Who the Hec Is Lady Gaga?

Who the Hec Is Lady Gaga?

On March 28, 1986, Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta entered the world. Today, the little, 5-foot-1-inch 'Fame Monster' is one of the world's biggest selling artists. In honor of Lady Gaga's quarter of a century on earth on this, the 'Born This Way' singer's 25th birthday, we've compiled some little-known facts about Gaga.

01

Loves Her Little Monsters

If it's one thing Gaga loves, it's her fans -- or "little monsters." The singer once purchased $1,000 worth of pizza for fans waiting on line to get her autograph and has shown other admissions of her love for her "little monsters" throughout the years like getting ink for them. In 2010, Gaga got the words "Little Monsters" tattooed on her as a dedication to her fans,tweeting, "Look what I did last night. little monsters forever, on the arm that holds my mic."

02

Classically Trained

She's a real musician. Gaga, who learned to play piano when she was a mere 4 years old, wrote her first song on piano at the age of 13 and made her performance debut at the age of 14 at an open mike session. She later took classical piano lessons and was set on attending the prestigious Julliard School before settling into Catholic school.

03

'Born This Way'

In her most anticipated video to date (the first single of her second studio album of the same name) Gaga didn't disappoint with 'Born This Way.' Described by Gaga as the "birth of a new race within the race of humanity," the video features the horned-face singer giving 'birth,' dancing 'dead' and leading a 'Star Trek' saga. The single broke records as the fastest-selling single on iTunes and became the 1000th No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100.

04

Heavy Metal

Gaga loves metal and admits to listening to AC/DC from time to time helps her unwind. She's even danced to Metallica's 'Metal Militia.' A KISS fan, she's been spotted with the legendary rockers, and just days before her birthday, she was starstruck by metal's shock-rock pioneer Alice Cooper at a recent show in Phoenix.

05

Go-Go Gaga

Keeping with her love of metal, Gaga started performing as a burlesque dancer after dropping out of college. There, she'd dance -- mostly to Black Sabbath. "I was on stage in a thong, with a fringe hanging over my a-- thinking that had covered it, lighting hairsprays on fire, go-go dancing to Black Sabbath," revealed Gaga.

06

Born in the Big Apple

Born and raised in New York. Gaga attended the Convent of the Sacred Heart, a private all-girls Roman Catholic school on Manhattan's Upper East Side before attending NYU to study music. Gaga started performing at New York's Lower East Side clubs like Piano's before breaking big.

07

Not Just Another Pop Singer

Gaga has written for some of the biggest names in music, even before she was Lady Gaga. She first started her songwriter apprenticeship at Famous Music Publishing. The company, which was acquired by Sony/ATV Music Publishing, landed Gaga a publishing deal that allowed her to write forBritney Spears, New Kids on the Block, the Pussycat Dolls and Fergie.

08

Duet Monster

When it comes to duets, Gaga nails it. Her duet with Elton John at the 2010 Grammy Awards was smoking -- literally. John and Gaga emerged on either side of the piano and covered in ash as they performed a mash-up of her song 'Speechless' and 'Your Song'). Gaga later recorded a duet with Sir Elton entitled 'Hello Hello' for the 'Gnomeo & Juliet' film. Another of Gaga's more memorable pairings was her recent union with Beyonce for single 'Telephone.'

09

Kermit, Condoms and Meat

Gaga never fails to shock -- whether she's covered up or not. She arrived to the 2011 Grammy Awards incubating in an egg from which she hatched to perform 'Born This Way.' She has covered up with Perspex bubbles, donned a jacket made of a dozen Kermit the Frog Muppets, wore a meat and acondom dress (on separate occasions) and once glued hundreds of white pearls to her face.

10

'Radio Ga Ga'

Gaga's name is inspired by two of her biggest influences – David Bowieand Queen. The 'Gaga' attached to her title was inspired by the 1984 Queen hit 'Radio Ga Ga.' "I adored Freddie Mercury, and Queen had a hit called 'Radio Ga Ga," she told Britain's Daily Record. "That's why I love the name. Freddie was unique -- one of the biggest personalities in the whole of pop music."

11

What's in a Name?

According to Merriam-Webster, the word "Gaga" means crazy and foolish or wild with enthusiasm. While some critics may think the former of Gaga, she's shown more intense fervor and excitement for her music and and live performances since her inception.

12

Gaga the Philanthropist

Gaga has been involved with helping raise funds for earthquake victims in Haiti and Japan, including selling wristbands at her recent concerts, but her main mission is the fight against HIV/AIDS. She's currently the beauteous spokesperson for MAC cosmetic's Viva Glam line. All net proceeds from the line, designed by Gaga, go to AIDS research and prevention.

13

Reality TV Tryout

Gaga was on TV for some exposure before exposing herself on stage. In 2005, Gaga (then Stefani) appeared on the MTV reality show 'Boiling Points' with her natural, brunette locks but lost a cool $100 and was booted off. She also appeared in an episode of 'The Hills' in 2008.

14

Pant-less for Granny

In a Rolling Stone interview, Gaga explained why she rarely ever wears pants. She says that her grandma, who is near-blind, can only make out "lighter parts" of her if she's watching a performance. "My grandmother is basically blind, but she can make out the lighter parts, like my skin and hair," she said. "So I'll continue to wear no pants so that my grandma can see me."

15

Needs No Backing

Unlike some of her counterparts, Gaga never lip-syncs and doesn't use any back cuts (vocals of other singers cut into the background to impart a fullness of sound) on her recordings. What you hear is what you get live -- and on record: 100 percent Gaga!

16

Haus of Gaga

Named the 'Haus of Gaga,' the 'Bad Romance' singer has her own creative team. Sounding more like a fashion house, the Haus of Gaga helps the singer remain heavily involved in all the designing of her costumes and stage sets as well as her videos and choreography. The name of her 'Haus of Gaga' members are kept under wraps.

17

Member of the Twitterati

Lady Gaga is currently the most followed individual on Twitter with more than 9.5 million followers. Just lagging behind are Justin Bieber with more than 8.4 million followers and Britney Spears (7.2-plus million).

18

Doesn't Tweet Much

Even though Gaga has only tweeted just more than 650 times (as of press time), she's managed to gain more than nine million "monsters" following her.

19

Almost Most 'Liked'

Eminem takes the reign as the most liked 'living person on Facebook (32-plus million 'likes'), but Lady Gaga is not trailing too far behind with more than 31 million.

20

Not Afraid to Get Bloody ...

There was the meat dress wore at the 2010 VMAs, but Gaga is covered in blood a lot more often. She once shocked fans by being murdered on stage, leaving her covered in blood. She's even modeling her debut fragrance, out in 2012, after blood and semen.

21

... Doesn't Like Meat

"I'm on a very strict healthy pop star diet," said Gaga. "I don't eat bread, just vegetables and salad and fish. Eating like that is much better for me anyway but on Sundays I sometimes eat pasta." Gaga also takes along New York Times author and celebrity trainer, Harley Pasternak, on the road with her to make sure she sticks to her plan.

22

Gaga vs. Madonna

There was so much noise around Gaga's 'Born This Way' sounding like Madonna's 1989 hit 'Express Yourself,' but the musical comparison could have came a lot earlier. In 2010, her video and lyrics for Alejandro were called blasphemous by the Catholic League. Something similar happened to Madge 20-plus years earlier when her 1989 video for 'Like a Prayer' came under attack.

23

Lady Gaga Lost

Dig out some imports, and you'll unearth lost Lady Gaga songs never heard in the US, including tracks like 'Disco Heaven,' 'Again Again' and 'Retro Dance Freak' featured UK and Japanese releases.

24

College-Educated

At the age of 17, Gaga was granted early admission to NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. Even though she dropped out to pursue her music career, Gaga has inspired courses around the country's universities, including a class entitled 'Lady Gaga and the Sociology of Fame' at the University of South Carolina.

25

She's Covered

From 'Poker Face' to 'Paparazzi,' and 'Telephone,' Gaga's songs are some of the most covered songs on YouTube. Everyone from Mika (who covered 'Poker Face') to newcomer Greyson Chance's more piano-based version of 'Paparazzi' and 10-year-old Maria Aragon's most recent rendition, everyone from orchestras, ukelele artists and other bands have covered Gaga's tracks.