“I’m not real, I’m theatre” she proclaims in the guise of her New Jersey-Italian male alter ego and imaginary ex-boyfriend, parodying herself with irony and self-celebration. The 2011 MTV Music Video Awards in Los Angeles was a real spectacle within a spectacle, with a memorable performance from Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta as Jo Calderone, Lady Gaga in drag. On this occasion, Queen guitarist Brian May also took centre stage with his solo during “You and I” from the album “Born this Way”.
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Celebrated this year with the release of “Born This Way The Tenth Anniversary” and even a new holiday on 23 May in West Hollywood, now officially known as Born This Way Day, the Manifesto of Mother Monster exalts the expression of one’s unique way of being and includes, in addition to the original tracks, six songs reimagined by artists who represent the LGBT community, which holds the singer in high esteem both for her part in the fight for what she believes in, for which she invented her most provocative outfit, the much talked about meat dress, and for the generosity with which she supports its members through the Born this Way Foundation.
From “Poker Face” to A-list actress, she was chosen by Ridley Scott for the role of Patrizia Reggiani, the black widow who in 1998 was convicted of being the instigator in the murder of her husband Maurizio Gucci. A stellar cast that, in addition to Gaga and Adam Driver, includes Al Pacino, Jared Leto and Jeremy Irons: the filming of “House of Gucci” began in February in Rome, then moved to Milan, Lake Como and Florence, and wrapped with Miss Germanotta’s message to the nation in a tweet that read “I hope I made you proud. I am proud to be Italian”.
She plays the piano, composes music and writes lyrics, has a mezzo soprano vocal range that modulates with sudden transitions between highs and lows, has set up the Haus of Gaga creative team, being inspired by Andy Warhol’s Factory, to breathe life into characters, sets and transform practically anything into an outfit, and she earned an Oscar nomination for her first starring role in “A Star is Born” by and with Bradley Cooper. “I’ve worked hard for a long time. If you have a dream, fight for it. It’s not about how many times you are rejected” she said in her acceptance speech, visibly moved on Oscar night as she held up the statuette for Best Original Song awarded to “Shallow”. Chameleonic, charismatic and frighteningly talented, she also surprises with her candour, admitting that she has always suffered from low self-esteem, attributable in no small way to a sexual assault in her early career at the hands of a producer who threatened to burn her music if she refused to comply. An attack that resulted in anxiety, mental health struggles and is probably behind the provocative images that explore power play between men and women and characterise the iconic choreography in her videos from “Paparazzi” to “Bad Romance”, from “Alejandro” to “John Wayne”.
True self-expression was achieved through the power of makeup. “It was then that I invented Lady Gaga. I found the superhero within me by looking in the mirror and seeing who I wanted to be. Sometimes beauty doesn’t come naturally from within. But I’m so grateful that makeup inspired a bravery in me I didn’t know I had. I’ve come to accept that I discovered my beauty by having the ability to invent myself and transform.” In 2019 she launched her own line of vegan and cruelty-free beauty products, available exclusively through Amazon. “They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but at Haus Laboratories, we say beauty is how you see yourself. We want you to love yourself. This is our Haus. Your rules.” And of course, it goes without saying, that the colour palette is not lacking in any way whatsoever.
In real life, she found the courage to show herself without makeup or deception, in the 2017 Netflix documentary film “Gaga: Five Foot Two”. She reveals all her physical pains and the drugs she takes to endure them, her workaholic nature even in her hospital bed, her obsessive perfectionism, attachment to family, the way that she lives for her fans and makes the element of surprise her own distinctive trait. And her emotional hurt “When I sold 30 million records I lost Lüc. I sold 10 million and lost Matt. I did a movie and lose Taylor. It’s like a turnover”. From so much fragility and strength, sweetness and determination, there is a whole universe made of truth, theatre and starlight. Her rules, her way.
Article Edit by Claudia Chiari
Editorial Director celebreMagazine World