Lady Gaga has opened up about her mental health struggles during the making of A Star Is Born and her subsequent Joanne World Tour.
In a new Rolling Stone interview, the 39-year-old Grammy winner has also revealedshe was taking lithium while filming the 2017 movie. Lithium is a mood stabilizer commonly used to treat bipolar disorder, though Gaga has never publicly shared a diagnosis.
Shortly after filming wrapped, Gaga began her Joanne World Tour from August 2017 to February 2018. During the tour, she experienced a severe mental health episode.
“There was one day that my sister said to me, ‘I don’t see my sister anymore.’ And I canceled the tour,” Gaga said. “There was one day I went to the hospital for psychiatric care. I needed to take a break. I couldn’t do anything… I completely crashed. It was really scary. There was a time where I didn’t think I could get better.”
Gaga eventually received treatment and was feeling better by the time A Star Is Born earned eight Oscar nominations in 2019. She won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for Shallow.
Reflecting on her recovery, Gaga called herself a “healthy, whole person” and credited her fiancé, Michael Polansky, with supporting her through the difficult period.
“He wanted to take care of me. My life was serious to him. He helped me see that my life was precious,” she said. Gaga and Polansky, 42, began dating in 2020 and became engaged in April 2024.