Many actors and musicians decide to adopt stage names for various reasons.
Take Michael Keaton, for instance. Although widely recognized as Michael Keaton, especially for his role in Beetlejuice, his real name is Michael Douglas. Since that name was already taken in Hollywood, he chose a different name to use professionally.
Emma Stone found herself in a similar predicament when she began her acting career.
The actress, known for her role in Poor Things, was originally named Emily Stone. However, as this name was already registered with the Screen Actors Guild, she adopted the stage name Emma Stone.
The scenario was different for Lady Gaga, however. The artist, known for her hit song ‘Poker Face’, was born with a distinctive name: Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta.
Yet, Lady Gaga is arguably even more memorable. But how did she come up with it?
It’s said to be a nod to Queen’s song ‘Radio Ga Ga’.
Her music producer, Robert Fusari, claimed he was the first to call her ‘Ga Ga’.
It’s believed that Gaga confirmed this story in a 2010 interview with Flybe magazine.
“He started to call me Gaga when I’d come into the studio,” she said.
“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.”
However, Fusari has contested Gaga’s claim that she invented the ‘Lady’ part of her name.
At the time of her statement, Fusari filed a $30.5 million lawsuit against Gaga, asserting that he invented her stage name and discovered her talent.
According to the lawsuit documents, an autocorrect change from ‘Radio Ga Ga’ to ‘Lady Ga Ga’ during a text message led to the creation of her stage name, which she apparently embraced.
The producer eventually withdrew the lawsuit.
While Gaga initially created her stage name for the music industry, she has continued to use it in Hollywood as well, featuring in successful films like A Star Is Born and House of Gucci.
Discussing her choice not to use her birth name, Germanotta, the ‘Just Dance’ singer once explained to entertainment journalist Kevin McCarthy: “The reason I decided to be credited at Lady Gaga is because Lady Gaga is my stage name, and it’s also the part of me that I created to exist in the art world.”
She further explained: “I didn’t want to leave something behind and express something to the world that I don’t believe to be true – that Lady Gaga was some sort of mask that I wanted to avoid or shed myself of in order to be a ‘real’ actress.”