There’s a fascinating story behind the A Star Is Born actress’s stage moniker.
Ever since Lady Gaga made it big in 2008 with “Just Dance,” Little Monsters and curious Googlers alike have asked the same question: How did Lady Gaga get her name? Although the mystery has been addressed, the answer remains less than straightforward.
According to Lady Gaga herself via an interview, her stage name came about when her music producer, Robert Fusari, told her that she reminded him of the famous Queen song ‘Radio Ga Ga.’ From then on, Stefani Germanotta (which is her real name) took on the moniker proudly. In her own words, she reportedly claimed:
“He started to call me Gaga when I’d come into the studio. When we were getting ready to really start performing, I decided that I’d been playing under my real name for so long I wanted a new way to reinvent myself. So I said,’What about Lady Gaga?’ because Gaga is sort of crazy and Lady has such connotations.”
It’s a good story, but according to Robert, it may not be entirely true. In fact, Robert sued Gaga in 2010 for $30 million because he claimed he was the one who invented her stage name and discovered her talent ... and therefore should be entitled to royalties.
IBT reports that Robert would call her ‘Mother Monster Radio Gaga’ and that he’d sing Freddie Mercury’s popular hit every time she came into the studio. But, according to him, it wasn’t until his text sent to the pop star got auto-corrected from ‘Radio Gaga’ to ‘Lady Gaga’ that the name was born. The lawsuit was dropped the same year.
Roughly nine years later, Lady Gaga’s name has become undeniably iconic — even her acting credits for American Horror Story and A Star Is Born (which she received a 2019 Golden Globe nomination for) were billed as “Gaga.”
So, why not go by Stefani? It’s not entirely clear, but she did tell Rolling Stone that she deeply identifies with her stage name – in part, because she was an outsider in her teen years.
“I’ve always been Gaga ... I suppressed all those eccentricities about myself so I could fit in,” she explained. “Once I was free, I was able to be myself.”
While it’s possible that she might revert to her real name down the road, for now, it’s definitely Gaga.