Lady Gaga Extended Learning Project

Lady Gaga (Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta) is an american singer, songwriter and actress. She was born March 28th 1986, at the Lenox Hill Hospital on the Upper East Side in Manhattan. From age 11 she attended the Convent Of The Sacred Heart, a private all-girls Roman Catholic School on Manhattan's Upper East Side. She began playing the piano at the age of 4, wrote her first piano ballad at 13, and started to perform at open mic nights at the age of 14. Gaga withdrew from school in the second semester of her sophomore year, deciding to focus on her musical career. In summer 2005 gaga recorded a few songs with hip-hop singer Grandmaster Melle Mel, for an audio book accompanying the children's book The Portal In The Park. She also began a band called the Stefani Germanotta Band with some friends from NYU. The band developed a small fan base and caught the eye of Joe Vulpis, a music producer. Soon after arranging time in Vulpis' studio in the months that followed, SGBand were selling their extended plays Words and Red and Blue (both 2005) at gigs around New York while becoming a local fixture of the downtown Lower East Side club scene.
In March 2006, Gaga met music producer Rob Fusari. SGBand reached their career peak at the 2006 Songwriters Hall Of Fame New Songwriters Showcase at The Cutting Room in June where Wendy Starland, a musician, appeared as a talent scout for Fusari. Starland informed Fusari – who was searching for a female singer to front a new band. Gaga traveled daily to New Jersey to work on songs she had written and compose new material with the music producer.Towards the end of 2007, her former management company introduced her to songwriter and producer Red One.
Gaga grew up listening to artists such as The Beatles, Stevie Wonder, Queen, Bruce Springsteen, Pink Floyd, Mariah Carey, The Grateful Dead, Led Zeppelin, Whitney Houston, Elton John, Blondie and Garbage, who all influenced her. She also cited heavy metal bands like Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath as her favorite musicians.
Lady Gaga has been involved in a lot of controversy, such as when her former boyfriend, business partner and producer Rob Fusari sued the platinum provocateur for $30.5 million in 2010, claiming he named her and framed her style. She also caused a lot of controversy when she wore a dress made out of meat to the MTV music video awards in 2010, she wore it as a statement about one's need to fight for what she believes in.
Outside of entertainment, she is noted for her philanthropic endeavors and social activism, including LGBT rights and HIV/AIDS prevention. In 2012, Gaga established the Born This Way Foundation, a non-profit organization that focuses on youth empowerment.