Lady Gaga reveals why Bradley Cooper banned her from wearing makeup whilst filming 'A Star is Born'

vt-author-image

By VT

Article saved!Article saved!

Lady Gaga has pulled off some iconic looks during her career. There was the controversial 'meat suit' she wore at the 2010 MTV Awards, the red latex gown she flaunted while meeting Queen Elizabeth II, and that one red lace ensemble she sported in 2009 (prompting some super weird looks from Eminem).

No matter where she goes, then, Gaga is pretty much always expected to look totally and utterly bizarre.

NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 13: Singer Lady Gaga accepts an award onstage from rapper Eminem and actor Tracy Morgan during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall on September 13, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage)
[[imagecaption|| Credit: Getty]]

However, in her role in A Star is Born - her movie debut - the singer appears totally bare-faced throughout.

With no whacky outfits, no crazy contact lenses, and not even the tiniest smidge of makeup, Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Germanotta, looks completely different to how we're all used to seeing her on the red carpet.

She looks so far from her usual self, in fact, that you'd be forgiven for not recognising her in the poster for the movie.

a star is born poster
[[imagecaption|| Credit: Warner Bros.]]

As it turns out, it was actually Bradley Cooper who suggested Gaga went makeup-free for the flick.

In a recent appearance on The Graham Norton Show, Cooper and Gaga discussed their upcoming film, and Cooper explained that he had some very particular requirements for the character of Ally, who is played by the Just Dance singer.

The fresh-faced look is simply "how the character is," explained Cooper, who directed as well as starred in the film.

He wanted the female lead to look - for want of a better word - normal. And that makes sense, as Ally is supposed to be an undiscovered star. Gaga, however, is most certainly not normal, and so it apparently took some time for her to adjust to the requirements of the role.

In her screen test for the movie, Cooper asked the singer to remove all her makeup so that she could be "completely open": something that apparently made her feel rather uncomfortable.

gaga a star is born
[[imagecaption|| Credit: Warner Bros.]]

For a while, Gaga couldn't adjust to these requirements, and reportedly even tried to smuggle makeup onto the set! However, she eventually warmed up to the idea of being Ally rather than Gaga, and embraced the natural look.

"It put me in the right place I needed to be, because when my character talks about how ugly she feels - that was real," she explained. "I'm so insecure. I like to preach, but I don't always practice what I preach."

This was obviously a huge thing for Gaga to admit, as she's always been very image-focused.

a star is born
[[imagecaption|| Credit: Warner Bros.]]

It was also recently revealed that Cooper was really only able to make the film because of Gaga. The pair had been eating dinner at her house, and she encouraged him to sing for her.

"The next thing I know after I’m eating pasta, we’re singing in her living room," Cooper revealed to Conan O'Brien recently.

"It was crazy and she said, ‘Has anyone ever heard you sing before?’ I said, ‘No’ and she said, ‘Well let’s record it.’ So I recorded it on my phone and that was actually one of the first things when I was trying to pitch this movie to Warner Brothers, I showed them that video."

As well as being a critically-acclaimed masterpiece, then, it sounds like this film helped both Gaga and Cooper come out of their shells and reveal sides to each of them that nobody knew were there before. And, just as we now know that Cooper can sing, we can also see that Gaga is beautiful both with and without makeup.

Who knows - perhaps she'll rock the natural look in real-life, too!

Lady Gaga reveals why Bradley Cooper banned her from wearing makeup whilst filming 'A Star is Born'

vt-author-image

By VT

Article saved!Article saved!

Lady Gaga has pulled off some iconic looks during her career. There was the controversial 'meat suit' she wore at the 2010 MTV Awards, the red latex gown she flaunted while meeting Queen Elizabeth II, and that one red lace ensemble she sported in 2009 (prompting some super weird looks from Eminem).

No matter where she goes, then, Gaga is pretty much always expected to look totally and utterly bizarre.

NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 13: Singer Lady Gaga accepts an award onstage from rapper Eminem and actor Tracy Morgan during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall on September 13, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage)
[[imagecaption|| Credit: Getty]]

However, in her role in A Star is Born - her movie debut - the singer appears totally bare-faced throughout.

With no whacky outfits, no crazy contact lenses, and not even the tiniest smidge of makeup, Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Germanotta, looks completely different to how we're all used to seeing her on the red carpet.

She looks so far from her usual self, in fact, that you'd be forgiven for not recognising her in the poster for the movie.

a star is born poster
[[imagecaption|| Credit: Warner Bros.]]

As it turns out, it was actually Bradley Cooper who suggested Gaga went makeup-free for the flick.

In a recent appearance on The Graham Norton Show, Cooper and Gaga discussed their upcoming film, and Cooper explained that he had some very particular requirements for the character of Ally, who is played by the Just Dance singer.

The fresh-faced look is simply "how the character is," explained Cooper, who directed as well as starred in the film.

He wanted the female lead to look - for want of a better word - normal. And that makes sense, as Ally is supposed to be an undiscovered star. Gaga, however, is most certainly not normal, and so it apparently took some time for her to adjust to the requirements of the role.

In her screen test for the movie, Cooper asked the singer to remove all her makeup so that she could be "completely open": something that apparently made her feel rather uncomfortable.

gaga a star is born
[[imagecaption|| Credit: Warner Bros.]]

For a while, Gaga couldn't adjust to these requirements, and reportedly even tried to smuggle makeup onto the set! However, she eventually warmed up to the idea of being Ally rather than Gaga, and embraced the natural look.

"It put me in the right place I needed to be, because when my character talks about how ugly she feels - that was real," she explained. "I'm so insecure. I like to preach, but I don't always practice what I preach."

This was obviously a huge thing for Gaga to admit, as she's always been very image-focused.

a star is born
[[imagecaption|| Credit: Warner Bros.]]

It was also recently revealed that Cooper was really only able to make the film because of Gaga. The pair had been eating dinner at her house, and she encouraged him to sing for her.

"The next thing I know after I’m eating pasta, we’re singing in her living room," Cooper revealed to Conan O'Brien recently.

"It was crazy and she said, ‘Has anyone ever heard you sing before?’ I said, ‘No’ and she said, ‘Well let’s record it.’ So I recorded it on my phone and that was actually one of the first things when I was trying to pitch this movie to Warner Brothers, I showed them that video."

As well as being a critically-acclaimed masterpiece, then, it sounds like this film helped both Gaga and Cooper come out of their shells and reveal sides to each of them that nobody knew were there before. And, just as we now know that Cooper can sing, we can also see that Gaga is beautiful both with and without makeup.

Who knows - perhaps she'll rock the natural look in real-life, too!