Lady Gaga's biggest career achievements so far 👑

She's done so much!

Author: Emma DoddsPublished 28th Mar 2024

Lady Gaga is a serious tour de force in the music industry. Not only is she a hugely talented singer, songwriter and performer, but she's incredibly creative - serving us up with some of the most iconic outfits of all time.

As Gaga has now proved - she's not just a talented singer, but has blown us away with her incredible acting over the years. Appearing in numerous films, with another on the way, it's fair to say she's had some HUGE achievements throughout her career, and it looks like we could be due some new music very soon... Join us as we recap some of her most memorable moments so far...

Lady Gaga's biggest career moments so far:

2007: Lollapalooza Festival

After she began playing piano at the age of 4, Gaga - real name Stefani Germanotta - took on lead roles in plays at school, and enrolled in performance courses. She recorded songs with singer Melle Mel, and started working with producer Rob Fusari, before meeting performance artist Lady Starlight who helped to develop her on-stage persona. The pair performed together at the Lollapalooza festival in 2007.

2008: Debut album, 'The Fame'

In November 2007, Gaga was signed and began writing songs for the likes of Britney Spears, Fergie and the Pussycat Dolls. In 2008, she released her debut album 'The Fame', which spawned singles 'Just Dance', 'Poker Face' and 'Paparazzi'. It was a hit all over the world, hitting the top spot in the UK and US charts with Gaga winning two GRAMMYs in 2010. She spent a record 150 weeks in the UK singles chart in 2009.

2009: 'The Monster Ball Tour'

From 2009 - 2011, Gaga took her 'The Monster Ball Tour' worldwide! Over the two years, she travelled through arenas and stadiums supporting her first EP, 'The Fame Monster', and songs from her debut studio album, 'The Fame'.


Lady Gaga later revealed that at the height of the tour - despite multiple sold-out dates - she actually amassed a huge amount of debt which resulted in her becoming bankrupt... And she didn't even know! She told The Financial Times: "I actually went bankrupt after the first extension of The Monster Ball. And it was funny because I didn't know!"


Only finding out from her team afterwards, she continued: "I remember I called everybody and said, 'Why is every­one saying I have no money? This is ridiculous, I have five No. 1 singles.' And they said, 'Well, you're $3 million (£2.3 million) in debt."

2010: 'Telephone' with Beyoncé and second album

Gaga wrote eight brand new songs for the re-release of her debut album, which was entitled 'The Fame Monster' - one of which was 'Telephone' featuring Beyoncé Knowles-Carter. The Number 1 single was accompanied by a quirky 10-minute music video featuring the two stars as a criminal duo. 'Bad Romance' also featured on the reissue, and the music video became the most-watched YouTube video in April 2010. In October, Gaga became the first person to have a combined viewing figure of over a billion on the platform.


She won three GRAMMYs at the 2011 awards ceremony, and released 'Born This Way' - her second album - in May 2011. The lead single sold over a million copies in just five days, and the album hit the top spot in both the UK and US - being certified 3x Platinum in the UK and 2x Platinum in the US.

2012: The Simpsons and 'Artpop'

Gaga featured peak fame in 2012 when she was a guest star on The Simpsons in the episode 'Lisa Goes Gaga'. She also worked with Tony Bennett on a jazz version of 'The Lady Is A Tramp' and Elton John for the Gnomeo And Juliet soundtrack. Her third album 'Artpop' was released in November 2013, featuring 'Applause' and going to Number 1 in the UK and US. It was certified Gold in the UK and Platinum in the US.


She hosted Saturday Night Live that same month and starred in Lady Gaga and the Muppets Holiday Spectacular, as well as a small role in 2014 Sin City follow-up A Dame To Kill For. Having worked together in 2011, Gaga collaborated with Tony Bennett once again to create a jazz album entitled 'Cheek To Cheek' and featuring covers of 'Anything Goes', 'It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)' and 'Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)'. The record showed yet another new side to Gaga, and won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album, with the pair going on tour together.

2016: 'Til It Happens to You' at the Oscars 2016

After becoming engaged to Taylor Kinney in 2015 and seeing less success on 'Artpop', Gaga chose to soften her image and be less outrageous. She was approached by Diane Warren to co-write a song for documentary The Hunting Ground about campus rape in America - something that was close to her heart for personal reasons. They were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song, and she performed it at the 2016 ceremony, inviting victims onto the stage with her in an incredibly moving moment.


Having been an aspiring actress for most of her life, Gaga jumped at the chance to appear in American Horror Story: Hotel as the hotel's owner, Elizabeth - for which she received the Best Actress in a Miniseries or Television Film Golden Globe.


She also performed the National Anthem at Super Bowl 50, performing a tribute with Nile Rodgers to David Bowie, who had passed away one month before. She split from Taylor in July 2016, and returned to American Horror Story to play a witch in their sixth season, Roanoke. Her fourth album 'Joanne', named for her grandmother, was released in October 2016, and hit the top spot in the US, peaking at Number 3 in the UK. It was certified Platinum in the US and Gold in the UK.

2017: Super Bowl and documentary Gaga: Five Foot Two

After singing the National Anthem the previous year, Gaga was invited to perform as the headline act during the Super Bowl LI halftime show in February 2017 - it earned her an Outstanding Special Class Program Emmy nomination. She headlined Coachella Festival in the April, and in August went on the 'Joanne World Tour' before releasing her Netflix documentary Gaga: Five Foot Two in September.

2018: A Star Is Born

After contributing to Elton John's tribute album with a cover of 'Your Song', Gaga starred in the 2018 remake of A Star Is Born as Ally, with Bradley Cooper playing her love interest Jackson Maine. She was nominated for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe and a BAFTA, and the film's lead song 'Shallow' - which she wrote with Mark Ronson - received many nominations at all the big awards ceremonies. The soundtrack album hit the top spot in the UK and US charts, and was certified Platinum in the UK and 2x Platinum in the US.

2019: Awards and Las Vegas residency

Gaga cleaned up during the 2019 awards season - taking home the Academy Award for Best Original Song for 'Shallow', a BAFTA Film Award, two Critics' Choice Movie Awards, two GRAMMY Awards and the Best Original Song – Motion Picture Golden Globe for 'Shallow'. She signed a two-year residency in Las Vegas called Enigma which opened in December 2018, and launched her vegan makeup range Haus Laboratories in 2019. She was also announced to star in a Ridley Scott film about Maurizio Gucci, portraying his ex-wife Patrizia Reggiani who was convicted of hiring a hitman to murder him.

2020: 'Chromatica'

Gaga announced her sixth album 'Chromatica' in 2020, releasing the lead single 'Stupid Love' in February. The album was due for release in April 2020, but the singer chose to push it back due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

2021: Lady Gaga sings at President Biden's inauguration

Lady Gaga sang the US National Anthem at Joe Biden's inauguration as President of the United States.

2021: 'Love For Sale' album with Tony Bennet

'Love For Sale' is the second album Lady Gaga and singer Tony Bennet have created together. The pair collaborated in 2014 to create a jazz album called 'Cheek to Cheek'.
'Love For Sale' came out on 30th September and is a tribute to Jazz composer Cole Porter. The album is made up of renditions of Cole Porter's songs sung by Lady Gaga and Tony Bennet, and even bagged them a Grammy Award!

2021: House of Gucci

Lady Gaga is no stranger to the big screen, proving yet again in 2021 that she is one talented actress! Gaga starred as Patrizia Reggiani in the film House of Gucci, which was released on 26th November 2021.


She later received a Golden Globe nomination for her part in the film.

April 2022: 'Hold My Hand' in Top Gun: Maverick soundtrack

On 27th April, Lady Gaga announced that she had written the song 'Hold My Hand' for the Top Gun: Maverick film. The song came out on 3rd May and fans were quick to share their excitement at hearing new material from the iconic singer.

July 2022: Lady Gaga kicks off 'The Chromatica Ball' tour

After it was postponed in 2020, Lady Gaga was finally able to begin her 'The Chromatica Ball' tour on Sunday 17th July. The tour took her across Europe, Asia and North America with two shows in London's Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on 29th and 30th July.


While on tour, fans thought the singer had 'magic powers' after an object was stopped mid-flight after it was thrown at the singer!

August 2022: Lady Gaga confirms role in Joker 2

In August 2022, Lady Gaga officially confirmed that she was set to star alongside Joaquin Phoenix in the sequel to 2019 film Joker. After months of rumours, the singer confirmed the news with a short teaser clip, which revealed that the sequel - titled Joker: Folie à deux - will be released on 4th October 2024. And it's looking like we might hear a musical number, too!

2023: Nominations for 'Hold My Hand'

Gaga's song 'Hold My Hand' for Top Gun: Maverick received a pretty impressive amount of award nominations, getting nods at the Grammys, the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards. Despite the nominations, she lost out to Lin-Manuel Miranda for Encanto and M. M. Keeravani for RRR.

March 2023: Stripped-back Oscars performance of

Nominated for Best Original Song for 'Hold My Hand' at the 2023 Oscars, Lady Gaga performed the track live. In a stripped-down performance, the singer changed out of her Versace dress and diamonds and took to the stage in a T-Shirt, jeans and Converse!

April 2023: Gaga becomes co-chair of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities

In April 2023, President Joe Biden appointed Lady Gaga as co-chair of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities. In this role, she will advise the President and heads of the US cultural agencies on ways to enhance federal support for the arts and humanities.

July 2023: Lady Gaga pays tribute to Tony Bennett

Lady Gaga took to Instagram to share an emotional tribute to her 'real true friend' Tony Bennett following his death aged 96. Tony and Lady Gaga first met in 2011 and collaborated on the albums 'Cheek To Cheek' and 'Love For Sale.' In 2021, Lady Gaga joined Tony on stage for his last live performance before he retired.

You can hear Lady Gaga's biggest hits on the heat radio playlist, including some fantastic throwbacks.

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Lady Gaga's most iconic outfits

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