Many of us have known about Lady Gaga for years. She has risen to the top with hits like “Poker Face” and “Just Dance”- these songs were extremely popular during my elementary / middle school years. However, a lot of us aren’t completely aware of Gaga (or Stefanie Germanotta’s) backstory and how she is an example of how to be resilient through hardships. I saw a post on Twitter recently that showed a picture of a Facebook group titled “Stefanie Germanotta you will never be famous,” made when Gaga was studying music at NYU. Flash forward to this year, and Lady Gaga is the first woman to win awards at the Golden Globes, Oscars, Grammy’s and BAFTA’s. In some interviews, Gaga has also detailed how she was mercilessly bullied by people in her younger years for her appearance, called horrible names, and slut shamed constantly. Although she has stated that the bullying has stuck with her all her life, it did not deter her from constantly striving for her dreams.
After dropping out of university and struggling for many years in the music industry, Lady Gaga finally caught her break and was signed to Interscope Records, where she created the early hits most of us know today. Her out-there personality and looks which she was bullied for as a child made her into an icon and superstar that many fans looked up to and admired, as she brought something unique to the music industry that many people could relate to in themselves. As a woman who identifies as bisexual, she also credits a lot of her rise to success to the gay community, with an LGBT television network Logo TV having hosted one of her first live TV performances. She later appeared on an episode of Ru Paul’s Drag Race where some of the queens on the show credited Gaga for helping them to come into their own and be able to express themselves freely.
As Lady Gaga has risen to fame, she has never lost sense of self and her values, and I think that is what makes her so likeable and such an inspiration to many people worldwide. Although she faced so many hardships as a young woman, they have propelled her into a strong advocate for what she believes in; she has never shied away from helping multiple different causes, even if they could’ve been seen as controversial. She has continued to grow as an artist since her electronic-pop days and has done work in many different musical genres, such as jazz with Tony Bennett, and a more country / soft-rock style with her album Joanne. Finally, this year she starred in A Star is Born, alongside Bradley Cooper, which was critically acclaimed and won multiple awards.
Although some of us may not have the same dreams of becoming an international star like Lady Gaga had in her younger years, I think that her story can serve as a reminder to all of us to use our hardships as motivation, even when it seems like the whole world is against us. Gaga serves as an example of how important it is to be yourself and stick with what you believe in, no matter how many people want to say that you’re wrong or that you will never be good enough. Her story reminds me that whatever path you choose in life, always stick with what you love and what you are passionate about, and success will follow.