Lady Gaga is the stage name of Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, an American singer, songwriter and actress from the Upper East Side, United States, born in 1986. She works in pop, dance and electronic music, with genres in her catalogue including americana, art pop, dance, dance-pop, EDM and electro house. She is also associated with The Stefani Germanotta Band.

Career

Gaga signs with Interscope Records in 2007 and gains international recognition with her debut album The Fame in 2008 and its reissue The Fame Monster in 2009. The releases produce major singles including “Just Dance”, “Poker Face” and “Bad Romance”. Her second studio album, Born This Way in 2011, includes electronic rock and techno-pop elements and becomes a major commercial success in the United States. The title track reaches the top of the iTunes Store charts at the time of release. Her third album, Artpop in 2013, draws on electronic dance music.

She later records the jazz album Cheek to Cheek with Tony Bennett in 2014, followed by the soft rock-oriented Joanne in 2016. Her acting work includes the miniseries American Horror Story: Hotel and the films A Star Is Born and House of Gucci. Her contributions to the A Star Is Born soundtrack include “Shallow”, which achieves chart success. She returns to pop music with Chromatica in 2020 and Mayhem in 2025, and continues her collaboration with Bennett on Love for Sale in 2021. She also contributes to the soundtrack Harlequin in 2024.

Recognition and impact

Gaga is described as an influential figure in popular music and is known for frequent image changes and musical versatility. Estimated sales of her recordings reach 124 million, placing her among the best-selling music artists. Publications such as Billboard and Rolling Stone include her in lists of significant artists. She receives an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award and a Grammy Award in a single year, and her wider honours include 16 Grammy Awards, 22 MTV Video Music Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, a Sports Emmy Award and recognition from the Songwriters Hall of Fame. She also achieves seven number-one albums and six number-one singles on the US Billboard 200 and Hot 100 charts, holds the record for the most-attended concert by a woman, and is the only female artist with four singles that sell at least 10 million copies worldwide.

Other work

Outside recording and acting, Gaga is involved in business through the vegan cosmetics brand Haus Labs and the non-profit Born This Way Foundation, which supports the well-being of young people. Her philanthropic work focuses on mental health and LGBTQ rights.