Brought up on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, Gaga said in an interview that her parents came from lower-class families and worked hard for everything. Her parents are Cynthia Louise ( née Bissett), a philanthropist and business executive, and Internet entrepreneur Joseph Germanotta, and she has a younger sister named Natali. Both of her parents have Italian ancestry, and she also has more distant French-Canadian roots. Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta was born on March 28, 1986, at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan, New York City, to an upper middle class Catholic family.
Gaga's five succeeding studio albums all debuted atop the US Billboard 200.
The album was later reissued to include the EP The Fame Monster (2009), which yielded the successful singles " Bad Romance", " Telephone", and " Alejandro". Gaga rose to prominence the following year with her debut studio album, The Fame, and its chart-topping singles " Just Dance" and " Poker Face". 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 Akon's label, KonLive Distribution, in 2007.
She studied at Collaborative Arts Project 21, through New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, before dropping out to pursue a career in music. Gaga began performing as a teenager, singing at open mic nights, and acting in school plays. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( / ˈ s t ɛ f ən i ˌ dʒ ɜːr m ə ˈ n ɒ t ə/ STEF-ən-ee JUR-mə- NOT-ə born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress.