Words by Lady Gaga arrived on the pop scene in 2008 with dance hits, elaborate costumes and a theatrical sense of performance. Since then she has shown a range few pop stars attempt: jazz standards with Tony Bennett, country-tinged rock, a Super Bowl halftime show, and leading film roles that earned her Oscar recognition.
Early life
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta was born on March 28, 1986, in New York City and grew up on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. She began playing piano at age 4 and performed in school productions and open-mic nights as a teenager. She studied at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts before leaving to pursue music full time, playing clubs on the Lower East Side and writing songs for other artists.
The Fame
Her debut album, The Fame (2008), produced the No. 1 hits “Just Dance” and “Poker Face.” Its expanded reissue, The Fame Monster (2009), added “Bad Romance,” “Telephone” and “Alejandro.” The striking music videos and her bold fashion made her an international phenomenon. The Fame Monster won the Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album.
Born This Way (2011) sold more than a million copies in the U.S. in its first week, and its title track became an anthem of self-acceptance, particularly for LGBTQ fans. Artpop (2013) followed.
Jazz with Tony Bennett
In 2014 Gaga released Cheek to Cheek, an album of jazz standards recorded with Tony Bennett, which debuted at No. 1 and won a Grammy. The pairing surprised many listeners and revealed the strength of her voice in a classic setting. They reunited for Love for Sale (2021), Bennett’s final studio album, which also won Grammys.
The Sound of Music and the Super Bowl
At the 2015 Academy Awards, she performed a medley from The Sound of Music that was widely praised and introduced her to new audiences. Two years later, in February 2017, she headlined the Super Bowl LI halftime show in Houston.
Her album Joanne (2016) took a stripped-down, rock- and country-influenced direction, and her documentary Gaga: Five Foot Two (2017) offered a candid look at her life and health, including chronic pain.
Acting
Gaga won a Golden Globe for her role in American Horror Story: Hotel (2015). Her breakthrough in film came with A Star Is Born (2018), directed by and co-starring Bradley Cooper. Her performance earned an Oscar nomination for Best Actress, and the song “Shallow” won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, along with Grammys and a Golden Globe.
She later starred in Ridley Scott’s House of Gucci (2021) and in Joker: Folie à Deux (2024).
Chromatica and Mayhem
Chromatica (2020) returned to dance-pop and included “Rain on Me” with Ariana Grande, which won a Grammy. Her 2025 album Mayhem was a return to the dark, dance-driven sound of her early work, and its promotion included a free concert on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro that drew a crowd reported in the millions.
Advocacy
In 2012 she and her mother, Cynthia Germanotta, founded the Born This Way Foundation, which supports the mental health of young people. Gaga has spoken publicly about her own mental health and about sexual assault, and she has advocated for LGBTQ rights.
She also founded the beauty brand Haus Labs.
Awards
Gaga has won more than a dozen Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, multiple Golden Globes and numerous MTV Video Music Awards. “Shallow” alone won an Oscar, a Golden Globe, a Grammy and a BAFTA award.
Why she matters
Lady Gaga treats pop as a form of performance art, but her career has also demonstrated serious musicianship. She can move from a stadium dance anthem to a Cole Porter standard and from a music video to a dramatic film role, and audiences have followed her each time.
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