Highlights
- Lady Gaga's IQ is rumored to be 166, which would make her "exceptionally gifted" and place her in the top percentage of intelligent individuals.
- The source of Gaga's IQ claim is unclear, as there are no valid sources or documented results of her taking an IQ test.
- While Gaga has displayed intelligence through her talents and achievements, it is difficult to quantify intelligence solely based on IQ, as it tests various cognitive abilities and may have limitations in measuring exceptionally high scores.
It's hard to deny Lady Gaga's brilliance, after her rise to fame with what was then perceived as quirky and offbeat music. Today, Gaga has millions of ardent followers, and the market for her music is massive. Not only that, but fans love Gaga for her personality, positive messages, and creativity when it comes to everything from her lyrics to her outfits.
That's not to say the artist hasn't experienced controversy during many outrageous moments, but her fans have stuck by her all this time. Gaga is highly revered for many reasons, but one might be the fact that she's said to be smarter than many of her contemporaries. It's long been stated that Lady Gaga's IQ is a whopping 166, edging into genius territory. But is it true?
Many Celebrities Are Rumored To Have High IQs
Lady Gaga isn't the only smart cookie in Hollywood if her IQ figure is to be believed. Plenty of other celebrities are renowned for having tons of smarts, though it's not clear where the numbers come from in most cases.
Celebs rumored to have high IQs include Conan O'Brien, Matt Damon, Quentin Tarantino, Ashton Kutcher, Lisa Kudrow, and more. The only celeb quoted to have a higher IQ than Lady Gaga, however, is Melania Trump; the former First Lady is said to have an IQ of 200.
For reference, Stephen Hawking, a renowned theoretical physicist, apparently had an IQ of 160. However, even that figure is debatable; no one knows whether Hawking actually took an IQ test at any point, and his score would have placed him within the top .003 percent of brainiacs ever documented.
An average person in the United States has an IQ of around 98, while the highest-ever documented IQ (as confirmed by Guinness) was Marilyn vos Savant at 228. Many other people have been given high IQs or ranges, but it's important to note that many are simply estimates.
Even famous people like Albert Einstein probably never took IQ tests, so their 'scores' are the result of pure (hopefully educated) speculation.
What does that mean for the IQ stated for Lady Gaga?
Lady Gaga's IQ Is Quoted As 166, But There's No Concrete Proof
An IQ of 166 would mean Lady Gaga is "exceptionally gifted," a label that most of her fans aren't going to argue with. But there are at least two problems with her reported IQ score: one is the fact that no one knows whether Gaga has taken an IQ test.
The other issue is that there appear to be no valid sources for the original claim that Gaga's IQ is 166. Even if she did take an IQ test, no one has the documented results. The 166 could be an estimated figure based on what people know about Lady Gaga.
To be fair, she does seem exceptionally smart. Stefani Germanotta plays the piano, is said to know conversational French, and has come up with some of the most iconic songs over two decades. Plus, she's had her fair share of acting gigs that showcase another side of her talent.
Does all of that mean she's necessarily a genius? Not necessarily.
Lady Gaga's intelligence is hard to quantify, especially because IQ isn't just about "smarts." IQ tests assess intelligence, sure, but they also test memory (both short- and long-term) and test takers' abilities to answer questions rapidly (versus answering them—albeit correctly—after a delay).
Plus, some tests top out at a score lower than what Lady Gaga's and other stars' IQs have been reported at; an 11-year-old earned a "perfect score" of 162 on an IQ test in 2016. This suggests that either fans are over-exaggerating celebrities' scores or there is more than one type of IQ range—or both.
Is Lady Gaga's Career Evidence Of Her High IQ?
Fans who questioned Lady Gaga's apparent IQ score have turned to the internet for more information. One such online discussion wound up on Quora, where one self-proclaimed armchair IQ expert explained their thoughts on Gaga's career and how the IQ estimation came about.
The author of the extensive Quora reply confirmed that they were unable to find "any reliable source" for Lady Gaga's IQ, which makes sense. They also wrote that there is a "credible" way to estimate her IQ, and that's by picking apart her academic prowess.
The "proof" of Lady Gaga's estimated IQ is that she was admitted into an educational program that only accepts high-scoring students (based on SAT or ACT test scores). Apparently, Lady Gaga joined other esteemed smarties like Mark Zuckerberg and Sergey Brin in an exclusive program.
Psychology Today described Zuckerberg, Brin, Bill Gates, and Steve Jobs as Stefani Germanotta's contemporaries on the "top 1 percent of brains" list.
While Lady Gaga's exact IQ still remains unknown, it's entirely reasonable, given this evidence, that it's somewhere around 166. In fact, it could even be higher.
To find out her true IQ, though, fans would need Lady Gaga to sit down and take an IQ test, something she probably doesn't have much interest in—or time for—given how successful and busy her career is thanks to multiple top-selling albums.
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