Katy Perry

**Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson** (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as **Katy Perry**, is an American singer and songwriter. After singing in church during her childhood, she pursued a career in as a teenager. Perry signed with and released her debut studio album under her birth name in 2001, which was commercially unsuccessful. She moved to Los Angeles the following year to venture into secular music after

## Physical description

### Gender

Female

Red Hill ceased operations and she subsequently began working with producers , , and . After adopting the stage name Katy Perry and being dropped by and , she signed a with in April 2007.

Perry rose to fame in 2008 with the release of the singles ""—which sparked controversy for its homosexual themes—and "" from her second album, a record titled . Her third album, (2010), ventured into , and contained the U.S. chart-topping singles "", "", "", "", and "" as well as the number-three single "". The album became the first by a female artist to produce five number-one songs in the U.S., and the second overall after 's album . In March 2012, she re-issued the album as , which produced the songs "" and "". Her fourth album, , was released in 2013, and is influenced by pop and dance. She became the first artist with multiple videos to reach one billion views on with the videos for its songs "" and "".

Perry has received , including four , a , and a , and been included in the list of "Top-Earning Women In Music" (2011–2016). Her estimated net worth as of 2016 is $125 million. She is , having sold 100 million records globally throughout her career. In film, she released an autobiographical documentary titled in 2012, and voiced in the 2011 film and in 2013

Early life

Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson was born in , to pastors Mary Christine (née Perry) and Maurice Keith Hudson. Her parents are Christians, each having turned to religion after a "wild youth". Perry has English, German, Irish, and Portuguese ancestry. Through her mother, she is a niece of film director . She has a younger brother named David, who is a singer, and an older sister, Angela. From ages 3 to 11, Perry often moved across the country as her parents set up churches before settling again in Santa Barbara. Growing up, she attended religious schools and camps, including Paradise Valley Christian School in Arizona and Santa Barbara Christian School in California during her . Her family struggled financially, sometimes using and eating from the food bank intended to feed the congregation at her parents' church.

Growing up, Perry and her siblings were not allowed to eat as the term "luck" reminded their mother of , and had to call "angeled eggs". Perry primarily listened to , as secular music was generally discouraged in the family's home. She discovered popular music through she sneaked from her friends. While not strictly identifying as religious, Perry has stated, "I pray all the time – for self-control, for humility." Following her sister Angela, Perry began singing by practicing with her sister's cassette tapes. She performed the tracks in front of their parents, who suggested she take vocal lessons. She began at age 9, and was incorporated into her parents' ministry, singing in church from ages 9 to 17. At 13, Perry was given her first guitar for her birthday, and publicly performed songs she wrote. She tried to "be a bit like the typical Californian girl" while growing up, and started rollerskating, skateboarding, and surfing as a teenager. David described her as a during her adolescence.

*Teenage Dream* and marriage

After serving as a guest judge on , Perry released "" featuring rapper on May 7, 2010. The song was the lead single from her third studio album, , and reached number one on the *Billboard* Hot 100 in June. She also served as a guest judge on later that month before releasing the album's second single, "", in July. "Teenage Dream" reached number one on *Billboard* in September. Released on August 24, 2010, the album debuted at number one on the *Billboard* 200. It received mixed reviews from music critics, and has since sold 6 million copies globally. *Teenage Dream* would go on to win the 2011 . In October, "" was released as the album's third single. It became the album's third consecutive number one on the Hot 100 on December 8, 2010.

A remixed version of "" featuring rapper was released as the fourth single from *Teenage Dream* on February 16, 2011. It topped the Hot 100 chart for five non-consecutive weeks, making *Teenage Dream* the ninth album in history to produce four number one singles on the Hot 100. "" followed as the fifth single in June, and Perry became the first female artist to achieve five number-one Hot 100 songs from one album when the single topped that chart on August 17, and the second artist after with his album . For this record, she received an honorary in November 2011 and a 2013 Guinness World Record. On September 7, she set a new record by becoming the first artist to spend 69 consecutive weeks in the top ten of the Hot 100. In October, "" was released as the album's sixth single. The song peaked at number three on the Hot 100 and number two in Canada. On February 13, 2012, Capitol released the lead single from , "", which debuted at number one on the Hot 100 and became Perry's seventh single overall to top the chart. *Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection* was released on March 23. "" was released on May 22 as the re-release's second single, peaking at number two on the Hot 100 and number one in Canada and New Zealand. On January 5, she was named the sixth best-selling digital artist in the United States, with sales of 37.6 million units according to . That month, she became the first artist to have four songs sell over 5 million digital units.