She’s a great singer, an awesome lyricist, and a total style icon – but how much do you actually know about Lana Del Rey? This list of fifteen fabulous facts will definitely contain a few surprises! So, read on to learn about Lana’s inspirations, her charity work, her tattoos – and what her real name is! Then, when you’re done, you’ll be more than ready for a Lana Del Rey trivia quiz! Or maybe you’d prefer a lyrics quiz, or a personality quiz to find out which Lana Del Rey song you are!

1. Her real name is Elizabeth

Lana Del Rey is her glam stage name, but she was born Elizabeth Woolridge Grant and called Lizzy by her family and friends! She chose her stage name because she wanted something inspired by classic Americana, as well the glamour of the Miami beaches she spent a lot of time at. “Lana” is a reference to actress Lana Turner, who was a huge name in the 1940s; and “Del Rey” references the Ford Del Rey sedan, which was a popular car in Brazil in the 1980s. She originally spelled the name “Lana Del Ray.”

2. She’s performed under a lot of names!

But Lana Del Rey wasn’t her first stage name! Lana first started performing under the name “May Jailer”, and she recorded her first album Sirens under this name. Though the album was never officially released, it leaked on the internet in 2012. She also released an EP called Kill Kill under her own name, Lizzy Grant. As a teenager and young adult, Lana also performed as “Sparkle Jump Rope Queen”!

3. She’s a New Yorker

Well, by birth at least! Lana was born in New York City – specifically in Manhattan, the big island in the middle of the city. Her family moved to upstate New York when Lana was one year old though, so she grew up there. Lana struggled a lot in her teenage years, but found comfort in music and performing.

4. She has a lot of cool collabs

Lana is well-known for the amazing creative collaborations she’s done with other top musical artists! Some of her co-creators include The Weeknd, Jack Antonoff, Taylor Swift, Cat Power, A$AP Rocky, Father John Misty, Sean Ono Lennon, Miles Kane, and music legend Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac fame!

5. She’s also a writer

Lana is a singer-songwriter, which means she pens most of her own music, something that not all singers do. She’s also written songs for other artists, including tracks for The Weeknd’s album Starboy and Jack Antonoff’s band Bleachers, and for X-Factor stars Cheryl and Diana Vickers! In 2020 she also released a book of poems.

6. She has tattoos

Most of Lana’s tattoos are small, but she does have a few! She has the letter “M” tattooed on her left hand, which is a tribute to her grandmother Madeleine, as well as the word “paradise”. She also has the names of several of her favourite writers and singers, and “Chateau Marmont”, which is a hotel in Los Angeles beloved by celebrities.

7. She has a LOT of influences

Speaking of influences, Lana has a LOT of amazing artists that have inspired her work! She cites singers such as Amy Winehouse, Whitney Houston, Nina Simone, Billie Holiday, Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Nancy Sinatra, Janis Joplin, Cat Power, Lou Reed, Bruce Springsteen, Britney Spears, Leonard Cohen, Eminem and Courtney Love; and also bands like The Eagles, The Crystals and Nirvana.

8. …and she’s influenced a lot of musicians!

Lana’s style is undeniable, and many more music stars have named her as their inspiration! Billie Eilish, Renee Rapp, Madison Beer, Lorde, Adele, Chappell Roan and Olivia Rodrigo have all said that they were inspired by Lana’s musical style.

9. She has a very specific aesthetic

If you’re a Lana fan you’ll already know all about how important her visuals are – but you may not know where they come from! Lana is especially inspired by old Hollywood aesthetics, but she takes her fashion style and the look of her videos from all sorts of American cultural themes and figures. She also takes a lot of inspiration from the world of cinema, and names directors David Lynch, John Waters and Federico Fellini as especially influential on her sound and visual style. She has also visually and lyrically referenced writers Allen Ginsberg, Walt Whitman and Vladimir Nabokov; painters Mark Ryden, Pablo Picasso and Norman Rockwell; and actors Lauren Bacall and Marilyn Monroe. See, we said she had a lot of inspiration!

10. She’s won a lot of awards

Lana is a VERY successful musician, with a huge fanbase and a lot of praise from critics – and she’s got the awards to prove it, too! She has 3 MTV Music Awards, 2 Brit Awards, 9 GAFFA Awards and a Satellite Award. She also has multiple Grammy nominations and a nomination for Best Original Song at the Holden Globes!

11. She supports charity

Like a lot of celebs, Lana uses her wealth and fame to do some real good. She’s been particularly supportive of efforts to help people affected by gun violence. She also donated $350,000 from the sales of her poetry book to charities providing water to remote communities. Her philanthropy started way before fame, though – in the early 2000s Lana volunteered at a homeless shelter and helped build houses for the Navajo Nation.

12. She’s smart!

Lana studied philosophy at Fordham University in New York City. She chose to focus on metaphysics, which is the branch of philosophy that examines the structure of reality. Some very famous philosophers wrote about metaphysics, including Plato, Aristotle, Rene Descartes, David Hume and Bertrand Russell (hey, maybe one day her name will be up there too!). Lana said that the subject has always fascinated her, and she was especially interested in “the gap between God and science.”

13. Her sister does a lot of work with her

Lana has two siblings – a brother named Charlie, and a sister named Caroline (nicknamed Chuck). Chuck Grant is a professional photographer, and she’s done a lot of work for Lana, including photoshoots to promote her albums. Chuck also directed three videos for Lana’s sixth album, and co-wrote the song “Sweet Carolina”.

14. She broke her arm trying to her own stunts!

In the music video for her 2021 song “White Dress”, Lana’s arm is in a sling. This wasn’t an aesthetic choice – she actually tried to do the rollerblading stunts in the video and wiped out on her skates! A stunt double did the tricky work in the final video – if you watch carefully, you’ll notice the video cuts between showing her body and her face!

15. She’s a footie fan

Believe it or not, Lana is a huge fan of Liverpool FC! She was apparently introduced by her manager, has been photographed wearing the team scarf, and even recorded a cover of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” to aid charities supported by the Liverpool FC Foundation.