BIOGRAPHY:

Lana Del Rey is an American singer and songwriter. The singer’s tracks went platinum in the USA and other countries of the world. Critics note the artistry of the performer and the cinematography of her compositions and videos. Lana attracts fans with the melancholy mood of her songs, sensual voice and references to American pop culture of the 50s and 60s of the last century.

Childhood and youth:

Lana Del Rey’s real name is Elizabeth Woolridge Grant. She was born on the border of two zodiac signs, Gemini and Cancer, on June 21, 1985 in New York. Her father is involved in domain investing. He willingly invests the millions he earns in his daughter’s musical career. The singer’s mother taught at a high school. The family raised two more children – the youngest daughter Caroline and son Charlie.

Even as a child, Elizabeth showed an interest in music. She enjoyed singing in the school choir. The girl hardly interacted with other children, but enjoyed spending time at home watching old Hollywood films and playing the guitar.

Lizzie Grant entered the State University of New York, but did not forget about her hobbies. She performed jazz compositions in bars. For the sake of music, the girl abandoned her studies, but later became a student at the Faculty of Philosophy at Fordham University. At one time she lived in a trailer. As Lana later said in an interview, her father, a supporter of various innovations, instilled in her a love for trailer houses.

The star’s stage name was invented by her managers. There was a rumor that the authors were inspired to create the pseudonym by actress Lana Turner and the Chevrolet Delray, but Del Rey denies this. She says she just liked the combination, which seemed mysterious and suited the music she plays.

Music:

Not everyone knows that Lana Del Rey began her creative biography under her real name. The artist’s first international performance was as the opening act for a rock band from Sweden at the MTV Unplugged concert. Lizzy Grant’s Kill Kill album did not gain popularity. The full-length album was on sale on iTunes for two months. Then it was withdrawn, planning to publish it later.

In 2011, the song Video Games, which was presented on the singer’s YouTube channel, blew up the music world. According to some listeners, Lana took over the baton from British singer Amy Winehouse, who tragically passed away the same year. In a short time, the young singer became incredibly popular. For her first concert in New York, tickets sold out within 30 minutes of opening sales. Some time later, Tranger Records released the single Video Games / Blue Jeans on vinyl. In the UK it was one of the top ten best sellers, and in the Netherlands it reached third place.

The same year the single Born to Die was released. At the beginning of 2012, a new album under the same name went on sale. Critics had mixed reviews, but the public received the work well. Reporters predicted that the singer would easily supplant Lady Gaga and Rihanna in the starry sky. In the sound of Lana’s compositions, the influence of the genres of music: retro, lounge, dream pop, and indie pop could be discerned. After its release, the disc started at the top of the national charts in 13 countries, and in the UK it remained at the top of the charts for a year.

The track Serial Killer was recorded as one of the title tracks of the album, but was never included in the album. On June 22 of the same year, the song Summertime Sadness premiered. It entered the charts in 15 countries, where it rose to number three. In the USA, Germany and Italy, the original track was certified platinum, and in Switzerland and Austria – gold. Soon, a music video for the song appeared on Lana’s official YouTube channel. The video told the story of two girls in love and their tragic fate. One of the characters was played by Del Rey herself, the second was played by Jamie King. In a year and a half, the clip received 120 million views.

At the end of 2012, Lana re-released the album Born to Die, adding nine new compositions. Among them was the song National Anthem, in the video for which Del Rey tried on two images at once – the world famous Marilyn Monroe and the wife of the former American President Jacqueline Kennedy. The performer’s third album, released in 2014, was called Ultraviolence, and a year later the artist presented the disc Honeymoon. The song Art Deco sought to take the first line of the music charts.

Releasing her fourth disc, Lana did not change her style, considering herself “the self-proclaimed gangster version of Nancy Sinatra,” and kept this brand. Her music and videos are filled with references to the 50s and 60s and various pop cultures of that time. At the end of 2015, Del Rey gave an interview about the future disc. The singer said that previous albums sounded “California,” but plans to release the new release in “New York style.”

Soon, the singer’s managers announced that the celebrity was recording a new record. In February, Del Rey attended a party organized by Elton John, which was both entertaining and charitable. The money collected by the guests went to the AIDS fund. On February 17, 2017, the song Love, recorded for Lana’s new album, was posted online, and on March 29, the singer revealed to fans the name of the new album – Lust for Life. The song that gave the title to the disc was recorded together with a Canadian musician performing under the pseudonym The Weeknd. She also created two more compositions, Summer Bummer and Groupie Love, with her longtime friend, musician ASAP Rocky, and the track Tomorrow Never Came with Sean Lennon.

The release of the fifth album of Del Rey’s solo discography took place in mid-2017. The new work was again a success – the first lines in the national charts of Great Britain and the USA. The tracks Heroin and Cherry found a particular response. After the premiere, the artist went on tour in support of it.

Then the star began working on her sixth album. Since the beginning of 2018, she has released the songs God Save Our Young Blood, Blue Madonna, which she performed in a duet with Børns. Later, the artist’s repertoire included a hit dedicated to the king of rock and roll, Elvis Presley.

2020 began for the artist with several nominations for the Grammy Awards, where she was included in the categories “Album of the Year” and “Song of the Year”. However, she failed to win any of the awards – young Billie Eilish took all the statuettes.

The celebrity continued to work and delight fans with new songs, promising to release a new album called Chemtrails Over the Country Club on September 4, 2020. However, the release took place later, in 2021. In the same year, the singer presented another album – Blue Banisters

Movies:

Dana’s works turned out to be closely connected with the world of cinema. It should, of course, be noted that the artist’s own clips turned out to be, in fact, mini-movies. But in big cinema, Del Rey managed to leave her mark both as a composer and directly as an actress.

In the spring of 2013, the singer presented the song Young and Beautiful, which she recorded especially for Baz Luhrmann’s film The Great Gatsby. In the same year, the celebrity participated in the creation of the short film Tropico, directed by Anthony Mandler. He had previously collaborated with the performer, filming videos for her for the tracks National Anthem and Ride.

At the center of the film is a biblical story about the fall of Adam and Eve and the atonement of sin. African-American albino Sean Ross played the role of Adam, and the singer got two images at once – Eve and the Virgin Mary. The soundtrack for the project included Del Rey’s compositions from the album Paradise.

A cover version of Dana’s single Gods & Monsters was performed in the fourth season of the top-rated series American Horror Story. Her performer in the project was actress Jessica Lange. The song was later released on iTunes. Music critics and the author of the composition positively assessed the cinematic interpretation of the hit.

In 2014, the compositions Big Eyes and I Can Fly, composed by Del Rey, were used by director Tim Burton as the soundtrack to the film Big Eyes. Five years later, Del Rey starred in a Gucci commercial with Jared Leto – in the video the artists played a couple in love. In September, the singer took part in an unusual collaboration, recording the lead single with Miley Cyrus – the soundtrack to the film “Charlie’s Angels”. The song was released on Republic Records, and a video for it was released on the same day.

Criticism:

Soon after appearing on the Western stage, the artist, in parallel with the delight of fans, began to regularly be criticized by haters, among whom were her colleagues in the creative workshop. In 2012, a wave of negativity hit the singer after her debut performance on the evening television show Saturday Night Live.

Then, after the broadcast, during which Del Rey presented two compositions – Blue Jeans and Video Games, many unflattering words were addressed to the performer, and the audience called the performance itself one of the worst in SNL. After such attacks, Elton John decided to support the artist – he personally called her and advised her not to pay attention to the critics.

That same year, after the release of the album Born to Die, Lana was accused of anti-feminism. The public felt that her tracks romanticized the patterns of past eras that did not fit into the progressive era of women’s independence. In response, the singer was not afraid to answer that the topic of supporting women’s rights and overcoming sexism is not interesting to her. The artist herself did not stand aside, more than once speaking unflatteringly about the work of her stage colleagues. Once on social networks, she criticized the songs of Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj, Beyoncé and other stars, saying that their lyrics are full of themes of betrayal and intimate relationships, and they choose too revealing outfits for the stage. After these words, Del Rey began to be accused of racism, pointing out that all the singers listed were not chosen by her by chance.

Many criticize Lana’s stage presence. For example, famous singer and actress Juliette Lewis wrote on Twitter that watching Del Rey during a performance is like watching a 12-year-old girl pretending to be a singer in her room. At the same time, in appearance she does not look like a child at all – the artist’s height is 170 cm, she has a feminine figure, and on stage the performer often wears bright makeup.

Lana, responding to such attacks, admitted that she felt uncomfortable communicating with the press and during public appearances. Criticism of the singer was also heard from the Russian side. Video blogger and publicist Evgeny Ponasenkov noted that, despite the intelligent presentation of musical material, Del Rey creates tracks that are inexpressive in terms of composition, as well as texts that do not pretend to have depth of meaning and poetic sophistication.

Personal life:

The artist’s personal life never ceases to be the object of increased media attention. In her youth, Lana Del Rey had problems with alcohol. She herself calls herself at that time “a complete alcoholic.” The parents were even forced to send their daughter to a boarding school. The girl was saved by her charity work. She went to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and helped homeless children. Today Lana has no problems with strong drinks.

From the age of 20, Del Rey lived with rocker Stephen Mertins, who promoted her first musical compositions. The union lasted seven years, but Stephen did not become the singer’s husband. Then the performer began dating musician Barry James O’Neill. For some time, the artist was torn between New York and Glasgow, where her lover worked. They dated for three years and then broke up. Lana blamed her depressive nature for this.

At one time, the vocalist devoted attention and time to Francesco Carrozzini, a photographer. But there was no need to talk about a serious romance. In general, because of Lana Del Rey’s love for mystery, there are many rumors surrounding her personality. She was credited with an affair with actress Sarah Paulson, who had previously announced her bisexuality. Later, speculation spread about the singer’s relationship with Hollywood actor James Franco.

In 2017, the artist’s personal life was enriched by new relationships. Her boyfriend was rapper G-Eazy (Gerald Earl Gillum). The lovers even planned to record a joint track, Him and I, but for unknown reasons the couple broke up.

Then, joint photos with musician and producer Jack Antonoff, who had previously successfully worked with Taylor Swift, Lord and St. Vincent. He was twice nominated for a Golden Globe and won a Grammy Award three times. Lana’s fans suggested that the artist is preparing musical material for a new album, which will be produced by Jack.

And in the fall of 2019, the paparazzi caught the singer in the company of a new guy – Sean Larkin, a police officer and reality TV star. He took the celebrity to parties with friends from law enforcement agencies, and Lana introduced the chosen one to high society. Despite the apparent idyll in the relationship, in March 2020 it became known that the couple was separating. The ex-boyfriend told the press that they had to end their meetings due to busy work schedules, and noted that they remained good friends with Del Rey. The singer’s heart did not remain free for long – in the same year, articles appeared in the press reporting on the celebrity’s new romance . This time Lana’s chosen one turned out to be musician Clayton Johnson, who performed with his brothers Chantry and Connor in the band The Johnsons. When Del Rey was a guest on Jimmy Fallon’s show, the audience noticed the engagement ring on the star’s finger. According to insiders, the singer’s lover proposed to her, and she agreed.

Then the singer left social networks for a while, and in the spring of 2022, rumors spread that she had a new hobby. The supposed knight of the star’s heart was Jack Donohue, musician, lead singer of the band Salem. The rocker managed to earn the status of a “bad guy”; he dated the brawler Courtney Love. They started talking about a possible romance when footage appeared from Jack’s birthday party, where Lana was present among other guests. Users were also quite surprised by the joint photo of the singer and rocker: in the picture, the celebrities were hugging against the backdrop of the Cook County prison in Michigan.

And in March 2023, the media was full of headlines that Lana was marrying musician Evan Winiker, whom she had been dating for only a couple of months. The occasion was the appearance of a celebrity at the Billboard Women In Music Awards with a diamond ring on her ring finger.

Style and appearance:

Lana proclaims the style of the 1950s–1960s not only in music, but also in her image. The performer’s long hair deserves special attention, with which she makes fashionable hairstyles. The celebrity also changed her color more than once – she was blonde, brunette, fair-haired, red-haired, and wore a caramel shade.

Lana loves to decorate her body with small tattoos. This is the letter M as a reminder of the name of Madeleine’s grandmother, and the inscription Paradise, Nabokov Whitman, Chateau Marmont. Also on the artist’s hand there is the phrase Trust no one (“Trust no one”) and the names of her favorite performers – Whitney Amy and Nina Billie.

Some picky listeners are haunted by the artist’s plump lips and thin nose. The performer is credited with a passion for plastic surgery, but Del Rey herself claims that she has never resorted to the help of plastic surgeons. The celebrity is not shy about naturalness; photographs periodically appear on her Instagram account in which she is depicted without makeup.

At the beginning of her career, the performer was called a style icon. At official events, the slender American woman shone in designer outfits, allowing not only fans, but also fashion experts to admire her refined taste and excellent choice of looks. However, over time, the singer gradually began to pay less and less attention to how she appeared before the audience.

In the summer of 2018, photos of Lana were leaked online, showing how much weight she had gained. The artist never attached any importance to criticism regarding the shape of her body, not hesitating to appear in public in tops and short shorts that showed off her unathletic tummy. Paparazzi photographs showed that the performer’s weight, which at one time was 54 kg, had increased significantly. Some even speculated that she was pregnant.

Lana Del Rey now:

Now Lana continues to attract attention to her person. In the summer of 2022, information appeared in the media that the singer had gone to court in an attempt to get rid of an obsessive fan. Back in February, a man named Eric Everardo broke into her home. In addition, the attacker tried to steal the artist’s car. As a result, the police detained the hooligan and brought him to justice. In the summer, the story of the same fan’s illegal visit to Del Rey’s house repeated itself. The performer had to act – Everardo was forbidden to approach the vocalist closer than 90 m.

And in the spring, social networks and the press were filled with posts in which the public again attacked the star with criticism about Lana’s extra pounds. The singer has truly acquired impressive figures, which have become even more expressive since the pandemic. The audience was also offended by the celebrity’s choice of unpretentious clothing and the lack of hair and makeup during public appearances.

In the spring of 2023, the ninth album in Lana’s discography, entitled Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, was released.

Discography:

2010 – Lana Del Ray
2012 – Born to Die
2014 – Ultraviolence
2015 – Honeymoon
2017 — Lust for Life
2019 – Norman Fucking Rockwell
2021 – Chemtrails Over the Country Club
2021 – Blue Banisters

Filmography:

2010 — “By the Pool”
2012 — “National Anthem”
2012 — “Trip”
2013 — “Tropico”
2015 – “Hello, how are you, Daniel Johnston?”
2016 — “Eccentric”
2017 — “Tower of Song: A Memorial Tribute to Leonard Cohen”
2019 — “Fucking Norman Rockwell”

Interesting Facts:

Del Rey is often compared to actress Madelaine Petsch, who played Cheryl Blossom in the TV series Riverdale. In this film, the image of the main character and Lana are very similar.
The singer does not hesitate to publicly ridicule other stars. In 2014, Jennifer Lawrence and her Christian Dior outfit, in which the woman appeared the day before on the red carpet, fell under her hot hand. Lana posted a photo on Instagram in which she ironically parodies the actress’s voluminous white dress.

“I will hit Lana Del Rey in the face twice, just like Ray Rice did in broad daylight,” with these words the rapper Eminem introduced the release of his new record in 2014, meaning that he would wipe the artist’s nose. There had never been any conflict between the stars before, so the performer’s words caused a lot of discussion on the Internet.

In Russia they really love the work of the American performer. So, in the fourth season of the show “The Voice”, her song Young and Beautiful was performed by Elena Romanova.
The actress loves football. In an interview, she admitted that she is a fan of the English football club Liverpool.