Way before Lady Gaga, Stefani Germanotta as a young girl taking first communion in second grade at age of seven

Seven-year-old Stefani Germanotta sitting at her piano in 1993.

Lady Gaga wearing sunglasses in Halloween 2000, age 14. At the time she was a student of the exclusive Convent of the Sacred Heart Catholic school in New York.

Miss Stefani Germanotta singing in Christmas concert (middle), age 14

Lady Gaga playing piano and singing at International Night event, age 15 – circa 2001

Lady Gaga at a winter dance in 2003, age 17.

Lady Gaga in a picture with senior class from 2004 yearbook (bottom row, far left)

A personal profile picture of an 18-year-old Lady Gaga when she attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in 2004

An 18-year-old Stefani Germanotta appears on MTV's 'Boiling Points' - a reality show which puts unsuspecting subjects in irritating situations and awards them $100 if they stay cool and collected for the duration of the prank. Gaga didn't stay the distance! - 2005

An early Gaga live performance at The Bitter End in Hollywood, California – January 2006

A brown haired, 21-year-old Lady Gaga plays Lollapalozza Festival in Chicago. The set is regarded as one of the pivotal moments in her career – August 2007

Lady Gaga transgresses into the style icon we all know and love at the Michalsky Fashion Show at Uferhalle, Germany – July 2008

Lady Gaga performs at Perez Hilton's 'One Night In New York City' event at The Highline Ballroom – October 2008

Lady Gaga's very first headline show in London at the G-A-Y nightclub – January 2009

Lady Gaga supports The Pussycat Dolls at the Manchester Evening News Arena – January 2009

Wearing a teapot inspired outfit, Gaga performs at the 2009 Brit Awards ceremony in London with The Pet Shop Boys and Brandon Flowers – February 2009

The second show of Lady Gaga's first gargantuan tour – The Fame Ball Tour - at the Wiltern in Los Angeles, California. The tour, which included an appearance at Glastonbury Festival lasted until the autumn – March 2009

Gaga's first, slightly awkward appearance on Friday Night With Jonathan Ross – April 2009

Lady Gaga does her first 'nude' magazine shoot for The Rolling Stone – May 2009

Lady Gaga rocks Glastonbury Festival – June 2009

Gaga baffles at a press conference for Isle of MTV in Malta wearing what appears to be a gimp mask – July 2009

Channelling the spirit of the Twilight saga, Gaga flashes her fangs at photographers at London's Heathrow Airport – August 2009

Lady Gaga performs at the MTV Video Music Awards,a performance which angered some charities after she pretended to stab herself on stage, unleashing fake blood – September 2009

Lady Gaga speaks on the south lawn of The United States Capitol at the rally for the National Equality March – October 2009.

Lady Gaga and Madonna's infamous kiss on Saturday Night Live – October 2009

Looking slightly freaky at the 13th annual ACE Awards Gala held at Cipriani, New York City – November 2009

An iconic still from the 'Bad Romance' music video – a promo which has attracted more than 200million views on YouTube alone – November 2009

The opening night of the North American leg of The Monster Ball tour hits Tornoto's Bell Centre – November 2009

Lady Gaga meets The Queen following the Royal Variety Performance in Blackpool, England – December 2009

Lady Gaga at the Castle Pub, Horn Lane, Acton, London, England after her appearance on the X Factor – December 2009

Lady Gaga rings in the New Year at Fontainbleau in Miami Beach, Florida with a typically outrageous show – December 2009/January 2010

The headline stealing Lady Gaga 'hair hat' unveiled at the Las Vegas Convention Center – January 2010

Lady Gaga dazzles in a space-age outfit on the red carpet of The 52nd Grammy Awards at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The singer scooped two awards: best dance recording for Poker Face and best electronic/dance album for The Fame – January 2010

Lady Gaga ups the weird outfit ante at her second Brit Awards ceremony. The tearful star won in all three categories she was nominated in – February 2010

The opening night of the European leg of The Monster Ball tour kicks off at the Manchester Evening News Arena and Gaga. Featuring giant monsters and awe-inspiring sets, the tour is an emphatic success – February 2010

Now an outright pop megastar, Lady Gaga gets a tattoo dedicated to her millions of 'Little Monsters', her fans – February 2010

Gaga channels the spirit of The Incredibles following one of her triumphant shows at London O2 Arena – February 2010

Lady Gaga stars in the epic, nine-minute Jonas Akerlund directed 'Telephone' video. Easily one of the defining moments of her brief career – March 2010

The singer has continued to shock, wearing a meat dress to the MTV Video Music Awards in 2010.

Lady Gaga's Monster Ball was one of the biggest tours of 2010 and saw the star perform over 100 dates around the world. It still hasn't finished.

On New Years Eve, Lady Gaga revealed that her new album Born This Way will be released in May 2011.

The single, which features this incredible photo, was released on February 11.