Portrait · Danilo / CC BY-SA 3.0

Katy Perry

Singer, songwriter and television judge

Born 1984

Katy Perry is an American singer and songwriter whose career combines theatrical pop, filmed performance and television. Born Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson in Santa Barbara, she developed her songwriting with Nashville gospel musicians as a teenager and released Katy Hudson. She moved to Los Angeles at seventeen, worked with Glen Ballard, and endured label setbacks and financial difficulties before Capitol supported her pop direction. One of the Boys and I Kissed a Girl brought the breakthrough. Teenage Dream expanded that success into a vivid sequence of songs and videos, followed by Prism, Witness, Smile and 143. Her stage career includes the Play residency at Resorts World Las Vegas. Her concert productions also became screen works, from the documentary Part of Me to the Prismatic World Tour and the Lifetimes Tour film. Beyond her own music, she voiced Smurfette in Sony’s Smurfs films and spent seven seasons on the American Idol judging panel with Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie, concluding that run in 2024. Her honors include a BRIT Award, MTV’s Video Vanguard Award and UNICEF’s Audrey Hepburn Humanitarian Award; the Recording Academy lists Grammy nominations rather than wins. She has served as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador since 2013. Her checked recent record includes the release of Watch It Burn in June 2026, the Paris concert film’s Japanese screenings and publicly discussed personal changes. Her older interviews provide specific listening choices, musical favorites and tastes, retained with their original dates and contexts.

Verified identityCore facts checked against named sources.

Keep exploring

Connected people

ConnectionJustin TrudeauPublicly acknowledged relationship in the checked September 2026 record.

ConnectionKristen WiigInterviewed Perry for Interview Magazine.

ConnectionLuke BryanAmerican Idol co-judge.

Official records · wins and honours

Awards & Honours

Selected recognition linked to the awarding organisation or primary record.

2024
MTV Video Music AwardsIndustry honor
Video Vanguard Award
Katy Perry
Official record
2024
MTV Video Music AwardsCompetitive win
Most Iconic Performance
Roar
Official record
2016
UNICEFIndustry honor
Audrey Hepburn Humanitarian Award
Katy Perry
Official record
2015
Grammy AwardsNomination
Nomination: Best Pop Vocal Album
Prism
Official record
2015
Grammy AwardsNomination
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance (nomination)
Dark Horse
Official record
2014
Grammy AwardsNomination
Nomination: Song of the Year
Roar
Official record
2013
Grammy AwardsNomination
Best Pop Solo Performance (nomination)
Wide Awake
Official record
2012
Grammy AwardsNomination
Record of the Year (nomination)
Firework
Official record
2011
MTV Video Music AwardsCompetitive win
Video of the Year
Firework
Official record
2011
MTV Video Music AwardsCompetitive win
Best Collaboration
E.T. featuring Kanye West
Official record
2011
Grammy AwardsNomination
Nomination: Album of the Year
Teenage Dream
Official record
2010
Grammy AwardsNomination
Best Female Pop Vocal Performance (nomination)
Hot N Cold
Official record
2009
BRIT AwardsCompetitive win
International Female Solo Artist
Katy Perry
Official record
2009
Grammy AwardsNomination
Best Female Pop Vocal Performance (nomination)
I Kissed a Girl
Official record

Video Vanguard Award

Most Iconic Performance

Audrey Hepburn Humanitarian Award

Nomination: Best Pop Vocal Album

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance (nomination)

Nomination: Song of the Year

Best Pop Solo Performance (nomination)

Record of the Year (nomination)

Video of the Year

Best Collaboration

Nomination: Album of the Year

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance (nomination)

International Female Solo Artist

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance (nomination)