Lady Gag
Lady Gag
Lady Gag
born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and
actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as
a teenager, singing at open mic nights and acting in school plays. She studied at Collaborative Arts
Project 21, through the New York University Tisch School of the Arts, before dropping out to pursue a
career in music. After Def Jam Recordings canceled her contract, she worked as a songwriter
for Sony/ATV Music Publishing, where she signed a joint deal with Interscope Records and KonLive
Distribution, in 2007. Gaga had her breakthrough the following year with her debut studio album, The
Fame, and its chart-topping singles "Just Dance" and "Poker Face". The album was later reissued to
include the extended play The Fame Monster (2009), which yielded the successful singles "Bad
Romance", "Telephone", and "Alejandro".
Gaga's five succeeding studio albums all debuted atop the US Billboard 200. Her second full-length
album, Born This Way (2011), explored electronic rock and techno-pop and sold more than one
million copies in its first week. The title track became the fastest-selling song on the iTunes Store, with
over one million downloads in less than a week. Following her EDM-influenced third
album, Artpop (2013), and its lead single "Applause", Gaga released the jazz album Cheek to
Cheek (2014) with Tony Bennett, and the soft rock album Joanne (2016). She ventured into acting,
winning awards for her leading roles in the miniseries American Horror Story: Hotel (2015–2016) and
the musical film A Star Is Born (2018). Her contributions to the latter's soundtrack, which spawned the
chart-topping single "Shallow", made her the first woman to win an Academy Award, BAFTA
Award, Golden Globe Award, and Grammy Award in one year. Gaga returned to dance-pop with her
sixth studio album, Chromatica (2020), which yielded the number-one single "Rain on Me". She
followed this with her second collaborative album with Bennett, Love for Sale, and a starring role in
the biopic House of Gucci, both in 2021.
Having sold an estimated 170 million records, Gaga is one of the world's best-selling music artists and
the only female artist to achieve four singles that each sold at least 10 million copies globally. Her
accolades include 13 Grammy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, 18 MTV Video Music Awards,
awards from the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Council of Fashion Designers of America, and
recognition as Billboard's Artist of the Year (2010) and Woman of the Year (2015). She has also been
included in several Forbes' power rankings and ranked fourth on VH1's Greatest Women in
Music (2012). Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2010
and 2019 and placed her on their All-Time 100 Fashion Icons list. Her philanthropy and activism focus
on mental health awareness and LGBT rights; she has her own non-profit organization, the Born This
Way Foundation, which supports the wellness of young people. Gaga's business ventures
include Haus Labs, a vegan cosmetics brand launched in 2019.