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Lady Gaga studied acting long before becoming famous. Then music

swept her away. But watching A Star Is Born is all it takes to realize that
she can act in spades.

Lady Gaga and the rest of the film crew however, that Lady Gaga (like many singers) my voice and the songs I wrote, but that they
from Ridley Scott’s House of Gucci were runs the risk of not being taken seriously as would rather give them to other singers be-
spotted on the streets of Milan, outside a an actor. Musician? Yes. Celebrity? For sure. cause they were prettier than me.”
hotel in Rome, on the snow in Gressoney, Entrepreneur, activist, voice chosen to sing Before making her breakthrough,
by Lake Como, and in Florence for a few the national anthem at Biden’s inauguration? when she was still Stefani Germanotta, she
months, captured in the treasure hunt fren- Yes, that too. But actor? wrote songs for Britney Spears, Jennifer Lo-
zy of social media and the papers. And yet, she studied acting long before pez, and Cher. She even wrote one for Mi-
This was all due to the curiosity generat- becoming famous. She even landed a small chael Bolton. She could have stayed behind
ed by the movie based on the murder of Mau- part in the TV show The Sopranos when the scenes, but that wasn’t her destiny. Her
rizio Gucci, who was killed in Milan in 1995. she was just seventeen years old. Then mu- energy (which you can feel every minute of
This crime story is more real than reality, set sic swept her away. But watching A Star Is the Netflix documentary Gaga: Five Foot
in the world of the rich and famous, in beauti- Born, the 2018 movie directed by and star- Two) could not be contained within the con-
ful homes, at lavish parties, with all the bling- ring Bradley Cooper, is all it takes to realize fines of lyrics written for others.
bling of the opulent Nineties. This already that she can act in spades. Her critics will say I was lucky enough to interview her
would suffice to make it one of the most an- that she was just “playing a singer, like Bar- around ten years ago. We talked about
ticipated movies of the upcoming film season bra Streisand in the 1976 version of A Star many things. There was a lot of ground to
(it is scheduled to be released in November). Is Born. Besides, look at the movie careers cover: a record, her talent as a piano prodigy
But there is more. As it always happens of other singers: Beyoncé can only play her- (she could already play it by ear at the age
with a movie based on real events, the game self, Madonna collected a series of flops with of four), her extravagant and provocative
of “who plays whom” immediately gets ex- the exception of Evita, which is a musical so looks, including the famous meat dress,
citing. Maurizio Gucci, the victim, will be she’s back to singing.” Let them talk. which was actually a pacifist installation. At
portrayed by Adam Driver; Al Pacino plays As soon as she won the Oscar for Best a certain point, I told her I had a hard time
Aldo Gucci and Salma Hayek is Pina Au- Original Song (for Shallow from A Star Is picturing Lady Gaga doing normal things,
riemma, a sort of psychic and a key figure Born), a journalist asked her, “What do that her image as an absolute popstar made
in the story. The cast also includes Mada- you see when you look at this statue?” she her seem like an alien. She replied she was
lina Ghenea, Jared Leto, Jeremy Irons and, answered, “I see a lot of pain, I see all the a very normal woman, that she could cook
of course, Lady Gaga as Patrizia Reggiani, things that I’ve been through to get here.” It and, like a good Italian-American, she
Maurizio’s ex-wife who was sentenced to probably won’t be her only Academy Award could “do wonders with a tomato.” Then
twenty years in prison for arranging her hus- but it won’t be handed to her easily. she added, “But believe me, I feel a lot more
band’s murder. Lady Gaga has an edge, or at least like myself when I’m on stage than when I
Strange but true, Stefani Germanotta something that makes her different − an brush my teeth. Becoming Lady Gaga was
(better known as Lady Gaga) was not the first almost fierce sensitivity that accompanies my salvation. I shed my many fears, left all
choice for this role. The House of Gucci proj- her every day. Her hair is not blonde in A those years of rejections and negativity be-
ect dates back to 2006 and at the time they Star Is Born, she doesn’t have makeup on, hind me, when I was bullied for my big nose
were thinking of Angelina Jolie to play Reg- she doesn’t wear eccentric outfits. When the and buck teeth.”
giani’s role. Six years later, they brought up movie came out, she told me, “I felt very vul- When we said goodbye, I left the inter-
Penélope Cruz’s name, then there were talks nerable, but I dove in, it was like jumping in view with the certainty of having met two,
of Margot Robbie. And, finally, Lady Gaga, freezing cold water. There is a lot about me perfectly compatible people: Stefani Ger-
who even looks like her the most. It seems in this story, and Bradley kept that in mind. manotta, a girl too sensitive for this world,
obvious in hindsight − who knows why they Like my character in the movie, when I was and Lady Gaga, the heroic alter ego that
didn’t think of her earlier. The movie indus- still at the beginning, I would walk in a room turned her into the superstar she is and the
try is certainly a strange business. It is true, full of men and they would tell me they loved proud queen of her castle.

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