Just maybe, Lady Gaga has staged the greatest transformation of them all.
The superstar singer’s evolution is staggering, Bowie-esque even, from Stefani Germanotta, to the Gaga so widely known and loved, a chart-topping pop and (sometimes) jazz swinger with a dozen Grammy Awards and an Oscar in her trophy room.
As an actor, Gaga turned heads with her performance as Ally in 2018’s A Star Is Born, for which she scooped the Academy Award for best original song (with “Shallow”). And she metamorphoses on screen as Patrizia Reggiani in Ridley Scott’s latest film House Of Gucci, a performance that has critics raving. Some are predicting a second gold statuette.
On Monday night (Jan. 24), Gaga stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live for a chat, an insider’s look at Gucci, and to share some life lessons learned.
The stage and screen is Gaga’s life pursuit. “I always wanted to be an actor. Much more than I wanted to be a singer,” she explains. Despite doing all the legwork from a young age, a problem persisted. “I just always wanted to be an actress, but I was really terrible at auditioning.”
Along the way, she auditioned for “a very spicy” LensCrafters commercial. Spoiler alert, she didn’t get the part. Though this cloud had a silver lining. “I learned something that day,” she tells Kimmel. “I learned all about rejection and how to take it like a queen.”
LensCrafters loss is everyone’s gain. Today, Gaga is acting opposite the great Al Pacino in Gucci. The thrill of it wasn’t lost on her Italian-American family. Gaga strategically sat-down her father when she broke the Pacino news. “My father’s had heart issues his whole life. And I was like, this is going to put him back in the hospital,” she quips.
House of Gucci has polarized cinema-goers, though Gaga shines on the screen. Italian food, specifically pizza and espresso, had something to do with her performance. “I just ate my way through the set,” she explains.
Gaga is nominated for the 2022 Screen Actors Guild Awards, in the category for female actor in a leading role. After going virtual last year due to the pandemic, the ceremony will this year air live on TNT and TBS on Sunday, Feb. 27, at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT from Barker Hangar in Santa Monica.
Watch Gaga’s late night interview below.
