Lady Gaga
Biography
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, producer, actress and businesswoman, born on March 28, 1986, in New York. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility.
She began performing as a teenager and briefly studied at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. After her first contract with Def Jam Recordings was canceled, she worked as a songwriter for Sony/ATV Music Publishing.
Her breakthrough came in 2008 with her debut studio album, The Fame, and the worldwide number-one singles Just Dance and Poker Face. The album was reissued to include the EP The Fame Monster (2009), which produced the hits Bad Romance, Telephone and Alejandro.
Her second album, Born This Way (2011), explored techno-pop and electronic rock and sold more than one million copies in its first week. She later returned to dance-pop and EDM with Artpop (2013) and her sixth album, Chromatica (2020), which yielded the number-one single Rain on Me.
She has also worked outside pure pop, notably on the jazz album Cheek to Cheek (2014) with Tony Bennett, and on Joanne (2016). Her acting career was acclaimed, particularly for her role in the film A Star Is Born (2018), whose soundtrack included the song Shallow.
Among her aliases and name variations are Stefani Germanotta and Ally (15); she is also known as Gaga, Lady Ga Ga and レディー・ガガ.
With estimated sales of 170 million records, she is one of the best-selling musical artists in the world. Her awards include 13 Grammy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, one Academy Award and 18 MTV Video Music Awards.
Her philanthropic work focuses on mental health awareness and LGBTQ+ rights through her own Born This Way Foundation. She also launched a vegan cosmetics brand, Haus Labs, in 2019.