Katy Perry

1984–1999: Early life and family

Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson was born on October 25, 1984, in Santa Barbara, California, to Pentecostal pastors Mary Christine (née Perry) and Maurice Keith Hudson. Both of her parents turned to religion after a "wild youth". Perry has English, German, Irish, and Portuguese ancestry. Through her mother, she is a niece of film director Frank Perry. She has a younger brother named David, who is also a singer, and an older sister, Angela.

From ages three to 11, Perry frequently moved across the country as her very strict parents set up churches before settling again in Santa Barbara. Growing up, she attended religious schools and camps, including Paradise Valley Christian School in Arizona and Santa Barbara Christian School in California during her elementary years. The family struggled financially, sometimes using food stamps and eating food from the food bank which also fed the congregation at her parents' church.

Growing up, Perry and her siblings were not allowed to eat the cereal Lucky Charms as the word "luck" reminded their mother of Lucifer, and were also required to call deviled eggs "angeled eggs". Perry primarily listened to gospel music, as secular music was generally discouraged in the family's home. She discovered popular music through CDs she smuggled home from her friends. Perry later recalled a story about how a friend of hers played "You Oughta Know" by Alanis Morissette, which influenced her songwriting and singing.

While not strictly identifying as religious, she has stated, "I pray all the time – for self-control, for humility." Wanting to be like her sister Angela, Perry began singing by practicing with her sister's cassette tapes. She performed the tracks in front of her parents, who let her take vocal lessons like Angela was doing at the time. She began training at age nine; she was also incorporated into her parents' ministry, singing in church from ages nine to 17. At age 13, Perry was given her first guitar for her birthday, and publicly performed songs she wrote.

She tried to "be a bit like the typical Californian girl" while growing up, and started rollerskating, skateboarding, and surfing as a teenager. Her brother David described her as a "tomboy" during her adolescence, which Perry talks about on her song "One of the Boys". She took dancing lessons and learned how to swing, Lindy Hop, and jitterbug. Perry completed her General Educational Development (GED) requirements early at age 15, during her first year of high school, and left Dos Pueblos High School to pursue a music career.

Life and career

2000–2006: Career beginnings, Katy Hudson, and Fingerprints

Perry briefly had vocal lessons with a woman named Agatha Danoff in facilities rented from the Music Academy of the West. Her singing caught the attention of rock artists Steve Thomas and Jennifer Knapp from Nashville, Tennessee, who brought her there to improve her writing skills. In Nashville, she started recording demos and learned how to write songs and play guitar. Perry signed with Red Hill Records and recorded her debut album, a contemporary Christian record titled Katy Hudson, which was released on March 6, 2001. She also joined Earthsuit and V*Enna that year to perform as part of Phil Joel's Strangely Normal Tour and embarked on other performances of her own in the United States.

Katy Hudson received mixed reviews from critics and was commercially unsuccessful, selling an estimated 200 copies before the label ceased operations in December. Transitioning from gospel music to secular music, Perry started working with producer Glen Ballard, and moved to Los Angeles at the age of 17. She opted to work with Ballard due to his past work with Alanis Morissette, one of her major inspirations. In 2003, she briefly performed as Katheryn Perry, to avoid confusion with actress Kate Hudson, and later adopted the stage name "Katy Perry", using her mother's maiden name. In 2010, she recalled that "Thinking of You" was one of the first songs she wrote after moving to Los Angeles. Perry would also perform at the Hotel Café, performing new music while she was between record labels.

In 2004, she signed to Ballard's label, Java Records, which was then affiliated with The Island Def Jam Music Group. Perry began work on a solo record due for release in March 2005, but the record was shelved after Java was dropped. Ballard then introduced her to Tim Devine, an A&R executive at Columbia Records, and she was signed as a solo artist. By November 2006, Perry had finished writing and recording material for her Columbia debut titled Fingerprints (with some of the material from this time appearing on One of the Boys) which was planned for release in 2007. Some of the material from Fingerprints that did not make it on One of the Boys was given to other artists, such as "I Do Not Hook Up" and "Long Shot" to Kelly Clarkson, and "Rock God" to Selena Gomez & the Scene.

Perry worked with songwriters including Desmond Child, Greg Wells, Butch Walker, Scott Cutler, Anne Preven, the Matrix, Kara DioGuardi, Max Martin, and Dr. Luke. In addition, after Devine suggested that songwriting team the Matrix become a "real group", she recorded an album, The Matrix, with them. This featured her and Adam Longlands as lead vocalists. The Matrix was planned for release in 2004 but was shelved due to creative differences. Perry was dropped from Columbia in 2006 as Fingerprints neared completion. After the label dropped her, she worked at an independent A&R company, Taxi Music.

Perry had minor success prior to her breakthrough. One of the songs she had recorded for her album with Ballard, "Simple", was featured on the soundtrack to the 2005 film The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Perry provided backing vocals on Mick Jagger's song "Old Habits Die Hard", which was included on the soundtrack to the 2004 film Alfie. In September 2004, Blender named her "The Next Big Thing". She recorded background vocals on P.O.D.'s single "Goodbye for Now", was featured at the end of its music video in 2006, and performed it with them on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. That year, Perry also appeared in the music video for "Learn to Fly" by Carbon Leaf, and she played the love interest of her then-boyfriend, Gym Class Heroes lead singer Travie McCoy, in the band's music video for "Cupid's Chokehold".

2010–2012: Teenage Dream and marriage

After serving as a guest judge on American Idol, Perry released "California Gurls" featuring Snoop Dogg on May 7, 2010. The song was the lead single from her third studio album, Teenage Dream, and reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in June. She also served as a guest judge on British The X Factor later that month before releasing the album's second single, "Teenage Dream", in July. "Teenage Dream" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in September. Released on August 24, 2010, Teenage Dream debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, and received mixed reviews from music critics. It has since sold over 12 million copies worldwide, being her highest-selling album to date. Teenage Dream would go on to win the 2011 Juno Award for International Album of the Year. In October, "Firework" was released as the album's third single. It became the album's third consecutive number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on December 8, 2010.

"E.T." featuring Kanye West was released as the fourth single from Teenage Dream on February 16, 2011. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 for five non-consecutive weeks, making Teenage Dream the ninth album in history to produce four number one singles on the chart. "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" followed as the fifth single in June, and Perry became the first female artist to achieve five number-one Billboard Hot 100 songs from one album when the single topped that chart on August 17, and the second artist after Michael Jackson with his album Bad. For this record, she received an honorary American Music Award in November 2011 and another Guinness record.

On September 7, she set a new record by becoming the first artist to spend 69 consecutive weeks in the top ten of the Hot 100. Following the October release of "The One That Got Away" as its sixth single, Teenage Dream became the third album to produce six top-five songs on the Billboard Hot 100. It joined George Michael's Faith and Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814; the latter remains the only album to ever achieve seven top-five entries. The song peaked at number three in the U.S. and number two in Canada.

On January 5, 2012, Perry was named the sixth best-selling digital artist in the United States, with sales of 37.6 million units according to Nielsen SoundScan. That month, she became the first artist to have four songs sell over 5 million digital units when "E.T." reached that mark along with "Firework", "California Gurls", and "Hot n Cold". On February 13, Capitol released the lead single from Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection, "Part of Me", which debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and became Perry's seventh single overall to top the chart. Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection was released on March 23, and serves as a reissue of Teenage Dream. "Wide Awake" was released on May 22 as the re-release's second single, peaking at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one in Canada and New Zealand.

Perry embarked on her second tour, the California Dreams Tour, in support of Teenage Dream from February 2011 to January 2012. The tour grossed $59.5 million globally and won her the award for Best Live Act at the 2011 MTV Europe Music Awards. On September 23, 2011, she performed on the opening day of the 2011 Rock in Rio festival along with Elton John and Rihanna. In September 2010, Perry was scheduled to appear on the 41st-season premiere of Sesame Street. After her scene was uploaded to YouTube, viewers criticized Perry's exposed cleavage. Four days before the scheduled airing, Sesame Workshop announced that the segment would not air on television, but would still be available to watch online. Perry subsequently mocked the controversy on Saturday Night Live, where she was a musical guest and wore an Elmo-themed shirt showing large amounts of cleavage during one skit.

In December 2010, Perry played Moe Szyslak's girlfriend in the live-action segment from a Christmas episode of The Simpsons titled "The Fight Before Christmas". Two months later, she made a guest appearance on the How I Met Your Mother episode "Oh Honey", playing a woman known as Honey. The latter role won her the People's Choice Award for Favorite TV Guest Star in January 2012. She made her film debut in the 3D family motion picture The Smurfs as Smurfette on July 29, 2011. The film was a financial success worldwide, while critics gave mostly negative reviews.

She hosted Saturday Night Live on December 10, 2011, with Robyn as the episode's musical guest. Perry's work on the episode received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised her performance in the episode's digital short featuring her and Andy Samberg. In March 2012, she guest starred as a prison security guard named Rikki on the Raising Hope episode "Single White Female Role Model". On July 5, 2012, Perry's autobiographical documentary Katy Perry: Part of Me was released to theaters through Paramount Pictures. The film received positive reviews and grossed $32.7 million worldwide at the box office.

Perry began to venture into business when she endorsed the fragrance, Purr, in November 2010. Her second endorsed fragrance, Meow!, was released in December 2011. Both perfumes were released through Nordstrom department stores. Electronic Arts recruited her to promote their new expansion pack for The Sims 3: Showtime, before releasing a separate stuff pack featuring Perry-inspired furniture, outfits, and hairstyles, titled The Sims 3: Katy Perry's Sweet Treats, in June 2012. The following month, she became the spokesperson and ambassador for Popchips and made an investment in the company. Billboard dubbed her as their "Woman of the Year" for 2012.

She married Russell Brand on October 23, 2010, in a traditional Hindu ceremony near the Ranthambhore tiger sanctuary in Rajasthan. On December 30, 2011, Brand announced that they were divorcing after 14 months of marriage. Perry later stated that conflicting career schedules and his desire to have children before she was ready led to the end of their marriage and that he never spoke to her again after sending a text message that he was divorcing her, while Brand asserted that he divorced her due to her commercial success and reluctance to engage in activism. She was initially distraught over their divorce and said that she contemplated suicide. Since they married without a prenuptial agreement, he was eligible to claim half of the estimated $44 million she earned during their marriage, but declined. Perry began a relationship with singer John Mayer in August 2012, the year her marriage with Brand had ended.

Perry has supported various charitable organizations and causes throughout her career. She has contributed to organizations aimed at improving the lives and welfare of children in particular. In April 2013, she joined UNICEF to assist children in Madagascar with education and nutrition. On December 3, 2013, she was officially named a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, "with a special focus on engaging young people in the agency's work to improve the lives of the world's most vulnerable children and adolescents." She arranged for a portion of the money generated from tickets to her Prismatic World Tour to go to UNICEF. In September 2010, she helped build and design the Boys Hope/Girls Hope foundation shelter for youth in Baltimore, Maryland along with Raven-Symoné, Shaquille O'Neal, and the cast of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. In 2010, Perry and Nicki Minaj performed a cover of "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" for service members during the 2010 VH1 Divas Salute the Troops concert.

She has also supported children's education and well-being. All profits from sales of the album The Gay Nineties Old Tyme Music: Daisy Bell, which includes her rendition of "Daisy Bell (Bicycle Built for Two)", were donated to the charity Little Kids Rock, which supports musical education in underprivileged elementary schools. In June 2014, she teamed up with Staples Inc. for a project entitled "Make Roar Happen" which donated $1 million to DonorsChoose, an organization that supports teachers and funds classroom resources in public schools. In May 2016, she worked with UNICEF to improve child care quality in Vietnam, hoping to "break the cycle of poverty and drastically improve children's health, education and well-being". The following month, UNICEF announced that Perry would receive the Audrey Hepburn Humanitarian Award "for her work as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in support of the world's most vulnerable children" at their annual Snowflake Ball in November. All Spotify streams of her 2021 cover of "All You Need Is Love" generated $1 in donations for the charity Baby2Baby.

Perry has supported organizations aimed at aiding people suffering with diseases including cancer and HIV/AIDS. In 2008, she donated a plaster cast of her breasts that had been painted by her then-boyfriend Travie McCoy to raise money for the Keep A Breast Foundation. She hosted and performed at the We Can Survive concert along with Bonnie McKee, Kacey Musgraves, Sara Bareilles, Ellie Goulding, and duo Tegan and Sara at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on October 23, 2013. The concert's profits were donated to Young Survival Coalition, an organization aiding breast cancer in young women. In June 2009, she designed an item of clothing for H&M's "Fashion Against AIDS" campaign, which raises money for HIV/AIDS awareness projects. On February 26, 2017, she served as a co-chair alongside various celebrities such as Beyoncé, Lea Michele, Jim Carrey, Jared Leto, and Kevin Spacey for the 25th Annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Award Party, a fundraiser for HIV/AIDS healthcare.

The proceeds from Perry's single "Part of Me" were donated to the charity MusiCares, which helps musicians in times of need. During her California Dreams Tour, she raised over $175,000 for the Tickets-For-Charity fundraiser. The money was divided between three charities: the Children's Health Fund (CHF), Generosity Water, and The Humane Society of the United States. On her 27th birthday, Perry set up a donations page for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Auckland, and set up a similar page benefiting the David Lynch Foundation for her 28th birthday. On March 29, 2014, she helped raise $2.4 million for the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles along with other celebrities such as Ryan Seacrest, Pharrell Williams, Tim Allen, Lisa Edelstein, and Riley Keough.

Perry performed at the One Love Manchester benefit concert for the victims of the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing, among various performers including its organizer Ariana Grande, which was broadcast live on June 4, 2017, on radio and television stations around the world. In March 2018, Perry announced Witness: Coming Home, a benefit concert that was held in her hometown of Santa Barbara on May 19, 2018. The concert benefited those recovering from the aftermath of the 2017 California wildfires and 2018 Southern California mudflows. Perry partnered with the Santa Barbara Foundation, the 93108 Fund and The 805 UndocuFund, organizations which help in assisting members of the community in the Santa Barbara area through grants and various philanthropic efforts.

Activism and political views

Perry has publicly advocated for LGBT rights and admitted that she wrote "I Kissed a Girl" about her own bisexual experiences with other women. In 2017, she received a Nation Equality Award from Human Rights Campaign for "using her powerful voice and international platform to speak out for LGBTQ equality". During her acceptance speech, she discussed having bisexual experiences, her fluid sexuality, and thanked the LGBTQ+ community. In an Out interview in 2021, she was heralded as a "gay icon" with "I Kissed a Girl" being called a "bonafide queer anthem". Perry continued to thank the LGBTQ+ community in the same interview, saying: "I came from a very sheltered upbringing where it wasn't okay to be friends with anyone from that community. And now that is my community". She also mentioned: "I wouldn't have survived without the community and it's amazing how full circle it's come and how much growth has happened since I started". Tomás Mier of Rolling Stone remarked Perry "championed queer folks, especially drag queens, throughout her career".

She dedicated the music video to her song "Firework" to the It Gets Better Project. In June 2012, Perry expressed her hopes for LGBT equality, commenting "hopefully, we will look back at this moment and think like we do now concerning [other] civil rights issues. We'll just shake our heads in disbelief, saying, 'Thank God we've evolved.' That would be my prayer for the future". In December 2012, she was awarded the Trevor Hero Award by The Trevor Project for her work and activism on behalf of LGBT youth.

Perry identifies as a feminist, and appeared in April 2013 in a video clip for the "Chime for Change" campaign that aimed to spread female empowerment. She has also said that America's lack of free health care drove her "absolutely crazy". Following the shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando in June 2016, Perry and nearly 200 other artists and executives in music signed an open letter organized by Billboard addressed to United States Congress demanding increased gun control in the United States.

Through Twitter and by performing at rallies, she supported President Barack Obama in his run for re-election and praised his support for same-sex marriage and LGBT equality. Perry performed at three rallies for Obama, in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Wisconsin, singing a rendition of "Let's Stay Together" as well as a number of her own songs. During her Las Vegas performance, she wore a dress made to replicate a voting ballot, with Obama's box filled in. On Twitter, Perry encouraged her followers to vote for Obama.

In August 2013, prior to a performance in Australia, she expressed disagreement with conservative Australian opposition leader Tony Abbott's stance against same-sex marriage, telling him: "I love you as a human being but I can't give you my vote". Abbott had dialed in to a talkback segment on Sydney radio station 2Day FM to ask Perry when she would return to Australia for a full tour. In April 2014, she publicly supported Marianne Williamson in her campaign for California's 33rd congressional district by attending a political press event. She endorsed Kamala Harris in the United States Senate election in California, and organized a fundraiser for Harris at her home in Los Angeles in November 2016. Perry also publicly endorsed former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for president in 2016. She performed alongside Elton John at a fundraising concert for Clinton in New York City in March 2016. Perry also spoke and performed at the 2016 Democratic National Convention in support of Clinton.

Four years later, Perry supported Joe Biden and Kamala Harris during the 2020 United States presidential election, praising the latter as a leader who had "experience we desperately need right now" and believed that the former "choosing her as his running mate is already a testament to his decision making". In 2022, Perry posted a picture of herself voting for conservative candidate Rick Caruso in the 2022 Los Angeles mayoral election, which Democrats heavily criticized her for. During the 2024 United States presidential election, she endorsed Harris for office, stating: "I've always known her to fight for the most vulnerable, to speak up for the voiceless, and to protect our rights as women to make decisions about our own bodies".

During the second presidency of Donald Trump, Perry condemned the White House's use of her song "Firework" to promote the 2026 Iran war. She stated: "I wrote this song to be an anthem of hope, healing, and inner strength for people going through their darkest personal moments. To see a message of self-worth and upliftment weaponized to soundtrack destruction and violence is a complete violation of everything my song stands for. My music is for bringing people together, not celebrating warfare".

Sexual misconduct allegations

In 2018, while serving as a judge on American Idol, Perry – then aged 33 – gave an unwanted kiss to a 19-year-old contestant, Benjamin Glaze. When Glaze admitted that he had never kissed a girl (a reference to Perry's song "I Kissed a Girl"), she gestured for him to come up to her for a kiss on the cheek, but then kissed him on the lips. Her behavior was met with backlash, with some pointing out that if she had been a male judge who kissed a woman the same way, the reaction would have been different. Glaze later admitted that the experience made him feel uncomfortable, as it was his first kiss and he wanted it to be special, although he rejected the notion that he felt sexually harassed by Perry.

In August 2019, Josh Kloss, Perry's co-star in the "Teenage Dream" music video, accused her of sexual misconduct. In an Instagram post, Kloss alleged that, during a party at a skating rink, Perry pulled on his sweatpants and underwear, exposing his penis to her male friends. He also said her management prevented him from speaking about his time with the singer. Johnny Wujek, the creative director of said party, defended Perry, saying that she "would never do something like that", and accused Kloss of having an "ongoing obsession" with her. After initially refraining from responding to this, believing it would have detracted from the MeToo movement, Perry has also denied Kloss' claims.

In April 2026, actress Ruby Rose alleged in a Threads post that Perry sexually assaulted her at Spice Market Nightclub in Melbourne in 2010. A representative for Perry responded with a statement to Variety: "The allegations being circulated on social media by Ruby Rose about Katy Perry are not only categorically false, they are dangerous reckless lies. Ms. Rose has a well-documented history of making serious public allegations on social media against various individuals, claims that have repeatedly been denied by those named." The Victoria Police have begun investigating the allegations.