids on the Block,” “Fergie,” and “The Pussycat Dolls.” She also used to record “reference vocals” for Akon, who loved her voice, and he helped Gaga sign a joint deal with “KonLive” to make Gaga a franchise player.

Lady Gaga in a “Haus of Gaga” exhibition

The cover art of Lady Gaga’s album- “The Fame”

Lady Gaga at the 2010 Grammys

• In 2010, she was diagnosed with Lupus. However, she was not affected by the symptoms, and she hoped to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Lady Gaga’s album- “Born This Way”

• She wrote the title song of her album “Born This Way” in just ten minutes.

Lady Gaga performing in the “Monster Ball Tour”

• She considers “Born This Way” a lyrical masterpiece including topics like sex, love, religion, money, identity, liberation, drugs, sexuality, individualism, and freedom. The album had been recorded in English, French, Spanish, and German.

Lady Gaga with Cher (right)

Lady Gaga wearing her meat dress

• She calls her fans “Little Monsters,” and her fans call her “Mother Monster.”
• In March 2011, her bracelet store raised $1.5 million to help Japan’s community, when it was hit by a tsunami.
• Once, she had revealed that her song “Poker Face” was about her bisexuality, and her boyfriends were not comfortable with that, and they used to tell her-

I don’t want to have a threesome, I’m happy with just you”

• While speaking at the “2009 The Gender Equality Summit,” she said that it was “the single most important moment” of her career.

Lady Gaga speaking with Oprah about the “Born This Way Foundation”

• She said the best advice she has ever received is- “If you don’t have shadows, you’re not standing in the light.”
• Once, she ordered Pizzas worth $1000 for her fans, who had been waiting all night for her outside a record shop.
• In an interview with the Rolling Stone Magazine, she said-

When I wake up in the morning, I feel just like any other insecure 24-year-old girl. Then I say to myself, Bitch, you’re Lady Gaga, you get up and walk the walk today”

• She used to be bullied in school for her looks. When she was featured on the cover of “Vogue Magazine,” she tweeted –

They used to call me rabbit teeth in school, and now I'm a real live VOGUE BEAUTY QUEEN! http://twitpic.com/3wqogt — Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) February 5, 2011

Lady Gaga as “The Countess” in American Horror Story- Hotel

Lady Gaga with Oprah Winfrey

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Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. After performing in the rock music scene of New York City's Lower East Side in 2003 and later enrolling at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, she soon signed with Streamline Records, an imprint of Interscope Records. During her early time at Interscope, she worked as a songwriter for fellow label artists and captured the attention of recording artist Akon, who recognized her vocal abilities, and signed her to his own label, Kon Live Distribution.

Gaga came to prominence following the release of her debut studio album The Fame (2008), which was a critical and commercial success and achieved international popularity with the singles "Just Dance" and "Poker Face". The album reached number one on the record charts of six countries, topped the Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums chart while simultaneously peaking at number two on the Billboard 200 chart in the United States and accomplished positions within the top ten worldwide. Achieving similar worldwide success, The Fame Monster (2009), its follow-up, produced a further two global chart-topping singles "Bad Romance" and "Telephone" and allowed her to embark on her second global concert tour, The Monster Ball Tour, just months after having finished her first, The Fame Ball Tour. Her second studio album Born This Way, released in May 2011, topped the charts in all major musical markets, after the arrival of its eponymous lead single "Born This Way", which achieved the number-one spot in countries worldwide and was the fastest-selling single in the history of iTunes, selling one million copies in five days.

Inspired by glam rock artists like David Bowie, Elton John and Queen, as well as pop singers such as Madonna and Michael Jackson, Gaga is well-recognized for her outré sense of style in fashion, in performance and in her music videos. Her contributions to the music industry have garnered her numerous achievements including five Grammy Awards, among twelve nominations; two Guinness World Records; and the estimated sale of 15 million albums and 51 million singles worldwide. Billboard named her the Artist of the Year in 2010, ranking her as the 73rd Artist of the 2000s decade. Gaga has been included in Time magazine's annual Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world as well as being listed in a number of Forbes' annual lists including the 100 most powerful and influential celebrities in the world and attained the number one spot on their annual list of the 100 most powerful celebrities..

Description above from the Wikipedia article Lady Gaga, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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