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Katy Perry (Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson) was born in Santa Barbara, California, on October 25, 1984 and is of German, Portuguese, Irish, and English ancestry. Perry grew up in a very religious household as both her parents were pastors. She began singing in her church and listened to gospel music growing up, as Perry was not allowed to listen to, what her mother referred to as, “secular music”.
Perry began taking vocal lessons at age nine and continued until she was sixteen. When she was 15, Perry moved to Nashville, Tennesee where she honed her songwriting skills and learned to play the guitar under the guidance of country music veterans. Perry signed to a Christian music label, under which she recorded her first album under the stage name Katy Hudson. When the album was unsuccessful, she later changed her stage name to Perry, her mother’s maiden name, because “Katy Hudson” was too close to film actress Kate Hudson.
Perry saw commercial success after signing with Capitol Records and the release of her mainstream debut album ‘One of the Boys’ in 2008, which spawned the worldwide hit ‘I Kissed a Girl’. Perry’s success reached new heights with the release of her second album ‘Teenage Dream’ in 2010. The album’s first five singles – ‘California Gurls,’ ‘Teenage Dream,’ ‘Fireworks,’ ‘E.T.’ and ‘Last Friday Night’ – all topped the singles chart, making Perry only the second artist (after Michael Jackson) in Billboard history to amass five number-one singles from one album. Despite her chart achievements and eight nominations, Perry has never won a Grammy.
Perry is known for her bubbly personality and often wears humorous stage outfits when performing. She has launched two perfumes, and made her film debut by voicing Smurfette in the ‘The Smurfs’. Perry has made cameo appearances as herself in ‘The Simpsons,’ ‘Sesame Street,’ ‘The Muppets’ and ‘Get Him to the Greek,’ where she met actor Russell Brand during filming. After a few months of dating, Perry married Brand in India but filed for divorce just 14 months later.
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