Portrait · Raph_PH / CC BY 4.0

Lana Del Rey

Singer, songwriter and poet

Born 1985

Lana Del Rey, born Elizabeth Woolridge Grant, grew up in Lake Placid after a New York City birth. She studied philosophy at Fordham University. Her early performances grew from guitar playing learned from an uncle and years of New York open mics. She recorded acoustic material as May Jailer before the Lizzy Grant period, and developed her sound with David Kahne during her time with independent label 5 Points. Kill Kill preceded the 2010 album; the earlier Sirens recordings were not commercially released. Lana Del Ray A.K.A. Lizzy Grant appeared in 2010. Her self-created Video Games visual introduced a wider audience to her cinematic songwriting, and Born to Die became her major-label breakthrough in 2012. Paradise extended that period with songs including Ride. Her subsequent albums include Ultraviolence, Honeymoon and Lust for Life, the latter featuring guests such as the Weeknd and Stevie Nicks. Norman Fucking Rockwell! deepened her collaboration with producer Jack Antonoff. In 2020 she published the poetry collection Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass, alongside a spoken-word recording with Antonoff’s music. Chemtrails Over the Country Club and Blue Banisters followed in 2021, then Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd in 2023. Her visual work extends from writing and starring in Ride and Tropico to directing videos including Freak and Arcadia. She also executive produced the 2015 short Hi, How Are You Daniel Johnston? Her screen songs include Young and Beautiful and Big Eyes, alongside concert and television appearances. In September 2024 she married Louisiana boat captain Jeremy Dufrene. A 2025 interview described life divided between Louisiana and Los Angeles. She co-directed Tough with Quavo and directed the 2026 White Feather Hawk Tail Deer Hunter video. Her recent recordings include that song and First Light, the title song for the James Bond game, written with David Arnold. In July 2026 she announced Stove and another project; neither had a confirmed release date in that report.

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