Singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey is known for her soulful voice, melancholic tracks, and signature style inspired by American pop culture of the 1950s and 1960s. Her songs have gone platinum in the US and other countries, and she has won many prestigious music awards, written soundtracks for films, and become a global star. More about how she did it tells newyorkski.info.
Early Years
Elizabeth Woolridge Grant was born in New York City on June 21, 1985. She spent her childhood in Lake Placid, where her family moved shortly after her birth. Elizabeth’s father was an investor, and her mother was a schoolteacher. She later became a big sister to two younger siblings. Elizabeth was interested in music from a young age. She sang in her school choir and loved watching old Hollywood films at home. At 14, she was sent to an Episcopal boarding school. After graduating, she lived with relatives on Long Island for a year and worked as a waitress.
Her uncle taught Elizabeth how to play the guitar. During this time, she began writing songs and occasionally performed at local clubs. Music remained a hobby, and Elizabeth went on to major in philosophy at Fordham University.
Musical Career
However, philosophy wasn’t Elizabeth’s true calling. She continued to perform and write her own songs. She even opened for a Swedish rock band on the TV show MTV Unplugged. She also recorded an album under her own name, Kill Kill, but it didn’t find an audience and was pulled from the market two months later. Grant’s managers came up with her stage name. Its exact origin is unknown, but it was as Lana Del Rey that she became a worldwide sensation. In 2010, she released her self-titled debut album, but it was also quickly withdrawn.
Her big breakthrough was the track “Video Games,” which she uploaded to YouTube in 2011. Listeners noted her aural similarities to Amy Winehouse, who had passed away that year. Lana Del Rey’s song quickly went viral, and tickets for her New York concert sold out within the first half hour. Soon after, she released the song “Born to Die,” and in 2012, her new album of the same name came out. Critics were divided on the record, but the public was obsessed. The press wrote that a new artist had arrived who would become more popular than Rihanna and Lady Gaga. That same year, the song “Summertime Sadness” premiered. It hit the charts in 15 countries, went platinum in the US, Italy, and Germany, and was certified gold in Austria and Switzerland. The singer herself starred in the music video for the song.
In 2014, the singer’s third album, Ultraviolence, was released, followed a year later by Honeymoon. The song “Art Deco” became particularly popular. During this period, Lana Del Rey continued to work in her signature 1950s and 1960s-inspired style. In 2017, she recorded the song “Love,” which was featured on her new album, Lust for Life. This time, the album included several collaborations with other musicians. It topped the charts in the US and the UK and was nominated for a Grammy Award. The songs “Heroin” and “Cherry” were especially successful. After a tour supporting her fifth album, Lana Del Rey immediately began working on a new one, which was released in 2019. Over the next few years, she released three more albums. Her 2023 album, Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, received five Grammy nominations.
Lana Del Rey and the World of Cinema
Lana Del Rey’s music videos can be viewed as short films due to their narrative and aesthetic qualities. At the same time, the singer has experience working in feature films as both an actress and a composer. In 2013, her song “Young and Beautiful” was released for the film The Great Gatsby. That same year, the star was involved in the short film Tropico, where she played Eve and the Virgin Mary, and also wrote the soundtrack. A cover version of her song “Gods & Monsters” was used in the TV series American Horror Story. In 2014, the songs “Big Eyes” and “I Can Fly” became the soundtrack for the film Big Eyes. Tracks from her album Norman Fucking Rockwell were the basis for a short film that Lana Del Rey also took part in. Additionally, the singer has appeared in commercials.
Lana Del Rey’s Style
Both in her music and her personal style, Lana Del Rey has embraced the aesthetics of the 1950s and 1960s. She always wears her hair long in fashionable hairstyles, often changing the color and sporting every shade imaginable. With her thin nose and full lips, Lana Del Rey has often been accused of getting plastic surgery. However, the singer denies these interventions. What’s more, she isn’t shy about appearing in public without makeup. The singer’s body is adorned with small tattoos. She has the letter “M” as a tribute to her grandmother Madeleine, as well as the words “Paradise,” “Nabokov Whitman,” and “Chateau Marmont.” She also has the phrase “Trust no one” tattooed on her arm.
Early in her musical career, the singer was often called a style icon. She consistently wore designer outfits and looked flawless. However, in 2018, photos of Del Rey’s noticeable weight gain first appeared online. The artist’s figure became more curvaceous, but she continued to appear in public as herself and did not comment on the change in her appearance.
The Singer’s Personal Life
In her youth, the star struggled with alcohol abuse. Her parents enrolled her in boarding school at that time. She attended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and did volunteer work, which helped her overcome the addiction. At age 20, Lana Del Rey began dating rocker Steven Mertens. Their relationship lasted seven years. Steven promoted her music, but they never married. The singer then dated musician Barrie-James O’Neill for three years. Afterward, she was linked to many different people, including women, but the rumors were never confirmed. In 2017, the artist started dating rapper G-Eazy. They planned to record a song together, but their relationship soon ended. Then, photos of Del Rey with musician and producer Jack Antonoff surfaced, but it was more of a creative collaboration than a romance.
In 2019, the singer began a relationship with Sean Larkin. Their romance lasted about a year and ended due to their busy schedules. Soon after, rumors spread about Del Rey’s interest in musician Clayton Johnson. They got engaged but later broke up. It was said that this was why the singer gained weight. She even stopped using social media and disappeared from the public eye. It wasn’t until 2022 that rumors of a new relationship with Jack Donoghue surfaced, but a year later, it was reported that Lana Del Rey was engaged to musician Evan Winiker. However, that marriage never happened. After a few more relationships, the singer finally married Jeremy Dufresne in 2024. Photos showed the singer’s trim figure, which wowed fans. She had lost weight and regained her former shape. That same year, Lana Del Rey’s new album, Lasso, was announced. She has released several covers and continues to record new songs, which her fans are eagerly awaiting.