I'm always trying to create something that the fans won't expect.

I realized my father's sister Joanne, who died at 19 had instilled her spirit in me.

My father [Joe Germanotta] opened a restaurant. It's so amazing... it's so freaking delicious, but I'm telling you I gain five pounds every time I go in there.

I'm already crazy. I'm a fearless person. I think it creeps up on you. I don't think it can be stopped. If my destiny is to lose my mind because of fame, then that's my destiny. But my passion still means more than anything.

I don't see myself in terms of artifice. I see myself as a real person who chooses to live my life in an open way - artistically.

People ask me why I wear veils. I reply, I am mourning. Mourning what? Well I figure something shitty must be going on somewhere.

I used to get made fun of for being either too provocative or too eccentric, so I started to tone it down. I didn't fit in, and I felt like a freak.