Elizabeth Woolridge Grant, known by her stage name Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter.
Del Rey started writing at the age of 18 and she signed her first recording contract when she was
22 years old with 5 Points Records in 2007.
Del Rey's music has been noted for its cinematic sound and its references to various aspects of pop culture,
particularly that of the 1950s and 1960s Americana. The singer has described herself as a
"self-styled gangsta Nancy Sinatra".
She began singing in the church choir when she was a girl. After her uncle taught her how to play the guitar,
she "realized she could probably write a million songs with those six chords," and she began performing
nightclubs around the city under various names such as Sparkle Jump Rope Queen and Lizzy Grant and the Phenomena.
-Wikipedia
Birth Name: Elizabeth Woolridge Grant
Also Known As: Lana Rey Del Mar, Lizzy Grant, Lana Del Ray, May Jailer, Sparkle Jump Rope Queen
Name Origin:
About choosing her stage name she has said: "I wanted a name I could shape the music towards. I was going to Miami
quite a lot at the time, speaking a lot of Spanish with my friends from Cuba - Lana Del Rey reminded us of the glamour
of the seaside. It sounded gorgeous coming off the tip of the tongue.
She has also previously said that her lawyers and managers made up the name Lana Del Rey and persuaded her to adopt the stage name
Born: June 21, 1986
From: Lake Placid, New York, U.S.
Parents: Pat Grant, Rob Grant
Genre(s):
Pop,
trip hop,
indie pop
Instrument(s):
Vocals,
guitar
Occupation(s):
Singer-songwriter,
musician,
model
Active From: 2005-present
Influences:
Elvis Presley,
Amy Winehouse,
Janis Joplin,
Nirvana,
Eminem,
Bruce Springsteen,
and Britney Spears.
Quotes:
Lana Del Rey explains why she went into the music industry:
"I wanted to be part of a high-class scene of musicians. It was half-inspired because I didn't have
many friends, and I was hoping that I would meet people and fall in love and start a community around me,
the way they used to do in the '60s."
Lana Del Rey talking about her experience being sent t oa boarding school in Connecticut for
three years to get sober:
"I was a big drinker at the time. I would drink every day. I would drink alone. I thought the whole concept was
so fucking cool. A great deal of what I wrote on Born To Die is about these wilderness years. When I write
about the thing that I've lost I feel like I'm writing about alcohol because that was the first love of my life.
My parents were worried, I was worried. I knew it was a problem when I liked it more than I liked doing anything else.
I was like, 'I'm fucked. I am totally fucked'. Like, at first it's fine and you think you have a dark side -
it's exciting - and then you realise the dark side wins every time if you decide to indulge in it. It's also
a completely differentway of living when you know that...a different species of person. It was
the worst thing that ever happened to me"