Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson, professionally known as Katy Perry, was born on October 25, 1984, in Santa Barbara, California. Renowned for her influence on pop music and her vibrant, campy style, Perry has sold over 143 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time. With an estimated net worth of $350 million, she is also among the wealthiest musicians globally.
Perry’s musical journey began in her teenage years with the release of a gospel album, Katy Hudson, in 2001 under Red Hill Records. However, the album was a commercial failure. Determined to succeed, Perry moved to Los Angeles at 17 to transition into secular music, adopting the stage name Katy Perry. After an unsuccessful stint with Columbia Records, she signed with Capitol Records, where her career began to flourish.
Perry’s breakthrough came with her second album, One of the Boys (2008), which included the hit singles “I Kissed a Girl” and “Hot n Cold.” The album’s pop rock sound catapulted her to fame, with “I Kissed a Girl” reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
Her third album, Teenage Dream (2010), solidified her status as a pop icon. It produced five number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100: “California Gurls,” “Teenage Dream,” “Firework,” “E.T.,” and “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.),” making Perry the first female artist to achieve this feat. The album’s reissue, Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection (2012), included the number one single “Part of Me.”
In 2013, Perry released Prism, an empowerment-themed album featuring the chart-topping singles “Roar” and “Dark Horse.” The music videos for these tracks made Perry the first artist to have multiple videos reach one billion views on Vevo and YouTube.
Perry continued her success with the albums Witness (2017) and Smile (2020), and embarked on her Las Vegas concert residency titled Play (2021–2023). She is set to release her seventh studio album, 143, in September 2024. All of Perry’s major-label studio albums have individually surpassed one billion streams on Spotify. She also holds the record for the second-most U.S. diamond-certified singles by a female artist, with six.
Beyond her music, Perry has ventured into various other projects. She released the autobiographical documentary Katy Perry: Part of Me in 2012, voiced Smurfette in The Smurfs film series, and launched her own shoe line, Katy Perry Collections, in 2017. Perry also served as a judge on American Idol from 2018 to 2024.
Perry has received numerous accolades throughout her career, including a Billboard Spotlight Award, four Guinness World Records, five Billboard Music Awards, five American Music Awards, a Brit Award, and a Juno Award. Forbes named her the world’s highest-paid female musician in 2015 and 2018.
Known for her powerful contralto voice, Perry’s music spans genres from pop and rock to disco. Her lyrics often explore themes of love, self-empowerment, and personal growth. Despite mixed reviews of her vocal style, Perry’s honest and relatable songwriting has garnered her a dedicated global fanbase.
