The one and only Lady Gaga

The Short Story: Lady Gaga

Birthday: March 28, 1986
Hometown: Yonkers, New York
Famous For: Her hit songs Just Dance, Poker Face, and LoveGame; her flashy and eccentric costumes and makeup
Quick Scoop: Was signed to Def Jam Records at age 19 but dropped three months later; has 6 tattoos including a peace symbol and German script; considers Donatella Versace her muse; refers endearingly to her fans as "monsters"
Awards: 2009 MTV Video Music Awards: Best New Artist, Poker Face; Best Special Effects, Paparazzi; Best Art Direction, Paparazzi.

Biography

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (known as Lady Gaga) was born in Yonkers, New York on March 28, 1986 to Joseph and Cynthia Germanotta. She was the oldest child in the Italian American family. Gaga learned to play the piano at age 4 and wrote her first ballad by age 13. Though she was accepted to Julliard School in NYC, she chose to go to Convent of the Sacred Heart instead. After high school, she attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. She studied songwriting and music before dropping out to concentrate on her career.

A couple years after she left school, Lady Gaga was signed to Def Jam Records at age 19. Just a few months later she was dropped. She then began performing in NYC on the Lower East Side with different bands including SGBand and Mackin Pulifer. She also started performing in burlesque shows.

During this time, Lady Gaga was introduced to music producer Rob Fusari who thought her voice stylings were similar to Freddy Mercury of Queen. He started calling her Lady Gaga after Queen's song Radio Ga Ga. She adopted it as her stage name.

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In 2007, she started collaborating with performance artist Lady Starlight. The two began performing as Lady Gaga and the Starlight Revue in NYC at clubs like Rockwood Music Hall, the Mercury Lounge, and The Bitter End. In August, they were invited to perform at the music festival Lollapalooza and she received good reviews and started gaining some national attention.

That same year, Lady Gaga started writing songs for Fergie, Britney Spears, the Pussycat Dolls and Akon. It didn't take long for Akon to hear her sing and once he did, he convinced his label to sign her in a joint deal with Interscope Records.

In 2008, Lady Gaga moved to Los Angeles to work on her debut album, The Fame. The first single, Just Dance, was released in April and hit #1 in six countries including the United States. Just Dance was also nominated for a Grammy that year, though it ended up losing. The second single, Poker Face, was released in September and reached #1 in 20 countries including the United States.

In October 2008, Lady Gaga went on her first tour, alongside the reunited New Kids on the Block. She headlined her first tour just six months later in March 2009-The Fame Ball Tour. Later that year, she opened for the Pussycat Dolls.

Lady Gaga released two more singles from The Fame: LoveGame and Paparazzi. LoveGame reached #4 on the charts and Paparazzi hit #7. The album itself climbed to #4 on the album charts and was certified platinum.

Lady Gaga on stage

Lady Gaga is known just as much for her costumes and performances as her singing and songwriting ability. Working closely with Haus of Gaga, her creative production team , Lady Gaga has created an unparalleled stage show full of wow-worthy costumes and wigs.

The singer cites fashion as a huge inspiration for her-and sees the costumes and outfits she wears while performing songs crucial to the whole experience. Lady Gaga always makes a splash on the red carpet in various one-of-a-kind creations. She's worn a dress made of Kermit the Frog dolls and a dress made completely of plastic bubbles. Some of her costumes even include masks.

Lady Gaga has done a good job of keeping her personal life out of the tabloids. The only person she's been linked to romantically is Kermit the Frog who escorted her to the 2009 MTV Video Awards.

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