How Lady Gaga built a successful career. Explore key moments that defined the journey.
Lady Gaga, born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, is a highly influential American singer, songwriter, and actress renowned for her constant image reinventions and versatility. A best-selling music artist with approximately 124 million records sold, she has been recognized by Billboard and Rolling Stone as one of the greatest artists ever. Her impact spans music, film, and fashion, solidifying her status as a pop culture icon.
In 2000, Lady Gaga's screen debut was a background appearance in the music video for AC/DC's song 'Stiff Upper Lip'.
In 2001, Lady Gaga appeared in a small background role as a high-school student in an episode of 'The Sopranos' titled 'The Telltale Moozadell'.
In 2005, Lady Gaga recorded two songs with rapper Melle Mel for an audio book and formed a band called the SGBand with friends from NYU.
In 2005, Lady Gaga withdrew from New York University to focus on her music career. She also appeared on MTV's prank reality television show, 'Boiling Points'.
The Dom Pérignon Rosé Vintage was made in 2005. In 2021, Lady Gaga collaborated with Dom Pérignon to benefit the BTWF by releasing a limited edition of Rosé Vintage 2005 bottles along with a sculpture designed by her. The 110 exclusive pieces were sold at private sales, and the profit of $570,000 was donated to the foundation.
In May 2006, Lady Gaga started dating music producer Rob Fusari, who helped her develop her songs and compose new material.
In September 2006, Lady Gaga was signed to Def Jam Recordings after Joshua Sarubin responded positively to electropop tracks recorded with Rob Fusari.
In November 2007, Lady Gaga signed with Streamline Records, an imprint of Interscope Records. She also struck a music publishing deal with Sony/ATV Music Publishing and was hired to write songs for various artists. Akon then convinced Jimmy Iovine to sign Gaga with his own label KonLive Distribution.
In 2007, Lady Gaga collaborated with RedOne on her debut album and signed with Cherrytree Records. Some radio stations found her music too "racy", "dance-oriented", and "underground" for the mainstream market.
In 2007, Lady Gaga performed at downtown club venues with performance artist Lady Starlight and at the Lollapalooza music festival. Their performance art piece was known as 'Lady Gaga and the Starlight Revue'.
In 2007, Lady Gaga signed with Interscope Records, marking a significant step in her early career.
In May 2008, Lady Gaga gave one of her first televised performances at the NewNowNext Awards, an awards show aired by the LGBTQ television network Logo.
On August 19, 2008, Lady Gaga's debut album, 'The Fame', was released, achieving number one status in several countries.
In 2008, Lady Gaga achieved global recognition with her debut album, 'The Fame'.
In August 2009, remixed versions of the singles from 'The Fame' were included on Hitmixes.
Lady Gaga headlined her worldwide The Fame Ball Tour, which ran from March to September 2009.
In November 2009, Lady Gaga started her second worldwide concert tour, The Monster Ball Tour.
On November 18, 2009, Lady Gaga's 'The Fame Monster' was released as a standalone EP, featuring eight new songs.
At the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, Lady Gaga's blood-spurting performance of "Paparazzi" was considered eye-popping and ranked among the best VMA performances of all time.
In 2009, Lady Gaga reissued her debut album as 'The Fame Monster'. This project included the singles "Bad Romance", "Telephone", and "Alejandro".
In 2009, Lady Gaga spoke at the National Equality March in Washington, D.C., to advocate for the LGBTQ rights movement.
In January 2010, Lady Gaga partnered with Polaroid, becoming their creative director and announcing a suite of photo-capture products called Grey Label.
In January 2010, after declining to appear on "We Are the World 25 for Haiti", Lady Gaga donated the proceeds of her Radio City Music Hall concert and her online store profits to Haiti's reconstruction relief fund, totaling $500,000.
In April 2010, the video for "Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga became the most watched video on YouTube.
In September 2010, Lady Gaga attended the MTV Video Music Awards with gay and lesbian former members of the United States Armed Forces to protest the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. She also spoke at a Servicemembers Legal Defense Network's rally in Portland, Maine.
At the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards, Lady Gaga won eight awards from 13 nominations, including Video of the Year for "Bad Romance".
From 2010 to 2015 and 2018 to 2020, Lady Gaga was included on Forbes' Celebrity 100 and also appeared on their list of the World's Most Powerful Women from 2010 to 2014 and was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2010.
In 2010, Simon Reynolds commented that Lady Gaga's music was catchy pop with Auto-Tune and R&B-ish beats, drawing from electroclash but not sounding particularly 1980s.
In 2010, The Fame Monster became the second bestselling album worldwide.
In 2010, fan interest in Lady Gaga's 2001 appearance in 'The Sopranos' increased when a clip of her scene surfaced online.
In February 2011, Lady Gaga released "Born This Way", the lead single from her album of the same name, which sold over a million copies within five days and became the 1,000th number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100.
In May 2011, The Monster Ball Tour concluded, grossing $227.4 million and becoming the highest-grossing concert tour for a debut headlining artist.
On May 23, 2011, Lady Gaga released her album "Born This Way", which debuted atop the Billboard 200 with 1.1 million copies sold in its first week.
In June 2011, Lady Gaga appeared at Europride in Rome, criticizing the state of gay rights in many European countries and calling gay people "revolutionaries of love".
In June 2011, Lady Gaga performed at MTV Japan's charity show in Makuhari Messe, benefiting the Japanese Red Cross.
According to Forbes, in 2011, Lady Gaga was the world's highest-paid female musician and the most powerful celebrity.
At the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, Lady Gaga appeared in drag as her male alter ego, Jo Calderone, delivering a lovesick monologue and performing her song "You and I".
From 2011 to 2013, according to Guinness World Records, Lady Gaga was the most followed person on Twitter and she also topped Forbes' Celebrity 100 list.
In 2011, Born This Way Foundation was named after Lady Gaga's song and album.
In 2011, Lady Gaga collaborated with Tony Bennett on a jazz version of "The Lady Is a Tramp", with Elton John on "Hello Hello", and with The Lonely Island and Justin Timberlake on "3-Way (The Golden Rule)".
In 2011, Lady Gaga released her second full-length album, 'Born This Way', which explored electronic rock and techno-pop. The title track became the fastest-selling song on the iTunes Store, with over one million downloads in less than a week.
In April 2012, Lady Gaga embarked on the Born This Way Ball tour.
In July 2012, Lady Gaga co-founded the social networking service LittleMonsters.com, devoted to her fans.
In July 2012, the Born This Way Foundation partnered with Office Depot for a series of limited-edition back-to-school products, with a portion of sales going towards the foundation.
In 2012, Lady Gaga endorsed Barack Obama during the US presidential election. This happened after she met with then-President Barack Obama in 2011 to address anti-gay bullying in American schools following Jamey Rodemeyer's suicide.
In 2012, Lady Gaga guest-starred as an animated version of herself in an episode of The Simpsons called "Lisa Goes Gaga" and released her first fragrance, Lady Gaga Fame.
In 2012, Lady Gaga joined Artists Against Fracking, received the LennonOno Grant for Peace, pledged $1 million to the American Red Cross for Hurricane Sandy victims, and collaborated with Cyndi Lauper and MAC Cosmetics to launch a Viva Glam lipstick line that raised over $202 million to fight HIV and AIDS.
In 2012, Lady Gaga placed fourth on Billboard's list of the top moneymakers of 2011 with earnings of $25 million, which included sales from Born This Way and her Monster Ball Tour.
In early 2012, Lady Gaga began working on her third studio album, Artpop, during the Born This Way Ball tour.
In August 2013, Lady Gaga released "Applause", the lead single from her album Artpop.
On November 6, 2013, Lady Gaga's album Artpop was released.
In November 2013, Lady Gaga hosted an episode of Saturday Night Live and held her second Thanksgiving Day television special on ABC titled Lady Gaga and the Muppets Holiday Spectacular.
In 2013, Lady Gaga released 'Artpop', her third album, which was influenced by electronic dance music.
In 2013, Lady Gaga was named the most famous celebrity according to Guinness World Records.
In March 2014, Lady Gaga held a seven-day concert residency at New York's Roseland Ballroom before its closure.
In March 2014, Lady Gaga released "G.U.Y." as the third single from Artpop.
In June 2014, Lady Gaga and her new manager Bobby Campbell joined Artist Nation, the artist management division of Live Nation Entertainment.
As of July 2014, Lady Gaga's album Artpop had sold more than 2.5 million copies worldwide.
In September 2014, Lady Gaga released a collaborative jazz album with Tony Bennett titled Cheek to Cheek.
In December 2014, Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett embarked on the Cheek to Cheek Tour.
In 2014, Lady Gaga pursued jazz music on the album 'Cheek to Cheek', a collaboration with Tony Bennett.
In 2014, Lady Gaga released her second fragrance, Eau de Gaga.
In 2014, Lady Gaga was named the most powerful popstar according to Guinness World Records.
In 2014, Richard Jackson replaced Laurieann Gibson as Lady Gaga's choreographer and creative director, after Gibson held the position for four years.
In August 2015, Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett concluded the Cheek to Cheek Tour.
In October 2015, Lady Gaga joined high school students, policymakers, and academic officials at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence to discuss recognizing and channeling emotions for positive outcomes.
In October 2015, Lady Gaga starred in American Horror Story: Hotel, the fifth season of the television series, playing a hotel owner named Elizabeth.
From 2010 to 2015 and 2018 to 2020, Lady Gaga was included on Forbes' Celebrity 100.
In 2015, Lady Gaga ventured into acting and gained praise for her leading role in the miniseries 'American Horror Story: Hotel'.
In 2015, Time noted that Lady Gaga had "practically invented the current era of pop music as spectacle".
In January 2016, Lady Gaga was the guest editor for V fashion magazine's 99th issue, which featured 16 different covers.
In February 2016, Lady Gaga sang the US national anthem at Super Bowl 50, partnered with Intel and Nile Rodgers for a David Bowie tribute at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards, and sang "Til It Happens to You" at the 88th Academy Awards.
In May 2016, Lady Gaga and Elton John released the clothing and accessories line Love Bravery at Macy's, with a portion of each purchase benefiting the Born This Way Foundation and the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
In June 2016, Lady Gaga attended a vigil in Los Angeles for the victims of the Pulse nightclub attack in Orlando, reading the names of the 49 people killed and giving a speech. She also appeared in Human Rights Campaign's tribute video.
In September 2016, Lady Gaga released her fifth album's lead single, "Perfect Illusion".
On October 21, 2016, Lady Gaga released her fifth album, titled Joanne, named after her late aunt.
In November 2016, Lady Gaga released "Million Reasons", the second single from Joanne.
In 2016, Lady Gaga delved into soft rock on the album 'Joanne'.
Lady Gaga continued her praised leading role in 'American Horror Story: Hotel' into 2016.
On February 5, 2017, Lady Gaga performed as the headlining act during the Super Bowl LI halftime show, attracting 117.5 million viewers in the United States.
In June 2017, Lady Gaga partnered with Starbucks for a week with the "Cups of Kindness" campaign, where the company donated a portion of proceeds from some beverages to the Born This Way Foundation.
In February 2018, Lady Gaga canceled the last ten shows of the Joanne World Tour due to fibromyalgia.
In March 2018, Lady Gaga released a cover of Elton John's "Your Song" for his tribute album Revamp.
On September 27, 2018, "Shallow," the lead single from the A Star Is Born soundtrack performed by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, was released and topped charts in various countries.
In October 2018, Billboard analyzed Lady Gaga's videography, noting a stripped-down approach after the Artpop era, exemplified by the "Perfect Illusion" music video.
In December 2018, Lady Gaga's Enigma show, which focused on theatricality and included her biggest hits, opened as part of her concert residency at the MGM Park Theater in Las Vegas.
From 2010 to 2015 and 2018 to 2020, Lady Gaga was included on Forbes' Celebrity 100.
In 2018, Lady Gaga gained praise for her leading role in the film 'A Star Is Born'.
In 2018, Lady Gaga supported the March for Our Lives gun-control rally and opposed Donald Trump's presidency and his military transgender ban. She also condemned his administration's attempt to change the legal definition of sex and supported the #WontBeErased campaign.
In 2018, Lady Gaga's piano version of the title track "Joanne" won a Grammy for Best Pop Solo Performance.
In 2018, on World Kindness Day, Lady Gaga partnered with the World Kindness Day Foundation to provide food and relief to a Red Cross shelter for those displaced by the California wildfires. The foundation also collaborated with Starbucks and SoulCycle to thank California firefighters.
In January 2019, Lady Gaga's Jazz & Piano show, featuring tracks from the Great American Songbook and stripped-down versions of her songs, opened as part of her concert residency at the MGM Park Theater in Las Vegas.
In March 2019, Lady Gaga announced the launch of a new pilot program for a teen mental health first aid project with the National Council for Behavioral Health, in a letter to supporters of the Born This Way Foundation. She also shared her personal struggles with mental health, and how support saved her life.
As of June 2019, the soundtrack for A Star Is Born had sold over six million copies worldwide.
In September 2019, Lady Gaga launched her vegan makeup line, Haus Laboratories, exclusively on Amazon, featuring 40 products.
In 2019, Lady Gaga became the first woman to win an Academy, BAFTA, Golden Globe, and Grammy Award in one year for her contributions to the A Star Is Born soundtrack.
In 2019, Lady Gaga was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine.
On February 28, 2020, Lady Gaga released "Stupid Love", the lead single from Chromatica, which charted at number five in the US and the UK.
In April 2020, Lady Gaga curated the televised benefit concert, One World: Together at Home, which raised $127 million for the World Health Organization's COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund.
On May 29, 2020, Lady Gaga released her sixth studio album, Chromatica, which debuted atop the US charts and reached number one in multiple territories.
In September 2020, Lady Gaga appeared in the video campaign for Valentino's Voce Viva fragrance, singing a stripped-down version of "Sine from Above".
In September 2020, Lady Gaga released an anthology book titled Channel Kindness: Stories of Kindness and Community, featuring fifty-one stories from young people collected by the Born This Way Foundation. She promoted the book with a 21 days of kindness challenge on social media.
As of October 2020, Forbes estimated Lady Gaga's net worth at $150 million.
As of 2020, six of Lady Gaga's singles appeared on the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry's annual Top 10 Global Singles chart, including "Just Dance", "Poker Face", "Bad Romance", "Telephone", "Born This Way" and "Shallow", setting the record for the most entries by any female artist.
From 2010 to 2015 and 2018 to 2020, Lady Gaga was included on Forbes' Celebrity 100.
In 2020, Lady Gaga returned to dance-pop with her album 'Chromatica', which included the number-one single 'Rain on Me'.
In January 2021, Lady Gaga received the Yolanda Denise King High Ground Award for her activism during the 2020 George Floyd protests, denouncing racism and white supremacy in her acceptance speech.
On January 20, 2021, Lady Gaga sang the US national anthem during Joe Biden's inauguration as the country's 46th President.
In April 2021, Lady Gaga teamed up with Champagne brand Dom Pérignon and appeared in an advertisement.
In November 2021, the television special One Last Time: An Evening with Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga, which featured select performances from the duo's August performances at Radio City Music Hall, was released on CBS.
On November 24, 2021, House of Gucci, a biographical crime film in which Lady Gaga portrayed Patrizia Reggiani, was released to mixed reviews.
In 2021, Lady Gaga collaborated with Champagne house Dom Pérignon to benefit the Born This Way Foundation, releasing a limited edition of Rosé Vintage 2005 bottles and a sculpture. She also released a 30-minute special called The Power of Kindness as part of the foundation's Channel Kindness program, exploring the connection between kindness and mental health on the 2021 World Kindness Day.
In 2021, Lady Gaga starred in the film 'House of Gucci'. She also reunited with Tony Bennett for their second and final collaborative album, 'Love for Sale'.
Lady Gaga embarked on The Chromatica Ball stadium tour in July 2022, which concluded that September.
As of 2022, Lady Gaga has grossed more than $689.5 million in revenue from concert tours and residencies with attendance of 6.3 million, being the fifth woman to pass the half-billion total as reported to Billboard Boxscore, receiving the Pollstar Award for Pop Touring Artist of the Decade (2010s).
In 2022, Lady Gaga's track, "Bloody Mary", experienced a resurgence and was released as a single.
In 2022, Variety reviewed The Chromatica Ball, noting Lady Gaga's decision to remain "weird enough" after Joanne and A Star Is Born.
In April 2023, Lady Gaga was appointed as co-chair of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities by President Joe Biden.
On August 16, 2024, Lady Gaga released the single "Die with a Smile", a duet with Bruno Mars.
On September 27, 2024, Lady Gaga released a companion album to the film Joker: Folie à Deux, titled Harlequin.
In October 2024, Joker: Folie à Deux, starring Lady Gaga as Harleen "Lee" Quinzel, premiered at the 81st Venice International Film Festival and was released theatrically.
On October 25, 2024, Lady Gaga released "Disease," the lead single from her album Mayhem.
Following Donald Trump's win in the 2024 US presidential election, after she endorsed Kamala Harris, Lady Gaga voiced her support for the transgender community after his rollback of their protections.
On February 3, 2025, Lady Gaga released "Abracadabra," the second single from her album Mayhem.
On March 7, 2025, Lady Gaga's album Mayhem was released to critical acclaim and debuted at number one in the US.
In March 2025, Lady Gaga hosted Saturday Night Live for a second time and was honored with the Innovator Award at the iHeartRadio Music Awards.
Between April and May 2025, Lady Gaga performed a series of promotional concerts in support of her album Mayhem, including a free concert at Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro.
In 2025, Lady Gaga revisited her early pop sound on the album 'Mayhem', which contains the chart-topping single "Die with a Smile".
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