Katy Perry

Katy Perry, born Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson on October 25, 1984, is an American singer, songwriter and television personality from Santa Barbara, California. Known for pop music built around large hooks, theatrical visuals and camp presentation, she has been called the “Queen of Camp” by Vogue and Rolling Stone. Before adopting her professional name, she released the gospel album Katy Hudson through Red Hill Records in 2001, when she was 16. The album was unsuccessful, and she later moved to Los Angeles and signed with Capitol Records.

Perry broke through with the pop rock album One of the Boys in 2008. Its lead single, “I Kissed a Girl,” topped the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, introducing a run of major pop singles that made her one of the era’s defining mainstream artists. Her 2010 album Teenage Dream, drawing on disco-influenced pop, became the only album by a woman to produce five U.S. number-one singles: “California Gurls,” “Teenage Dream,” “Firework,” “E.T.” and “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.).” The 2012 reissue Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection added another U.S. chart-topper with “Part of Me.”

Her 2013 album Prism continued that commercial run with the number-one singles “Roar” and “Dark Horse.” Later releases included Witness in 2017, Smile in 2020 and 143 in 2024, each of which received varied critical and commercial responses. Perry is among the best-selling music artists, with estimated worldwide sales exceeding 151 million records, and has earned seven diamond certifications from the Recording Industry Association of America. Billboard named her among the greatest pop stars of the 21st century, while her awards include 20 Guinness World Records, five Billboard Music Awards, five American Music Awards, a Brit Award, a Juno Award and seven MTV Video Music Awards, including the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award. She was also the first artist to have multiple videos reach one billion views on YouTube.

Beyond recording, Perry released the autobiographical documentary Katy Perry: Part of Me in 2012 and voiced Smurfette in The Smurfs films from 2011 to 2013. She launched Katy Perry Collections, a shoe line, in 2017, and served as a judge on American Idol from its sixteenth season in 2018 through its twenty-second season in 2024. A UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador since 2013, she has advocated for LGBT rights and women’s rights; her philanthropy and activism have focused on children’s education and HIV/AIDS awareness. In 2025, she flew into space aboard Blue Origin NS-31.