Born on October 25, 1984, Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. She is better known by her stage name, Katy Perry. Known for her impact on contemporary pop music and her bohemian style, she was named the "Queen of Camp" by Rolling Stone and Vogue. Perry's gospel album Katy Hudson (2001), published at the age of sixteen by Red Hill Records, was not a commercial success. At the age of 17, she relocated to Los Angeles in order to pursue a career in secular music. She eventually took on her mother's maiden name as her stage name, "Katy Perry". Before joining with Capitol Records, she was dropped by Columbia Records after recording an album.
She had a "wild youth" and both of her parents became religious. Perry is descended from English, German, Irish, and Portuguese people. Her mother is related to film director Frank Perry as a niece. She is the older sister of Angela, and the younger brother of singer David.
Perry and her siblings were forced to refer to deviled eggs as "angeled eggs" and were forbidden from eating the cereal Lucky Charms as children because their mother thought the word "luck" was associated with Lucifer. Being up in a household where nonreligious music was typically frowned upon, Perry's primary musical preference was gospel. It was via CDs she stole from her pals that she became aware of popular music. Perry later related a story about how she was inspired to write and sing after hearing "You Oughta Know" by Alanis Morissette played by a friend.
She has said that, although she does not consider herself to be religious, "I pray all the time – for self-control, for humility." Perry started singing by using her sister's cassette tapes as practise because she wanted to sound like her sister Angela. She played the songs for her parents, who agreed to allow her study voice like Angela was at the time. At nine years old, she started her training, and from nine to seventeen, she sang in churches as part of her parents' ministry. Perry received her first guitar for her birthday when she was thirteen, and she sang songs she had written in public. When she was younger, she attempted to "be a bit like the typical Californian girl" and began rollerblading, skateboarding, and surfing.