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Lady Gaga is pulling back the curtain on one of the most intense periods of her career, revealing that she was medicated throughout the filming of A Star Is Born, and spiraling privately while the movie turned her into a Hollywood heavyweight.
In a new interview with Rolling Stone, the 39-year-old says she shot the 2018 blockbuster while taking lithium, a mood stabilizer commonly used for bipolar disorder. Though she didn't reveal a formal diagnosis, she admitted the medication was part of a larger, hidden struggle.
"I did A Star Is Born on lithium," Gaga told the magazine, explaining that the performance the world celebrated came during a time when she felt herself slipping. When filming wrapped and she launched the Joanne World Tour, her mental health collapsed completely.
According to Gaga, the breaking point came when a family member confronted her with a chilling observation: "I don't see my sister anymore." She canceled dates, checked into a hospital for psychiatric care and hit what she calls her "lowest moment."
"I couldn't do anything. I completely crashed," she said. "There was a time I didn't think I could get better."
Gaga eventually stabilized before awards season, where the film collected eight Oscar nominations and she took home a trophy for "Shallow." But behind the polished red-carpet exterior, she was still rebuilding herself.
She credits much of that recovery to her fiancé, tech entrepreneur Michael Polansky, whom she began dating in 2020 and got engaged to in 2024. She says his steady presence, and the fact that he valued "the real me", helped her find her footing again.
Gaga now describes herself as "a healthy, whole person," though she admits the journey has been long. She also reflected on Joker: Folie à Deux, which flopped at the box office last year, saying the backlash forced her to confront the pressure she puts on herself.
Still, Gaga insists she's in a place of clarity. "I feel really lucky to be alive," she said, not as a dramatic flourish, but as someone who has lived close enough to the edge to mean it.
