Lady Gaga is one of pop culture’s most famous and successful stars of today. She was born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta on March 28, 1986, in New York City. At an early age, Gaga learned music, and she started performing in clubs in New York during her teenage years. She studied music at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University for two years, but the aspiring star dropped out so she could manage her own path, according to Brittanica.

In 2007, she kickstarted her career by writing hits for the likes of the Pussycat Dolls, Britney Spears, and Fergie. That same year, musician Akon signed Gaga to Interscope Records, the label she would go on to release her debut album, The Fame, on. Her life would soon change forever.

In 2008, the singer, having adopted the stage name Lady Gaga, dropped her debut single, “Just Dance,” and caught the attention of many fans, whom she now refers to as her Little Monsters, instantly. The song got Gaga off to a roaring start and topped the charts in the U.K. and U.S. The album’s other singles, “Poker Face,” “Paparazzi,” and “LoveGame,” proved she was no gimmick and no one-hit wonder.

Lady Gaga became a phenomenon soon after The Fame was released

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Lady Gaga’s debut album, The Fame, was an instant success and made her a household name. In just over a year, she had sold millions of records, topped the charts, and started winning a number of awards. According to Britannica, four of the singles topped the U.S. Billboard Pop Songs chart, making Gaga the first artist in the 17-year history of that chart to have four No. 1 songs from a debut album.

At the 2010 BRIT Awards, Gaga won big and took home three awards, including Best International Album. At the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards, she earned herself two trophies. The Fame was soon followed up with an EP, The Fame Monster, which featured more hits: “Bad Romance” and “Telephone” with music icon Beyonce. According to ChartMasters, The Fame and The Fame Monster combined have sold over 15 million copies worldwide.

In 2011, Gaga released her highly anticipated second studio album, Born This Way, and cemented her status as a pop queen. The album title track remains an empowering anthem for the LGBTQ+ community and is considered one of her many signature hits. Gaga proved to be unstoppable as the tour of the same name saw her perform to over 1.7 million fans and managed to gross over $181 million from 98 shows, per Capital FM.

Lady Gaga’s acting helped propel her career even more

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Singing and writing songs are not the only talents Lady Gaga has to boast about. In 2013, she made her big-screen debut starring in the action exploitation film Machete Kills as La Chameleón, per Britannica. Three years later, Gaga appeared in the fifth season of the television series American Horror Story: Hotel and received a Golden Globe Award for her part. In 2016, she also appeared in the sixth season, American Horror Story: Roanoke.

In 2018, Gaga returned to the big screen and played the lead role of Ally Maine alongside Bradley Cooper in A Star Is Born. The movie was a huge success and grossed over $436 million at the box office, according to Box Office Mojo. Gaga’s incredible acting got recognized at the 2019 Oscars and earned her a nomination for Best Actress. The movie’s lead single, “Shallow,” with Cooper won Best Original Song.

Lady Gaga had an epic Super Bowl performance

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Soon after the release of Lady Gaga’s fifth studio album, Joanne, in 2016, she performed at the Super Bowl halftime show in February 2017. Gaga’s music career has seen her collaborate with some of the biggest artists in the world including Elton John, Blackpink, Tony Bennett, and Beyonce. For her halftime show performance, she could have easily invited a number of high-profile names to join her like a lot of acts do. However, Gaga slayed the night with no musical guests.

The show-stopping performance saw her perform multiple hits with her backing dancers. In true Gaga style, the production was out of this world and her outfits were on point. Being the multitalented star that she is, Gaga also stripped things back and sang the ballad “Million Reasons,” which showed off her raw vocals while playing the piano. According to Billboard, her performance became the second most watched Super Bowl halftime show with 117.5 million viewers.

Lady Gaga has a strong relationship with her LGBTQ+ fans

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Since the very beginning of her career, Lady Gaga has always supported the LGBTQ+ community and is considered a gay icon. Along with her empowering anthem “Born This Way,” she has used her voice many times to stand up for what she believes in, according to Billboard.

In November 2016, she shared with her large Twitter following that she paid a visit to LGBTQ+ homeless youth at New York’s Ali Forney Center and gifted them all with presents. In 2019, she made an appearance at the Stonewall Inn to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots and connected with fans by delivering a heartfelt speech, per Independent. “True love — true, true love — is when you would take a bullet for someone, and you know that I would take a bullet for you any day of the week,” she said. “This community has fought and continued to fight a war of acceptance, a war of tolerance, and the most relentless bravery. You are the definition of courage — do you know that?”

In 2009, Gaga told Barbara Walters in an interview she identified as bisexual, per Independent.

Lady Gaga remains on top

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Lady Gaga’s career has gone from strength to strength and shows no signs of slowing down. The multiplatinum-selling business mogul has established herself as one of the most famous people in the world and we’re not one bit mad about it.

In 2020, Gaga released her sixth studio album, Chromatica, which saw her return to the top of the U.S. Billboard 200 chart. The record’s second single, “Rain On Me,” with Ariana Grande, not only became another No. 1 for the star but picked up three awards at the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards. At the same ceremony, Gaga was honored with the Tricon and Artist of the Year award, per The Guardian. To date, the “Stupid Love” singer has won a total of 11 Grammy Awards.

If that wasn’t enough to be impressed by, she also has her own limited edition Oreo cookie that feature various embossings inspired by the Chromatica album, per CNN.

Not a fan of Gaga? Tough! She’s not going anywhere.