Lady Gaga is the cover star of the new issue of Harper's Bazaar! Photographed by her longtime friends and collaborators Inez and Vinoodh, the singer graces the cover of the magazine's 150th anniversary issue, on newsstands next week. The gorgeous cover shoot is accompanied by an essay featuring Gaga's thoughts on what it means to be a woman today.
Check out excerpts from Gaga's Harper's Bazaar cover story below or click here to read the full essay.
On what fame means to her:
Fame is the best drug that's ever existed. But once you realize who you are and what you care about, that need for more, more, more just goes away. What matters is that I have a great family, I work hard, I take care of those around me, I provide jobs for people I love very much, and I make music that I hope sends a good message into the world. I turned 30 this year, and I'm a fully formed woman. I have a clear perspective on what I want. That, for me, is success. I want to be somebody who is fighting for what's true—not for more attention, more fame, more accolades.
On womanhood:
I look at my mother and the way she has loved my father through his pain, and I look at my grandmothers and what they've been through—the three of them are like a trifecta of strength. Health, happiness, love—these are the things that are at the heart of a great lady, I think. That's the kind of lady I want to be. You know, I never thought I'd say this, but isn't it time to take off the corsets? As someone who loves them, I think it's time to take them off.
On the inspiration behind her new album:
I called my album Joanne because Joanne's presence was always important to me. The best way to describe my relationship with her is that it's like the relationship someone might have with an angel or a spirit guide or whatever you think of as a higher power. Joanne died of lupus, which is an autoimmune disease, and from what I know of the history of my family, one of the reasons her disease may have worsened was that she was assaulted when she was in college. She was sexually assaulted and groped. Joanne passed away in 1974, 12 years before I was born, so I learned about her mostly through stories and pictures. But I also learned about her through the rage of my father and watching him pour a drink every night and through seeing my grandparents cry at the Christmas dinner table when it was clear that there was an empty seat they wanted to fill.
On taking a step back from the spotlight:
Before I made Joanne, I took some time off. I made music with Tony Bennett. I did "Til It Happens to You" with Diane Warren. But I was able to get off the train of endless work I'd been on, which was quite abusive to my body and my mind, and have some silence and some space around me. I wanted to experience music again the way I did when I was younger, when I just had to make it, instead of worrying what everybody thinks or being obsessed with things that aren't important.
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