“ It ’ s like open heart surgery to do a record . You have to dig deeper and deeper . It ’ s painful , and then when it ’ s over you ’ re healed again ,” Gaga told Home Business of developing an album from start to finish .
Yet dig deeper the 36 year old does , each of her succeeding albums a distinct departure from the last . From dance beats to electronic rock to jazz , she crafts all her albums with a deft hand and impressive lyrical range , each encompassing a different sound and feel .
“ She learned to play piano by ear at home when she was really young ,” Gaga ’ s mother Cynthia Germanotta told In Style . “ One day I said , ‘ Do you want to take some lessons ?’ She was a little bit confused by that because she said that she heard the music in her head . She didn ’ t understand why she had to take a lesson . That was a defining moment because I knew there was something different about her at that point . I didn ’ t know what it would lead to , but I realized that there was something more there .”
While her parents supported the raw talent they recognized in their daughter , her antics on stage initially gave them pause .
“ When Gaga started emerging , when she was performing , I think it was at Joe ’ s Pub downtown , and she was in her bikini performing with Lady Starlight , and decided that night to do heavy metal and to actually light hairspray on fire ,” Cynthia told Oprah . “ Some people left when that happened , a lot of people stayed and thought it was cool . Her father and I were like — honestly , he said , ‘ I think she has a screw loose .”
Perhaps then it was no surprise after extraordinary musical success that Gaga would turn her sights to acting , something she had wanted to do since childhood .
Indulging their talented daughter with method-acting classes at the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute at NYU ’ s Tisch School of Arts when she was 12 signaled the things to come . “ I loved it so much ,” said Gaga to Vogue ’ s Jonathan Van Meter . “ But I was terrible at auditioning — I would get too nervous and just couldn ’ t be myself .”
Fast forward to 2015 , when she took on a leading role in the miniseries American Horror Story : Hotel . Her portrayal of a vampiric , selfstyled Countess , a bloodsucking fashionista , earned Gaga a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress . She followed it up with another winning turn in the 2018 critically acclaimed film A Star is Born , playing Ally , a young singer who ’ s discovered by an alcoholic musician .
Although Gaga came close to winning an Oscar for the performance , she didn ’ t leave empty handed . She took home an Oscar for Best Original Song for “ Shallow ,” making her the first woman in history to win an Academy Award , Golden Globe Award , Grammy Award , and BAFTA Award in a single year .
Taking on the role of Patrizia Reggiani in House of Gucci , struck Gaga as the ideal next step . “ What if I didn ’ t play some edgy , sexy , chancy , risky b * tch ?” she recalled during the interview with Van Meter . “ Some punky Italian gold digger ?”
“ I mean , I ’ m Italian-American , I come from a long lineage of Italians . And Italians are passionate , vibrant people . To Americans , who might go to Rome and hear women yelling in the piazza at each other , they would hear them as yelling when they ’ re simply just speaking to each other .”
To prepare for the role , Gaga spent a year and a half living as Reggiani in Italy , speaking with an accent for nine months — on and off camera . “ Off camera , I never broke . I stayed with her .”
While she didn ’ t want to glorify somebody who would commit murder , Gaga approached the role from a unique perspective . “ I hope women will watch this and remind themselves to think twice about the fact that hurt people hurt people . And it ’ s dangerous . What happens to somebody when they ’ re pushed over the edge ?”
GAGA STARRING IN A STAR IS BORN . PHOTO BY WARNER BROS .
GAGA WON HER FIRST ACTING AWARD FOR HOUSE OF GUCCI .
PHOTO BY METRO GOLDWYN MAYER
STARRING WITH KATHY BATES IN AMERICAN HORROR STORY .
PHOTO BY FX NETWORKS
10 • MAY / JUNE 2022