Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga is a singer, songwriter, and actress born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta in 1986 in New York City. One of the most commercially successful and artistically provocative pop artists of the 21st century, she has combined outrageous theatrical visual presentation with genuine songwriting craft and vocal ability to build a catalogue spanning electropop, dance music, jazz, country, and rock, earning accolades from the Grammy to the Academy Award. Having trained at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and performed on the New York cabaret and club circuit before her discovery by Akon, her debut album *The Fame* (2008) was a statement of maximalist disco-pop intent. 'Just Dance' and 'Poker Face' were global number ones that established the Gaga template — propulsive electronic production, provocative imagery, and hooks of surgical precision. The *Fame Monster* EP (2009) added 'Bad Romance,' 'Telephone,' and 'Alejandro,' three of the decade's most visually and sonically arresting singles. *Born This Way* (2011) was her most explicitly political record — a celebration of LGBT identity, religious faith, and individuality that made her a totemic figure for marginalised communities worldwide. *Artpop* (2013) was more fractured and experimental, while *Cheek To Cheek* (2014), a jazz duets album with Tony Bennett, demonstrated her vocal range in an entirely different context and introduced her to older audiences. *Joanne* (2016) was a stripped-back, emotionally raw record inspired by the death of her aunt, and her performance in *A Star Is Born* (2018) — for which she wrote and performed the Academy Award-winning 'Shallow' alongside co-star Bradley Cooper — confirmed her as one of the era's complete performers. *Chromatica* (2020) was a return to dance-pop maximalism. Gaga's Little Monsters fanbase, her advocacy for LGBT rights, and her public discussion of fibromyalgia and mental health have made her cultural impact extend well beyond music.