Every Lady Gaga Acting Performance: RANKED!
#10: Herself / Fallen Angel “G.U.Y (An ARTPOP film)” (2014)
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Lady Gaga has never been afraid of pushing boundaries when it comes to music, art, or performances. In 2014, she gifted her fans with a short film that was arguably her most eccentrically beautiful and wackiest concept yet. After having worked with performance artist Marina Abramovic on the album “Artpop”, which all the songs in the music video are from, we can see there are many layers to her performance. There’s also such elaborate detail that you would need several rewatches just to notice them all. In fact, the singer said that “the intention was for there to be a hallucinogenic quality.” She also stated that the narrative was open to interpretation. Running for almost 12 minutes, this artistic movie is an underrated masterpiece.
#9: Herself “Muppets Most Wanted” (2014)
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From taking Kermit as her date to the 2009 VMAs to appearing in the “Muppets Holiday Spectacular”, Lady Gaga is no stranger to the Muppet world. She’d even filmed a cameo for the 2011 movie that unfortunately ended up on the cutting room floor. However, her cameo did make it into the sequel, even if it was only for a brief moment. Still, with her signature stand-out fashion, it’s kinda hard to miss her. She appears beside Tony Bennett during the hilariously meta, “We’re Doing A Sequel” song. She typically takes on more dramatic roles, so it’s fun to see her rocking something more lighthearted too.
#8: La Chameleón “Machete Kills” (2013)
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Unless you’re a hardcore fan, you might not have heard of this movie or the original 2010, “Machete”. However, you may be interested to learn that they’re part of the “Spy Kids” franchise, thanks to the titular character. In “Machete Kills”, Stefani Geramanotta plays one of the many faces of a shapeshifting assassin with an apparent penchant for taking on celebrity appearances. Although we’d previously seen her in TV roles, this critically panned movie marked her silver screen debut. She takes over the character of El Chameleón from Cuba Gooding Jr. for a brief but notable performance, mostly during a car chase. Unfortunately, she was nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress.
#7: Herself “The Simpsons” (1989-)
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You know you’ve made it when you’re not only immortalized on “The Simpsons,” but also your name appears in the episode’s title too. In season 23, Gaga arrives in Springfield to lift everyone’s spirits, including Lisa, who’s gutted to learn that she’s been voted as most unpopular. Unfortunately, that’s something she shares with this episode’s reputation. Ultimately though, it’s about self-love and self-acceptance, a subject for which Geramanotta is a major outspoken advocate. For the duration of the episode, Lady Gaga spreads positivity throughout Springfield. It’s also fun to see some of her most outlandish and iconic looks recreated in animation form.
#6: Girl at Swimming Pool #2 “The Sopranos” (1999-2007)
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Long before we’d ever even heard of Lady Gaga, a teenaged Stefani Germanotta played one of AJ Soprano’s friends in the third season of this drama series. Although she doesn’t have any lines, Germanotta can be seen messing around with her pals after they break into a swimming pool. At the time, she was trying to make it as an actress, but struggled to book many jobs. She was all but ready to pack it in and change lanes. Indeed, just seven years later we would become reacquainted with the performer under her new alias through her hit single, “Just Dance”.
#5: Scáthach “American Horror Story: Roanoke” (2016)
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In season six of this horror anthology, the singer had a three-episode arc as powerful, witchy seductress, Scáthach. Linking back to the popular “Coven” season, it’s revealed that Scáthach was crowned Supreme Witch. Despite her limited appearance, Gaga certainly left an immense impact. Her character is wild and unpredictable, scary and savage and she plays it all terrifyingly well. She gives such a chilling and captivating performance that we didn’t want to miss a single second. We couldn’t have asked for a better casting choice. It was rumored that co-creator Ryan Murphy planned to revisit this character in future seasons. Well, we’re waiting…
#4: Bertha “Sin City: A Dame to Kill For” (2014)
They say that there are no small parts, only small actors. Lady Gaga may have only had a minor role in this crime-action flick, but she gives an epic performance. In the already star-studded cast, she plays a diner waitress who engages Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s character in conversation. Complete with a cigarette and a pretty decent New Jersey accent, she serves him a glass of water before offering him some cash. The whole scene may only last about a minute, but it’s certainly memorable and really showcases her talent. If you’d watched this, it came as no surprise when one day she became a leading lady.
#3: Patrizia Reggiani “House of Gucci” (2021)
For this role, Germanotta decided to go method. She worked on her accent for months before production started, and would stay in character so she could work really hard on embodying the real Patrizia Reggiani. In fact, she did everything shy of speaking to the actual woman. It paid off as she convincingly portrays the pain that her character internalizes. You can also see the charm that won over her husband in the first place. Unfortunately, not everyone thought that her accent was great. And that was just the start of the criticism this movie received. Nevertheless, there’s no denying that Germanotta really shines in this role.
#2: The Countess “American Horror Story: Hotel” (2015-16)
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When it was announced that Lady Gaga’s first major role would be in AHS’s fifth season, we all tuned in with intrigue to see how she would fare. Deviating from the persona we’d come to know and love, The Countess allowed the singer to unleash a dark side that proved to be both alluring and petrifying. Playing Elizabeth, the stylish hotel-owning vampire, she was fearless, fierce, and fabulous. Needless to say, she set the bar high for all future acting gigs to follow and had arguably created her best character in the series. She even went on to win a Golden Globe for it too.
#1: Ally Maine “A Star Is Born” (2018)
Out of every role she’s played so far, whether that be on the big screen or small, this was the one that generated the most buzz. In the fourth reincarnation of the 1937 film, she plays Ally, a waitress/performer who skyrockets to stardom after falling for musical star, Jackson Maine. The movie was applauded for the duo’s intense and all too believable chemistry, as well as the raw emotion Gaga put into every moment. Thanks to her hit song “Shallow”, she won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, and a few Grammys, becoming the first female recipient of all four in the same year.
