Lady Gaga (1986-…) is an American pop singer, songwriter, musician, and actress. She became enormously popular in the first decade of the 2000’s. Lady Gaga is known for her unusual costumes and live performances, and for speaking out on political and social issues. She has won a number of Grammy Awards for her music. In 2019, she won an Academy Award as co-writer for best original song for “Shallow,” from the motion picture A Star Is Born (2018). She also starred in the film.
Lady Gaga was born on March 28, 1986, in New York City. Her real name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta. She began studying piano as a child. At 17, she was admitted to study music at the Tisch School of the Arts of New York University (NYU). She later left NYU to pursue a career as a performer. A music producer gave her the name Lady Gaga in 2006. The name was inspired by the song “Radio Ga Ga” (1984) by the British rock band Queen.
In 2008, Lady Gaga’s first single, “Just Dance,” was released. The song became a worldwide hit. Her first album, The Fame (2008), featured the song “Poker Face.” Both the album and the song also became huge worldwide hits. Her other hits include “Paparazzi” (2008), “Bad Romance” and “Telephone” (both 2009), “Born This Way” (2011), and “Applause” (2013). In 2014, Lady Gaga and the American singer Tony Bennett had a number-one hit with Cheek to Cheek, a duets album of jazz standards. In 2021, she again collaborated with Bennett on Love for Sale, an album celebrating the music of the American songwriter Cole Porter.
Also in 2021, Lady Gaga starred in the biographical crime drama House of Gucci. She has acted in a number of other motion pictures and in television series.
