Katy Perry

Born: October 25, 1984 (age 28), Santa Barbara, California, United States
Height: 5' 8" (1.73 m)
Movies and TV shows: The Smurfs, The Smurfs 2, More
Parents: Keith Hudson, Mary Perry

Katheryn Elizabeth "Katy" Hudson[1] (born October 25, 1984), known by her stage name Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, businesswoman, and actress. She was born and raised in Santa Barbara, California. Having had very little exposure to mainstream pop music in her childhood, she pursued a career in gospel music as a teen and released her debut self-titled studio album. She also recorded a second solo album which never received release. In 2007, she signed with Capitol Records and adopted her current stage name.

Katheryn Elizabeth "Katy" Hudson, known by her stage name Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, businesswoman, and actress. She was born and raised in Santa Barbara, California. 

Perry has received numerous awards and nominations. She has also been nominated for nine Grammy Awards and was named by Billboard as 2012's Woman of the Year. She remains the only artist to spend 69 consecutive weeks in the top ten of the Hot 100. She has ventured into celebrity endorsement and released fragrances Purr, Meow and Killer Queen. She made her film debut voicing Smurfette in The Smurfs (2011). Perry was ranked at number fourteen on Billboard's list of top moneymakers of 2011, grossing more than $11 million.[5] She was spotlighted in her own 3D autobiographical film Katy Perry: Part of Me (2012), which concentrated on her life as a touring artist and the breakdown of her one-year marriage to English comedian Russell Brand.

Her commercial breakthrough came when she released her first mainstream studio album One of the Boys (2008). This was preceded by the release of her single "I Kissed a Girl". Other singles included "Hot n Cold", "Thinking of You" and "Waking Up in Vegas". She embarked on the Hello Katy Tour in support of the album. She followed this up with her second studio effort Teenage Dream which was an instant commercial success, topping the album charts in several countries. It spawned five number-one hits on the Billboard Hot 100—"California Gurls", "Teenage Dream", "Firework", "E.T." and "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)"; it became the first album in history recorded by a female artist to achieve this, and the second album after Michael Jackson's Bad (1987). In support of the album, she embarked on the California Dreams Tour. Teenage Dream was re-released in March 2012 as Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection which spawned an additional number one, "Part of Me".

Early life

Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson was born in Santa Barbara, California[6] to devout Pentecostal pastors Keith Hudson and Mary Perry. She is the second of their three children. She has an older sister named Angela Hudson and a younger brother named David Hudson.[8] Mary's half-brother was director Frank Perry.

As a child, Perry attended Christian schools and camps. She was incorporated into her parents' ministry, singing in the church between the ages of nine and seventeen.She grew up listening to gospel music, and in an interview she said, "Growing up I wasn’t really allowed to listen to a whole lot of what my mom would call, secular music," She learned how to dance in a recreation building in Santa Barbara. She was taught by seasoned dancers and began with swing, Lindy Hop, and jitterbug. She took her GED during her freshman year at Dos Pueblos High School and decided to leave school in the pursuit of a career in music. Perry initially started singing "because [she] was at that point in [her] childhood where  was copycatting [her] sister and everything she [would do]." Her sister Angela practiced with cassette tapes, while Perry took the tapes herself when her sister was not around. She rehearsed the songs and performed them in front of her parents, who suggested she take vocal coaching. She grabbed the opportunity and began taking lessons at the age of nine and continued until she was sixteen.

Public image

Perry was ranked 7th in Rolling Stone's global Queen of Pop poll in July 2011. Men's Health dubbed her the "sexiest woman of 2013". She is known for her sex appeal. and unconventional style of dress. It is often humorous, bright in color, reminiscent of different decades, and often includes candy-related themes such as her trademark peppermint swirl bra. Her transformation into an artist began with fashion, inspired by American film actress Dominique Swain's portrayal in the 1997 film Lolita. She defines her fashion style as "a bit of a concoction of different things". Her fashion has caught the attention of designers.

She is also known for charity and volunteering, such as working with UNICEF in early April 2013 to assist children in Madagascar with education and nutrition. Later that month, she appeared in a video clip for the "Chime For Change" campaign that aims to spread female empowerment.

Perry is a gay activist. According to Dosomething.org, she voted no on Prop 8 (California’s Nov. 4, 2008, amendment declaring that marriage is defined as a union solely between a man and a woman. Through Twitter and by performing at his rallies, the singer supported President Barack Obama in his run for re-election in 2012 due to his stance on same-sex marriage, and believing in "equal rights for all"

In June 2008, a photo of her posing with a switchblade was criticized. The picture was defended as only an effort to give her a "sexy, harder edge". She later posed with a spoon, mocking the criticism.