Katheryn Hudson was born on October 25, 1984, in Santa Barbara, California. Her parents were both pastors, which indirectly led the young songstress (who later became known as Katy Perry) to music. She was always in church and very active in the congregation's choir (since her parents didn't allow secular music in the home).
However, during her childhood, Katy Perry admits she wasn't a "good little church school," and often marched to the beat of her own drum. She was a tad rebellious and loved her Queen album, which she says served as a huge inspiration for her to become a singer.
In 2001, when she was just 17 years old, Katy Perry released her first album, a Christian self-titled CD with a true gospel sound. She then experimented as a solo musician as well as singing with a live band.
Her songs were picked up for various soundtracks along the way, including for MTV's The Hills, with Lauren Conrad and Heidi Montag, as well as for the flick The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005) with Blake Lively. However, she was still waiting for her big break.
It finally came when Katy Perry attracted the attention of well-known record agency Virgin Records, and they signed her.
It was a long haul but, in 2007, Katy Perry began recording her second album, One of the Boys, which included the hit singles "UR So Gay" and "I Kissed a Girl." The album was released in 2008, and a song from it was used on the soundtrack for the comedy flick Baby Mama, starring Amy Poehler and Tina Fey.
Also in 2008, Katy Perry decided to try her hand at acting and appeared in one episode of the television show Wildfire.
That summer, she joined musical acts like Gym Class Heroes and Reel Big Fish in the 2008 Warped Tour.
She appeared on The Young and the Restless in June 2008 as well, adding to her modest but growing acting resume.
Perry embarked on the Hello Katy Tour in January of 2009, was nominated for as Grammy for “I Kissed a Girl” and won Best International Female Artist at the 2009 BRIT Awards. Although she was still singing about girl-on-girl action, Katy was caught kissing infamous sex addict comedian Russell Brand in late ’09. The two are still together, and Perry is back in the studio working on her next album.
