Does Lady Gaga smoke?: No; in an interview, she said, Im not smoking anymore but I smoked 40 cigarettes all day long. [6]Independent.Gaga attended a private all-girls Roman Catholic school. She described her school life as very dedicated, very studious, very disciplined but also a bit insecure. Once, in an interview, she said-.She had taught herself to play the piano just by hearing others, and she started playing at the age of 4. Her mother wanted her to play the piano; as she wanted Gaga to be a cultured young woman. She created her first piano ballad when she was only 13 years old, and a year later, she started performing at open mic nights. Lady Gaga playing piano during her younger years.She has also studied method acting at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in New York for ten years. She has played lead roles in plays such as Guys and Dolls and Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Lady Gaga during her college days.In 2003, she was one of the students who got an early admission in CAP21 Tisch School of the Arts. She used to live in a New York Dorm, where she worked on her songwriting skills and wrote essays and articles on art, religion, social, and political issues. Lady Gaga (kneeling left) during her days in NYU.In 2005, during the second semester of her sophomore year, she quit school to focus on her music career. However, her father was not happy with her decision.The name Lady Gaga was suggested to her by her former boyfriend Robert Fusari. Fusari was texting Gaga about the Queen song Radio Ga Ga, when a glitch changed it to Lady Gaga. As soon as she got the text, she replied-.Fusari and Gaga had also created a company named, Team Lovechild to promote Gagas career. They used to record and produce electropop tracks and send it to music industry executives.Def Jam Recordings responded positively to her tracks, and they signed her into Def Jam in September 2006. However, she was dropped from the label three months later. She returned home and started performing at Neo-Burlesque shows.While performing at Neo-Burlesque shows, she met the performance artist, Lady Starlight, who helped her mold her onstage persona. They started performing at many shows, and eventually, they were known as Lady Gaga and the Starlight Revue. They also performed at the 2007 Lollapalooza Music Festival. Lady Gaga and Lady Starlight (right) at the 2007 Lollapalooza Music Festival.