Rich or not, Gaga grew up humble Warning: Long Read

[Alien Tulip 12,428]

Over the years there has been many debates whether Gaga grew up rich or not. Gaga has said many times she wasn't born rich but still lived comfortably because her parents worked hard for her and her sister. I think people assume Gaga was born in a rich lifestyle like Paris Hilton or Kim Kardashian. Gaga grew up in a huge tower apartment building that costs millions TODAY but during the 90s and early 2000s many upper middle class people lived there. Prices gone up and renovations occurred. Gaga says many things that make me question whether its true or not but I do believe it when she says she didn't grow up rich. The private school she attended was expensive but it wasn't impossible for poor parents to enroll their children into. I had a co worker that attended the Sacred Heart during the 80s and she told me it was expensive but there were programs that accepted many minorities living in underprivileged areas such as Harlem and the Bronx. NYU also isn't impossible to get into if you're poor because my friend graduated from there with a Phd and he was living in a slum building and was born and raised in housing projects of Brooklyn. I'm not saying Gaga struggled that much growing up but she certainly wasn't a rich spoiled brat that some people make her seem to be. I feel like she comes from a hard working family and is very economical so she never sent off that posh behavior of a person born rich. I've actually read comments (not here) where people said they can't relate to Gaga because she was born to a rich white family in NYC but that comment doesn't make sense to me since there's many poor people who become rich, let fame get into their head and become so superficial and have bad attitudes like nicki minaj for example, I can't relate to her nasty behavior, she hustled hard and I give her credit for that but she's become so out of touch with reality. I relate to Gaga more because she struggled from the bottom up, if she was born rich, her parents would have bought her an expensive apartment instead of moving her to slum apartment in a bad neighborhood next to gang violence. She worked three jobs and hustled hard to get where she is today and during those times she encountered horrible experiences. Gaga is one of the most human celebrities to me because her vulnerability shows and even though she's super rich now, something about her comes across as so open to all walks of life. When you watch the Emotion Revolution speech you sometimes forget she's a celebrity because of how open and honest she is and I can tell it's genuine. There's other celebrities that remained humble as well like Britney Spears, MJ, and a lot more. 

[Red 97,629]

Her parents had to take a loan to buy a piano ffs, she wasn't rich. I mean, she wasn't poor but she wasn't exactly rich.

[URFUTUREFAV 1,292]

Just now, Red said:

Her parents had to take a loan to buy a piano ffs, she wasn't rich. I mean, she wasn't poor but she wasn't exactly rich.

she was like average plus

[Alien Tulip 12,428]

1 minute ago, Red said:

Her parents had to take a loan to buy a piano ffs, she wasn't rich. I mean, she wasn't poor but she wasn't exactly rich.

I forgot to add that in plus I remember Gaga saying the first country she traveled to was London with her and her friends when they were 19 that they saved for. A spoiled rich person would have traveled to many countries during their childhood. 

[Fiona Apple 13,006]

I think that she was rich but not very rich

[Bear 7,515]

Her family were definitely above average, but they weren't rich I agree. Irrespective of their level of wealth, what is important is that she didn't seem to be spoilt and had a good upbringing, which is why she seems so humble today.

 

[DontDoubtDavid 1,191]

I would imagine she grew up in the upper middle class. I'm grew up in similar conditions and can relate to her upbringing.

[Kacey Elizabeth 900]

I agree with everything you said. She definitely was above average, but she still worked very hard and she learned to be a hard worker from her parents. 

[Stephen 30,419]

Great post!

[Nicole 1,809]

I always assumed that they weren't rich by New York City standards - it's seen as a very expensive city to live in esp. in the area they lived etc. But yes I completely agree, I cringe so hard when people try and argue that she grew up rich when they literally have no insight into her upbringing other than what she has shared herself. 

I think it's also important to note that even in the event that her parents were rich, she never leaned on them once she moved out when is something that I truly admire. I'm not saying that getting help from your parents is bad, but it does show the value she has for hard work and earning your place without getting a jump from your parents pockets. 

[PopThatArt 2,193]

I feel she isn't being very humble these days tho, there's a real disconnect to Monsters, or at least some of us feel that way. 

[Javier Gallo 199]

Who knows, but, she moved on herself when she was 19, so for sure she was poor at 19.

[Felicia 124]

8 minutes ago, PopThatArt said:

I feel she isn't being very humble these days tho, there's a real disconnect to Monsters, or at least some of us feel that way. 

But remember, when it comes to "Monsters", she owes us absolutely nothing.

Never forget that.

[ARTPOPdidntflop 3,987]

She was Upper Middle class, but her Dad didn't fund her when she left Tisch so.... 

It doesn't really matter if she was privileged or not, she worked for what she had entirely on her own

[djBuffoon 12,098]

Agreed. Her parents worked hard to provide for their kids, so Stefani and Natali could have a good upbringing/education, but they were not filthy rich and buying them cars left and right.

But even if Gaga grew up with a golden spoon in her mouth, what's even more important is that her career was not simply handed to her. She knew what she wanted, she hustled, worked on her vocals and musicianship, made sacrifices, forged the right connections, busted her ass, and wrote her own story from it.