2. Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1986), better known by her stage name
Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter. Del Rey initially began performing in
clubs in New York City at age 18 and signed her first recording contract when she was
20 years old with 5 Points Records, releasing her first digital album Lana Del Ray a.k.a.
Lizzy Grant in January 2010. Del Rey bought herself out of the contract with 5 Points
Records in April 2010 and signed a joint contract with Interscope, Polydor, and
Stranger Records in October 2011.
3. Del Rey was born Elizabeth Woolridge Grant in New York City on
June 21, 1986, child of domain investor Rob Grant, and was
raised in Lake Placid, New York.She is of Scottish descent. Aged
fourteen, she was sent to Kent School, a boarding school in
Connecticut, to deal with her alcohol dependence,before heading
back to her hometown at the age of eighteen. Del Rey then
attended Fordham University in New York City, studying a branch
of philosophy known as metaphysics. She revealed, "that was
when my musical experience began. I kind of found people for
myself."
After her uncle taught her how to play guitar, she "realized [she]
could probably write a million songs with those six chords," and
began performing in clubs around the city under various names
such as Sparkle Jump Rope Queen and Lizzy Grant and the
Phenomena. "I was always singing, but didn't plan on pursuing it
seriously. When I got to New York City when I was eighteen, I
started playing in clubs in Brooklyn—I have good friends and
devoted fans on the underground scene, but we were playing for
each other at that point—and that was it," she revealed.