Seven years after breakout film role in Bradley Cooper‘s A Star Is Born, Lady Gaga recently recalled her challenging circumstances behind the scenes.
The Oscar winner revealed she was taking prescribed lithium while filming the 2018 remake of the musical romance during a busy time in her career, which also saw the release of her album Joanne and the accompanying tour, during which she experienced what she called a psychotic break.
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“I did A Star Is Born on lithium,” she told Rolling Stone. “There was one day that my sister said to me, ‘I don’t see my sister anymore.’ And I canceled the tour. 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.… I feel really lucky to be alive. I know that might sound dramatic, but we know how this can go.”
Lithium is a mood stabilizer used to treat mental illnesses like bipolar disorder and manic depression. In 2020, Gaga released her Chromatica single ‘911’ about her past struggles with mental health and reliance on antipsychotic medication.
Gaga told Rolling Stone she’s since become “a healthy, whole person,” crediting her fiancé Michael Polansky with helping her get back on track.
“Being in love with someone that cares about the real me made a very big difference,” explained Gaga. “How do you learn how to be yourself with someone when you don’t know how to be yourself with anyone?”
Gaga, who won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for her A Star Is Born original song ‘Shallow’, can next be seen on the big screen in The Devil Wears Prada 2, premiering May 1, 2026 in theaters.
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