60 Fun Facts About Lana Del Rey

What is Lana Del Rey's birth name?

She was born in Manhattan on June 21, 1985, to two advertising executives.

In which upstate New York town did Lana Del Rey grow up from the age of one?

Her father worked for a furniture company there before becoming a domain investor, and her mother was a schoolteacher.

Why did her parents send her to Kent School, a Connecticut boarding school, at 14 or 15?

She has said she has been sober since 2003.

What did Del Rey major in at Fordham University?

She chose it with an emphasis on metaphysics because it 'bridged the gap between God and science'.

Under which stage name did she record the acoustic album Sirens in 2005-06?

The album leaked online in mid-2012, after she was famous.

How much was the recording contract 5 Points Records offered her in 2007 while she was still at Fordham?

She spent it moving into a trailer park in North Bergen, New Jersey.

Her stage name was partly inspired by actress Lana Turner and a sedan sold in which country?

The Ford Del Rey was sold there in the 1980s; she said the name reminded her Cuban friends of the glamour of the seaside.

How was her name spelled on her self-titled debut album, released in January 2010 and quickly withdrawn?

She later bought back the rights to the album.

Which 2011 single, with a self-made clip of vintage footage and webcam shots, was her viral breakthrough?

It reached number one in Germany, Iceland and Luxembourg and was named Song of the Decade at the 2019 Q Awards.

Who co-wrote her 2011 breakthrough single with her, ahead of production by Robopop?

It was produced by Robopop and won an Ivor Novello award for Best Contemporary Song in 2012.

Her January 2012 performance on which TV show drew widespread criticism for being vocally shaky?

She noted that Lorne Michaels knew she had been singing for a long time and it was not a fluke decision.

Born to Die debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 behind which album?

It went on to sell 3.4 million copies in 2012, the fifth-best-selling album of that year.

Born to Die holds what record on the Billboard 200?

By December 2025 it had logged 618 weeks on the chart.

Which DJ's remix made Summertime Sadness a US top-ten hit and won a Best Remixed Recording Grammy?

The remix peaked at number six on the Hot 100, then her highest-charting solo single in the US.

Young and Beautiful was written for the soundtrack of which 2013 film?

Director Baz Luhrmann said 'we are very lucky that the song found a film', suggesting it was written before the movie.

What was the lead single of her 2012 EP Paradise?

The EP was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 56th Grammys and also came bundled as Born to Die: The Paradise Edition.

Her cover of Blue Velvet from the Paradise era was used in a commercial for which retailer?

The 1950s standard was released as a promotional single alongside Burning Desire.

Which musical short film, paired to tracks from Paradise, did she write and star in in 2013?

Anthony Mandler directed it, and its soundtrack was released that December.

Which Black Keys frontman produced her third album at his Nashville studio?

They were meant to work together for three days and ended up spending six weeks recording a whole album.

Her third album, released in June 2014, debuted at number one in how many countries?

Its 880,000 first-week copies worldwide made it the best-selling debut week of her career.

Her version of Once Upon a Dream was recorded for which 2014 film?

The same year she sang the title song for Tim Burton's Big Eyes, which earned a Golden Globe nomination.

Which two acts opened for her on 2015's Endless Summer Tour?

Courtney Love later appeared alongside her and Jared Leto in Gucci Guilty fragrance ads.

Which of these was a single from Honeymoon (2015)?

The album returned to the baroque pop of Born to Die after the guitar-driven Ultraviolence.

Del Rey sang lead vocals on Stargirl Interlude from which artist's 2016 album Starboy?

She also co-wrote and sang backing vocals on Party Monster from the same record.

Which veteran rock singer guests on Lust for Life (2017)?

Sean Lennon, A$AP Rocky and Playboi Carti also appear.

In January 2018 Del Rey said which band was suing her over similarities between Get Free and one of theirs?

The band's publisher denied there was a lawsuit or a demand for 100% of the royalties.

Norman Fucking Rockwell! (2019) was the first album on which she worked with which producer?

He went on to co-produce Chemtrails over the Country Club and her spoken-word album too.

For which two Grammy Awards was Norman Fucking Rockwell! nominated?

Rolling Stone later placed it on its 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Whose grandson poses with Del Rey on a sailboat on the cover of Norman Fucking Rockwell!?

Duke Nicholson appears with the album title written in a comic-inspired style.

Doin' Time, a single from Norman Fucking Rockwell!, is a cover of a song by which band?

It was one of five singles from the album, alongside Mariners Apartment Complex and Venice Bitch.

Don't Call Me Angel, from the 2019 Charlie's Angels soundtrack, teamed Del Rey with which two singers?

It was the lead single from the film's soundtrack.

What is the title of the poetry and photography collection she published in 2020?

A spoken-word audiobook produced by Jack Antonoff came out two months before the physical book.

Chemtrails over the Country Club (2021) is described as what kind of record?

It debuted at number one in eight countries and features Nikki Lane, Weyes Blood and Zella Day.

Blue Banisters was originally announced under what working title?

The cover shows her sitting between her dogs Tex and Mex, who are mentioned in the title track.

On Taylor Swift's original Snow on the Beach, what did Del Rey contribute?

Fan complaints led Swift to release a 'More Lana Del Rey' version in May 2023.

Where did Snow on the Beach peak on the Billboard Hot 100, her highest-charting song?

It also reached number three on the Billboard Global 200.

The tunnel in the title of Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd is in which city?

The Jergins Tunnel, built in 1927 and closed in 1967, symbolises her fear of being forgotten.

Which single from Ocean Blvd did Rolling Stone name one of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time?

It earned Song of the Year and Best Alternative Music Performance nominations at the 2024 Grammys.

Lana Del Rey's 'Say Yes to Heaven', recorded in 2013 and released in 2023, was originally intended for which release?

It became a Billboard Global 200 top-20 hit ten years after it was written.

In July 2023 Del Rey was photographed working a shift at which restaurant chain in Alabama?

The manager even asked her to serve a regular customer.

How many Grammy nominations did Del Rey receive for the 2024 ceremony?

They included Album of the Year for Ocean Blvd and a Best Pop Duo/Group nod for Candy Necklace with Jon Batiste.

Her tenth album, first announced as Lasso, was confirmed in January 2026 under what title?

Announced as her first country album, it was previewed at Stagecoach in April 2025.

Which rapper joined her on the July 2024 single Tough?

It arrived a few months after her April 2024 headline slot at Coachella.

At which festival did Del Rey resume performing with a headlining slot in April 2024?

A year later she previewed her country songs at Stagecoach on the same site.

In 2026 she released a song titled First Light for what?

She recorded it with veteran Bond composer David Arnold for 007: First Light.

How many Grammy nominations had Del Rey received in total as of the 2024 ceremony?

She had not won one by then, though her Cedric Gervais remix did take home a trophy for its remixer.

Rolling Stone UK named Del Rey what in 2023?

The US edition put her on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time the same year.

Which award did she win at the 2013 Brit Awards?

She followed it with two Echo Awards in Germany.

Del Rey has described her vocal range as spanning more than how many octaves?

She lowered her voice on Born to Die because, she said, people were not taking her seriously.

Which film soundtrack did she cite as a partial inspiration for Born to Die?

She has also named Walt Whitman and Allen Ginsberg as instrumental to her songwriting.

Under the name Lizzy Grant she jokingly described her music as what genre?

Her May Jailer material, by contrast, was acoustic.

What did she reveal in October 2022 was stolen from her car, along with a laptop holding her only copy of a poetry book?

She wiped the laptop remotely, losing the book in the process.

In which New York City borough was Lana Del Rey born in 1985?

Her parents both worked at the advertising firm Grey Global Group before the family moved to Lake Placid.

Under which of these names did she perform in New York clubs before settling on Lana Del Rey?

Another early billing was 'Lizzy Grant and the Phenomena'.

Which carmaker had Del Rey unveil its F-Type at the 2012 Paris Motor Show?

She recorded 'Burning Desire' for a promotional short film about the car.

In which New Jersey town did Del Rey live in a trailer after her first record advance?

At Manhattan Mobile Home Park she began working with producer David Kahne.

Which football club's anthem, 'You'll Never Walk Alone', did Del Rey perform for a 2020 documentary?

Profits from her limited-edition single went to the club's foundation; she has attended matches at Anfield.

Under what working title was Chemtrails over the Country Club originally slated for 2020 release?

A delay in vinyl manufacturing pushed the album back to March 2021.

Which director's Hollywood Walk of Fame star did Del Rey present in August 2019?

The same day she released a cover of 'Season of the Witch' for his film Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.

Which HBO series premiered Del Rey's song 'Watercolor Eyes' in January 2022?

That October she was featured on Taylor Swift's 'Snow on the Beach'.