Lady Gaga learned to play piano as a child without any professional lessons.
The singer/actress has risen through the ranks of the entertainment world since releasing her debut album The Fame in 2008 and most recently launched her fifth studio album Joanne in 2016.
Gaga, real name Stefani Germanotta, always showed interest in performing as a youngster, but her mother Cynthia Germanotta has now shared that she only started taking her daughter's musical talent seriously when she showed off some genuine ability.
"She learned to play piano by ear at home when she was really young. One day I said, 'Do you want to take some lessons?' She was a little bit confused by that because she said that she heard the music in her head. She didn't understand why she had to take a lesson," she recalled in an interview with U.S. InStyle. "That was a defining moment because I knew there was something different about her at that point. I didn't know what it would lead to, but I realised that there was something more there."
Gaga now has six Grammy Awards under her belt and Cynthia and her extended family still can't quite believe the "order of magnitude" that she has achieved. But the star's mum also explained that her daughter's ascent to global stardom hasn't always been easy, with Gaga's experiences with bullying, assault and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) leading them to co-found the Born This Way Foundation in 2011.
"When her career took off, she began sharing these experiences and talking about the need for a kinder and braver world. Because she was talking very openly during her performances about the negative experiences that she had growing up, I came to realise that it was helping her heal and it was also helping other young people," she shared. "It has really opened my eyes in a very, very good way."
Cynthia is currently promoting the #BeKindBeTheDifference campaign, which invites people to register to become Mental Health First Aiders, that is, people who can identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental health and substance use.
