This bubbly singer is known for her over-the-top fashion choices and her crazy stage props. Katy Perry was born Katheryn Hudson on October 25, 1984 in Santa Barbara, California. Surprisingly, the quirky singer — whose song lyrics may be considered a little risque — was brought up in a very conservative Christian home. In fact, she got her start as a gospel singer. She learned how to play the guitar, took singing lessons, and eventually recorded a gospel album entitled Katy Hudson. As a teenager, Perry started rebelling against her parents and their beliefs. Wanting to focus on her music career, she got her GED and moved to Los Angeles to work with producer Glen Ballard, but her road to success was not as glamorous as you might expect. She stuck it out, and her big moment finally came in 2007, when she signed with Capitol Records after having three record deals fall apart. Her second single “I Kissed a Girl” took her from struggling musician to mega popstar.
Perry soon had her own special on MTV. The soundtrack for the show Katy Perry: MTV Unplugged was released in 2009 and was widely accepted and loved. The beloved pop singer followed her debut with three more albums: Teenage Dream, Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection, and Prism. Many of the singer’s songs have spent weeks at the top of the charts. “Dark Horse” on her latest album helped her beat Mariah Carey’s record of 45 weeks with all of her hits.
Katy Perry’s relationship and love life has been as busy as her career. In 2008, she dated Travis McCoy for a year before breaking it off and moving on with comedian Russell Brand. The famous couple quickly went from dating to engagement to marriage. They got hitched in an extravagant celebrity wedding in India in a traditional Hindu ceremony, featuring camels, elephants, fire jugglers, snake charmers, and more. Unfortunately, the two announced their celebrity divorce after only 14 months. The singer opened up about her failed marriage in her movie Katy Perry: Part of Me but picked herself back up and began dating again. She was rumored to be with model Baptiste Giabiconi and guitarist Robert Ackroyd. She committed to her first serious celebrity relationship post-divorce with John Mayer, and the two were on-and-off for about a year before calling it quits. They even recorded a song together called “Who You Love.” Most recently, Perry has been seen with Diplo; the two appear to be going strong despite the fact that the disc jockey just welcomed a child with his celebrity ex.
