Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), best known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenager, singing at open mic nights and acting in school plays. She studied at Collaborative Arts Project 21, through the New York University Tisch School of the Arts, before dropping out to pursue a career in music. After Def Jam Recordings canceled her contract, she worked as a songwriter for Sony/ATV Music Publishing, where she signed a joint deal with Interscope Records and KonLive Distribution, in 2007. Gaga had her breakthrough the following year with her debut studio album, The Fame, and its chart-topping singles "Just Dance" and "Poker Face". The album was later reissued to include the extended play The Fame Monster (2009), which yielded the successful singles "Bad Romance", "Telephone", and "Alejandro".
Gaga's five succeeding studio albums all debuted atop the US Billboard 200. Her second full-length album, Born This Way (2011), explored electronic rock and techno-pop and sold more than one million copies in its first week. The title track became the fastest-selling song on the iTunes Store, with over one million downloads in less than a week. Following her EDM-influenced third album, Artpop (2013), and its lead single "Applause", Gaga released the jazz album Cheek to Cheek (2014) with Tony Bennett, and the soft rock album Joanne (2016). She ventured into acting, winning awards for her leading roles in the miniseries American Horror Story: Hotel (2015–2016) and the musical film A Star Is Born (2018). Her contributions to the latter's soundtrack, which spawned the chart-topping single "Shallow", made her the first woman to win an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Golden Globe Award, and Grammy Award in one year. Gaga returned to dance-pop with her sixth studio album, Chromatica (2020), which yielded the number-one single "Rain on Me". She followed this with her second collaborative album with Bennett, Love for Sale, and a starring role in the biopic House of Gucci, both in 2021.
Having sold an estimated 170 million records, Gaga is one of the world's best-selling music artists and the only female artist to achieve four singles each selling at least 10 million copies globally. Her accolades include 13 Grammy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, 18 MTV Video Music Awards, awards from the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Council of Fashion Designers of America, and recognition as Billboard's Artist of the Year (2010) and Woman of the Year (2015). She has also been included in several Forbes' power rankings and ranked fourth on VH1's Greatest Women in Music (2012). Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2010 and 2019 and placed her on their All-Time 100 Fashion Icons list. Her philanthropy and activism focus on mental health awareness and LGBT rights; she has her own non-profit organization, the Born This Way Foundation, which supports the wellness of young people. Gaga's business ventures include Haus Labs, a vegan cosmetics brand launched in 2019.
She made her musical guest debut on Saturday Night Live on October 3, 2009, the second episode of Season 35, hosted by actor Ryan Reynolds, where she performed "Paparazzi" and a medley of songs including "Bad Romance," "LoveGame" and "Poker Face" and also appeared in the "Deep House Dish" sketch and the "Fashion Sketch."
She returned to Saturday Night Live as the musical guest for her 2nd appearance on May 21, 2011, which is the Season 36 finale, hosted by singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake. She performed a medley of "The Edge of Glory" and "Judas" and "Born This Way" and also appeared in the "Liquorville" sketch as the spokesperson, the SNL Digital Short and the "What's That Name?" sketch.
She returned to Saturday Night Live again to hosting for the first and her 3rd time as the musical guest on November 16, 2013, the sixth episode of Season 39, where she performed "Do What U Want" with R. Kelly and "Gypsy."
She returned to Saturday Night Live once again as the musical guest for her 4th appearance on October 22, 2016, the fourth episode of Season 42, hosted by the actor Tom Hanks. She performs "A-Yo" with Mark Ronson on guitar and "Million Reasons".
She also made a cameo on October 21, 2023, the second episode of Season 49 of Saturday Night Live, with host and musical guest Bad Bunny. She introdues Bad Bunny's first performance "Un preview" in Spanish.
She was also impersonated by Jenny Slate on the February 27, 2010 episode during the "We Are The World 3" sketch and by then-current cast member Vanessa Bayer on the October 12, 2013 episdoe during "The Lady Gaga Show" sketch.
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