Lady Gaga: Age, Net Worth, Biography and Facts

Lady Gaga (Stefani Germanotta) is an American singer, songwriter and actress, the artist behind "Bad Romance," "Shallow," "Die with a Smile" and "Abracadabra," and an Oscar winner with 16 Grammy Awards. This profile covers her biography, albums and songs, tours, movies and TV roles including "Wednesday," her fiancé Michael Polansky and her latest news as of October 2026.

Age and earnings

Lady Gaga was born on March 28, 1986 in New York City and is 40 years old.

Forbes estimated Lady Gaga's pretax earnings for 2025 at $52 million in its list of the highest-paid musicians, published in December 2025 (Forbes). Figures like this are published estimates, not official statements of wealth.

Who is Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga (real name Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta; born March 28, 1986, in New York City) is known for constant reinvention, theatrical fashion and unusual range, moving between dance-pop, rock, jazz standards and film. She has scored seven No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 and six No. 1 singles on the Hot 100.

For "Shallow," from the film "A Star Is Born" (2018), she won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, along with a Golden Globe, a Grammy and a BAFTA for the film's music. After two more wins at the February 2026 ceremony, her Grammy total stands at 16. In May 2025 her free concert on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro drew an estimated 2.1 million people, the largest audience ever reported for a concert by a female artist, and her Mayhem Ball tour (2025–2026) became the highest-grossing tour of her career.

Lady Gaga in Numbers

Metric	Value (as of October 2026)
Real name	Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta
Birth date and place	March 28, 1986, New York City (USA)
Grammy Awards	16
Academy Awards	1, Best Original Song for "Shallow" (2019)
Golden Globes	2: "American Horror Story: Hotel" (2016) and "Shallow" (2019)
Billboard 200 No. 1 albums	7
Hot 100 No. 1 singles	6
Rio de Janeiro concert	About 2.1 million people (May 3, 2025)
Mayhem Ball tour	$419.5 million including warm-up shows (Billboard Boxscore)
Business and charity	Haus Labs, Born This Way Foundation

Childhood in New York

Lady Gaga was born in Manhattan to a family of Italian descent. Her mother, Cynthia Germanotta, later co-founded the Born This Way Foundation, and her father, Joseph Germanotta, is an internet entrepreneur who also owns restaurants in New York. She grew up on the Upper West Side with her younger sister, Natali, a fashion designer, and attended the Convent of the Sacred Heart, a private Catholic girls' school.

She began playing the piano at four, wrote her first piano ballad at 13 and performed at open mic nights as a teenager. She studied acting at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute and, at 17, won early admission to New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, which she left to concentrate on music. She performed on the Lower East Side club scene under the name Lady Gaga, a nickname inspired by the Queen song "Radio Ga Ga," and worked as a songwriter for other artists at Interscope.

"The Fame" and Global Stardom (2008–2012)

Her debut album "The Fame" (2008) and its expanded reissue "The Fame Monster" (2009) made her a global star. "Just Dance" and "Poker Face" both reached No. 1 on the Hot 100, and "Paparazzi," "Bad Romance," "Telephone" with Beyoncé and "Alejandro" followed. Her outfits, including the meat dress she wore to the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards, made her one of the most discussed performers in the world. "Born This Way" (2011) sold more than one million copies in its first week in the US, and its title track became an anthem of LGBTQ pride.

Jazz, "Joanne" and the Super Bowl (2013–2017)

After the electronic album "Artpop" (2013) and a hip injury that cut short her Born This Way Ball tour, she recorded the jazz standards album "Cheek to Cheek" (2014) with Tony Bennett, which won a Grammy. In 2015 she sang a medley from "The Sound of Music" at the Oscars and joined "American Horror Story: Hotel," winning a Golden Globe for her role as the Countess. The stripped-back, country-tinged album "Joanne" (2016), named after her late aunt, produced "Million Reasons." On February 5, 2017, she headlined the Super Bowl LI halftime show in Houston. The Netflix documentary "Gaga: Five Foot Two" (2017) showed her living with chronic pain, later diagnosed as fibromyalgia.

"A Star Is Born" and Film (2018–2024)

In 2018 she starred opposite Bradley Cooper in his remake of "A Star Is Born," playing the singer Ally. "Shallow" topped the Hot 100 and won her the Oscar, while her performance earned a Best Actress nomination. She returned to dance-pop with "Chromatica" (2020), featuring the Ariana Grande duet "Rain on Me," and recorded a second album with Tony Bennett, "Love for Sale" (2021), before his death in 2023. She played Patrizia Reggiani in Ridley Scott's "House of Gucci" (2021), wrote "Hold My Hand" for "Top Gun: Maverick" (2022), and played Harley Quinn, or Lee Quinzel, in "Joker: Folie à Deux" (2024). In July 2024 she performed "Mon truc en plumes" at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics.

"Die with a Smile" and "Mayhem" (2024–2026)

Her duet with Bruno Mars, "Die with a Smile," released in August 2024, became one of the biggest songs of the decade, reaching No. 1 on the Hot 100 and spending many weeks atop the Billboard Global 200; it won the Grammy for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance in 2025. On March 7, 2025, she released "Mayhem," a return to dark, dance-driven pop led by "Disease" and "Abracadabra," which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. At the 68th Grammys on February 1, 2026, "Mayhem" won Best Pop Vocal Album and "Abracadabra" won Best Dance Pop Recording, from seven nominations.

On May 3, 2025, she played a free concert on Copacabana beach. City officials estimated the crowd at about 2.1 million, and Brazilian police said they had thwarted a planned bomb attack on the event. The Mayhem Ball tour began in July 2025 and closed at Madison Square Garden on April 13, 2026. According to Billboard Boxscore, the tour and its warm-up shows grossed $419.5 million and sold nearly two million tickets, the biggest total of her career.

Lady Gaga in "Wednesday"

In 2025 Gaga joined the second season of Netflix's "Wednesday," directed in part by Tim Burton, as Rosaline Rotwood, a legendary former teacher at Nevermore Academy. Her character appears in the second half of the season, released in September 2025. The casting followed years of fan interest after her 2010 song "Bloody Mary" went viral in 2022 through a TikTok trend set to Jenna Ortega's dance from the show's first season. She also released a new song, "The Dead Dance," tied to the series.

Lady Gaga Albums

Year	Album	Key songs
2008	"The Fame"	"Just Dance," "Poker Face," "Paparazzi"
2009	"The Fame Monster" (EP / reissue)	"Bad Romance," "Telephone," "Alejandro"
2011	"Born This Way"	"Born This Way," "Judas," "The Edge of Glory"
2013	"Artpop"	"Applause"
2014	"Cheek to Cheek" (with Tony Bennett)	"Anything Goes"
2016	"Joanne"	"Million Reasons"
2018	"A Star Is Born" soundtrack (with Bradley Cooper)	"Shallow," "Always Remember Us This Way"
2020	"Chromatica"	"Stupid Love," "Rain on Me"
2021	"Love for Sale" (with Tony Bennett)	"I Get a Kick Out of You"
2025	"Mayhem"	"Disease," "Abracadabra," "Die with a Smile"

Lady Gaga Songs

Her six Hot 100 No. 1 singles are "Just Dance" (2008), "Poker Face" (2009), "Born This Way" (2011), "Shallow" (2018), "Rain on Me" (2020) and "Die with a Smile" (2024). "Bad Romance" (2009), with its widely imitated video, is often ranked among the best pop songs of the 21st century. Other signature songs include "Paparazzi," "Telephone," "Applause," "Million Reasons," "Hold My Hand," "Bloody Mary" and "Abracadabra."

Lady Gaga Tours

Years	Tour
2009	The Fame Ball Tour
2009–2011	The Monster Ball Tour
2012–2013	Born This Way Ball
2014	ArtRave: The Artpop Ball
2014–2015	Cheek to Cheek Tour (with Tony Bennett)
2017–2018	Joanne World Tour
2018–2022	Enigma / Jazz and Piano (Las Vegas residency)
2022	The Chromatica Ball
2025–2026	The Mayhem Ball

Lady Gaga Movies and TV

Year	Title	Role
2013	"Machete Kills"	La Chameleón
2014	"Sin City: A Dame to Kill For"	Bertha
2015–2016	"American Horror Story: Hotel"	The Countess
2016	"American Horror Story: Roanoke"	Scáthach
2017	"Gaga: Five Foot Two"	Herself (documentary)
2018	"A Star Is Born"	Ally
2021	"House of Gucci"	Patrizia Reggiani
2024	"Joker: Folie à Deux"	Lee Quinzel / Harley Quinn
2025	"Wednesday" (season 2)	Rosaline Rotwood
2026	"The Devil Wears Prada 2"	Cameo; sang "Runway" with Doechii

Style, Image and Little Monsters

From the start of her career Gaga treated fashion as part of the music. She worked with the creative collective Haus of Gaga and designers such as Alexander McQueen, whose 12-inch "armadillo" heels she wore in the "Bad Romance" video, and she arrived at the 2011 Grammys inside an egg-shaped vessel. Over time her image moved from avant-garde costumes to the old Hollywood glamour of her jazz and film years and then to the gothic, black-and-red aesthetic of the "Mayhem" era. Her fans call themselves "Little Monsters," and she calls herself "Mother Monster," a bond built on her message of acceptance for outsiders. She is one of the most-followed musicians on social media, and her hand-signal "monster paw" is still a fixture at her concerts.

Activism and Business

Gaga is an advocate for mental health and LGBTQ rights. In 2012 she and her mother launched the Born This Way Foundation, which supports the mental wellness of young people. She has spoken publicly about surviving sexual assault, about post-traumatic stress disorder and about fibromyalgia. Her cosmetics brand Haus Labs, launched in 2019 and relaunched in 2022 as Haus Labs by Lady Gaga, focuses on clean, vegan formulas.

Husband and Family

Lady Gaga is not married. She has been in a relationship with the tech entrepreneur and investor Michael Polansky since 2020; their engagement became public in April 2024. Polansky is an executive producer of "Mayhem" and co-wrote several of its songs. In March 2026 Gaga said they planned to marry soon. In September 2026 People and other outlets reported that the couple had welcomed their first child, a daughter, though the couple had not publicly confirmed details. Gaga was previously engaged to actor Taylor Kinney, from 2015 to 2016, and to talent agent Christian Carino, from 2018 to 2019.

Height

Gaga is about 5 feet 1 inch (155 cm) tall. Her 2017 Netflix documentary is titled "Gaga: Five Foot Two."

Quick Facts

Real name	Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta
Born	March 28, 1986
Birthplace	New York City, USA
Parents	Joseph and Cynthia Germanotta
Occupation	Singer, songwriter, actress
Famous songs	"Poker Face," "Bad Romance," "Shallow," "Rain on Me," "Die with a Smile," "Abracadabra"
Movies	"A Star Is Born," "House of Gucci," "Joker: Folie à Deux"
Awards	Academy Award, 16 Grammy Awards, 2 Golden Globes
Fiancé	Michael Polansky

Timeline

• March 28, 1986: Born in New York City.
• 2007: Signed with Interscope Records.
• 2008: Released "The Fame."
• 2009: Released "The Fame Monster" with "Bad Romance."
• 2011: Released "Born This Way."
• 2014: Released "Cheek to Cheek" with Tony Bennett.
• 2016: Won a Golden Globe for "American Horror Story: Hotel."
• February 5, 2017: Headlined the Super Bowl LI halftime show.
• 2018: Starred in "A Star Is Born."
• February 2019: Won the Oscar for "Shallow."
• 2020: Released "Chromatica."
• November 2021: Starred in "House of Gucci."
• April 2024: Engagement to Michael Polansky made public.
• July 26, 2024: Performed at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony.
• August 2024: Released "Die with a Smile" with Bruno Mars.
• March 7, 2025: Released "Mayhem."
• May 3, 2025: Free concert for about 2.1 million people in Rio de Janeiro.
• September 2025: Appeared in season 2 of "Wednesday."
• February 1, 2026: Won two Grammys for "Mayhem" and "Abracadabra."
• April 13, 2026: The Mayhem Ball tour ended at Madison Square Garden.
• September 2026: Reports that she and Polansky had welcomed a daughter.

Photo: Raph_PH, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons