Before there was even a Mother Monster to begin with, there was Stefani Joanne Angelina Germonatta, a New Yorker attending NYU Tisch School of the Arts. An unrecognized artist searching for her identity and music, in a constant hustle to develop her music career. But even then, Stefani knew she was destined to be famous and in the limelight. She always radiated glamour, chic, exotic, fetch, fame, etc. Despite her many downfalls, Stefani never allowed herself to wallow in pity, instead, she took all the criticism and hardship to construct a new persona, Lady Gaga. “I’ve always been famous — you just didn’t know it yet!” (January 2009 interview.)
Many people who knew Stefani before her stage name ‘Lady Gaga’ take credit for giving her the name idea. Although it hasn’t been officially confirmed by Stefani herself, there are speculations that she got inspiration from her lifestyle and the rock band, Queen. Gaga’s jumpstart to the A-list began in 2007 when she wore a disco-like bra she made herself at Lollapalooza. The attention she got that day for being so ‘scandalous’ on stage was her introduction to the world.
By 2008, Gaga dropped her hit album, The Fame containing her two hit singles, ‘Just Dance’ and ‘Poker Face.’ From then on, Gaga didn’t stop till she reached her ultimate true self. Shortly after touring with The Pussycat Dolls as an opening act, Gaga won her first two Grammy awards for her album The Fame and her song Poker Face. By 2009, Gaga was a household name and everyone in the media was talking about her and her bold choices not only in her music but in her style.
Her iconic, shocking, and emotional performance of ‘paparazzi’ in the MTV Music Awards was all anyone was talking about after. Everything about that performance was so flawless, it was pure, it was moving. It just screamed Gaga. She always knew what to do to captivate the audience’s attention. Wherever she walked, she always blessed those around her with her glamour. She took the word avant-garde and placed it to everything she created.
To Gaga, there was never such a thing as small and even if she did something small it was always grand. She knew perfectly how to maintain the attention and where to draw it. Gaga isn’t just a pretty face who can sing. No, she is a multi-talented artist with many skills and an avid philanthropist for the LGBTQ community and many more!
During the 2010 Hati relief Gaga donated all her Radio City Musical Hall concert proceeds to countries reconstruction relief funds. 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami hit Japan: Gaga tweeted out a Japan prayer bracelet where all $1.5 Million proceeds went to the relief funds. April 2016: Went on tour with then Vice President, Joe Biden on his ‘ It’s On Us’ campaign. Attended the 84th annual U.S. conference of mayors alongside the Dalai Lama to talk about kindness and world peace.
Despite being diagnosed for Lupos in 2010, Gaga never allowed for herself to crumble in front of her monsters. She always kept all her pain and tears behind the scenes, which can be seen in her tear-jerking documentary “Five Foot Two.” To spare any details for any monsters who haven’t seen it, let’s just say that Gaga always poured her whole heart and soul into everything she did even if she knew it would cause her pain. Gaga is one of the few artists in today’s industry who knows what they want and takes it. She has seen the ugly and made it better, she has been at both ends of the stick and now is relishing in her glory. Thus far, Gaga has won 9 Grammy’s, an Academy Award, A BAFTA, 3 Brit Awards, 2 Golden Globes, 13 MTV Awards, and several Guinness world records. ( search them up, it’s a crazy list!) As well as been inaugurated in the Songwriters Hall of Fame’s contemporary Icon Award.
She is two awards away from being the 16th EGOT, a person to with an Emmy, Grammy, Tony, and an Oscar. Thus far, Gaga just needs an Emmy and a Tony award and she will join John Legend, who was last years 15th person to join the exclusive club. On that note, here are some wise words from Mother Monster herself: “If you have a dream, fight for it. I’ve worked hard for a long time, and it’s not about winning… It’s about how many times you stand up and are brave and keep on going.”- 2019 Oscar Speech.