30 Lady Gaga Facts Nobody Tells You About

Some of you may know her as the “bizarre popstar” who wears meat dresses. Others recognize her as that creepy character from American Horror Story.

But did you know that there’s so much more depth to the wonderful Lady Gaga? So much, that many people are oblivious to – like what her real name is or what troubles she endured in her past. Behind shocking costumes and crazy moments, the superstar is just a regular and sensitive person like the rest of us…

Whether you’re a dedicated Little Monster or a newcomer to the fandom, it’ll be interesting to see just how many of these Lady Gaga facts you really know…

1. Her Real Name Isn’t Lady Gaga

Obviously, her first name isn’t Lady and her surname isn’t Gaga. The star’s real name in full is actually Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta. That’s right, Stefani is Italian! Now you also know why her sixth studio album was titled Joanne!

2. Her Stage Name Was Inspired by Queen

Here’s a fun fact about Gaga! If you’re wondering where the star got her stage name from, well the answer is pretty awesome! Apparently, it was inspired by the Queen song, Radio Ga Ga. Smart move, Stefani!

3. Gaga Has Been Singing and Acting Since 4 Years Old

Gaga has been a woman of many talents ever since she was young! She started playing the piano at the age of 4 and began writing songs at the age of 13. She even started acting from a young age. Gaga starred as Adelaide in Guys and Dolls and Philia in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.

4. As a Child, She Made her Own Costumes

Gaga has been Gaga since day one! Bizarre costumes have always been her thing! Apparently, for the singer’s first performance in her first-grade play, she made her own costume! Little Stefani’s DIY outfit was made out of tinfoil and hangers! We’re pretty sure that’s something the superstar would wear today, too!

5. Her Father Established Wireless Internet in Hotels

Gaga may be the inventor of the meat dress, but her father’s the inventor of something even more phenomenal! Joe Germanotta pioneered the installation of wireless internet access in hotels when he started the company ‘Guest WiFi’ in 2002.

6. She Starred in a Huge TV Show

Gaga isn’t just one of the highest-selling female artists, she’s been on TV, too! We’re not talking about American Horror Story, here (although that’s big enough TV show, too). Gaga actually had a minor role in the hit TV-show The Sopranos. The singer was 15 when she starred in a one-off episode.

7. She Was Abused and Left Pregnant As a Teenager

Gaga disclosed that she was raped by a music producer at only 19 years-old. In talking about her awful experience on The Me You Can’t See, she revealed – “…a producer said to me, ‘Take your clothes off’, and I said no. And I left, and they told me they were going to burn all of my music. And they didn’t stop. They didn’t stop asking me, and I just froze and – I don’t even remember.” She added “the person who raped me dropped me off pregnant on a corner.” Although Gaga hasn’t ever disclosed the producer’s name, she has said that she does “not ever want to face that person again.”

8. Lady Gaga’s Real Hair is Brown

The Joanne star may regularly sport blonde hair but in fact, she’s a natural brunette! So why did she dye it? Supposedly, she was once confused for Amy Winehouse, so she wanted “to be known for her [my] own look”, she told People magazine. It’s safe to say Gaga’s “look” is original, indeed…

9. She Was Once in a Duo Band

The singer gained her musical experience when she was part of the duo, “Lady Gaga and the Starlight Revue”. With artist Lady Starlight, Mother Monster would perform songs from the 1970s and 1980s. Their “outrageous performances” included lighting hairspray cans on fire and go-go dancing. Sounds familiar! Now we know where Gaga’s show-stopping performances originate from…

10. Gaga Dropped Out of University for Music

Lady Gaga didn’t learn to become a superstar. She did it all by herself. Apparently she dropped out of New York University when she was 19 years-old to pursue her music career. “I thought I could teach myself about art better than the school could,” she told Elle magazine.

11. She Wrote Songs for Big Superstars

Her 20th birthday was the beginning of something big. Stefani was signed to Interscope Records on that very day. During her days at Interscope and before she would write her own, Gaga co-wrote songs for artists such as The Pussycat Dolls, Fergie and Jennifer Lopez!

12. She has Odd Favorites

Want to know some fun trivia about the popstar? Black and lavender is apparently Gaga’s favorite color and her favorite food is believed to be Peach Cobbler which is a fruity pie filled with biscuit or dumpling!

13. Her Meat Dress Wasn’t Expensive

While other stars wore expensive designer wear to the 2010 MTV VMAs, Lady Gaga wore cheap meat. According to butcher, Peter Cacioppo – “There are no expensive cuts here, no real steaks. The best you’ve got is the flank steak on top of her head.”

14. Gaga Only Had Tattoos on her Left Side

Lady Gaga has more than 20 tattoos including a peace symbol and the word “Little Monsters”. Apparently, when she started inking herself, she only had tattoos on the left side of her body because her dad asked her to keep one side of her body “slightly normal”. She once referred to the left side of her body her “Iggy Pop side” and her right side (without tattoos) her “Marylin Monroe side”. But it wasn’t long before the star went against her dad’s wishes and decided to ink her right side, too. Woops!

We hate to say it but Gaga’s ink has ended up on our list of worst celebrity tattoos! Sorry, G!

15. ‘Telephone’ Was Meant for Britney Spears

Now here’s a fact about Gaga many of you probably didn’t know! Telephone was originally written for Britney Spears and was meant to feature on her Circus album. Thankfully it was dropped and handed down to Lady Gaga and Beyonce instead.

16. Gaga Calls Britney Spears the “Queen of Pop”

While many of you may dub Mother Monster as the queen of pop, she says otherwise. The Haus Labs star believes Britney Spears deserves that title.

17. Her Sister is Also Creative

Here’s some family trivia! Gaga’s sister Natali Germanotta is a fashion designer. You guessed it – she’s created some of the popstar’s craziest outfits and even starred as an inmate in the Telephone promo.

18. She Feeds Her Fans Free Pizza

Here’s one of the reasons why people love Gaga. She cares for her fans so much to the point where she gave them free pizza! In 2017, when she cancelled her Montreal tour due to illness, Gaga invited her monsters to wait outside her hotel for some free pizza. What a thoughtful (and delicious) gesture!

19. She’s God-Parent to Elton John’s Kids

Indeed, Lady Gaga has such a special place in Elton John’s heart that he chose her as God-mother to his two sons! Elton’s boys, Elijah and Zachary are extremely lucky to call Gaga Godmother – she must be so fun!

20. She Was Bullied at School

Gaga admits that she was bullied at school. People used to call her ‘rabbit teeth’ and she was once thrown into a trash can while classmates looked on. Look where she is today – in your face HATERS!

21. She Founded the Born This Way Foundation

As a star who has had an eating disorder and someone who experienced bullying, Gaga decided to launch an anti-bullying campaign called the Born This Way foundation in 2011. The foundation helps fans dealing with body image and aims to inspire youth and build better communities. Gaga was even awarded the LennonOno Grant For Peace from Yoko Ono for her work with the foundation.

22. ‘Born This Way’ Was Written in 10 Minutes

Can you believe Born This Way was written in just 10 minutes?! “And it was a completely magical song. After I wrote it the gates just opened… it was like an immaculate conception”, the singer said on her speedy creative process.

23. Gaga Smokes Weed Whilst Writing Music

The controversial star has admitted that she likes to smoke weed whilst writing music. Each to their own, right? That’s hardly the craziest thing Gaga’s done! Take the next fact, for example…

24. She Wanted to Add Strange Ingredients to her Perfume

This definitely goes down as one of Gaga’s most bizarre ideas. She wanted to to put blood – and erm, men’s you know what – in her Fame perfume. This was clearly going to violate some FDA regulations, so instead she put traces of Belladonna, also known as Deadly Nightshade.

25. She Suffers from Fibromyalgia

In September 2017 and February 2018, the superstar cancelled her entire European tour because of “severe physical pain that has impacted her ability to perform”. Gaga reportedly suffers from fibromyalgia, a long-term condition that causes widespread pain. We saw how badly it affected her in her documentary, Gaga: Five Foot Two.

26. Lady Gaga Hasn’t Always Been Rich

Can you imagine Gaga being bankrupt? No, neither can we! In 2011, she admitted that she went bankrupt an after spending millions on crazy outfits for her Monster’s Ball tour.

27. She was Engaged to a Vampire Diaries Star!

In July 2011, Gaga started dating Vampire Diaries actor and model, Taylor Kinney, whom she met while filming the You and I music video. In February 2015, they got engaged but sadly split in July 2016. Taylor isn’t the only lucky man in Gaga’s life. Believe it or not, her dating history includes men and women!

28. Gaga Owns Michael Jackson’s Clothes!

That’s right! The Queen of pop owns the King of pop’s clothes! Gaga reportedly owns thousands of dollars worth of Michael Jackson’s clothes that she bought at an auction. She’s the proud owner of MJ’s Thriller jacket and one of his gloves!

29. She Gave her Puke to Ryan Murphy!

She may come across as confident when it comes to her acting roles but believe it or not, Lady Gaga vomited from nerves on the first day of shooting American Horror Story: Hotel. In fact, she vomited in a plastic bag in her Rolls Royce on the way to set. Then – wait for it – she handed the bag of puke to show co-creator Ryan Murphy!

30. Gaga’s Awards for A Star is Born are Record-Breaking

The singer’s role in the 2018 movie, A Star is Born was so phenomenal that it won her several awards including an Oscar, Grammy, BAFTA and a Golden Globe! In fact, Gaga is officially the first woman to ever win these awards in one year!

How many facts about Lady Gaga on this list did you know? We guess that will determine how much of a Little Monster, you really are! Tell us in the comments below…

Know someone who’s a huge fan? Check out our list of Lady Gaga gifts – that you can even treat yourself too!

This article was originally published in October 2016.