Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984) and better known by her stage name of "Katy Perry”, is an American singer, songwriter and actress.Born in Santa Barbara, California, and raised by Christian pastor parents, Perry grew up listening to only gospel music and sang in her local church as a child.After her first year of high school, she began to pursue a career in music. As "Katy Hudson”, she released a self-titled gospel album in 2001, which was unsuccessful. She later recorded an album with production team "The Matrix” and completed the majority of a solo album from 2004–05, the latter of which was never released.She rose to fame with the release of her second single "I Kissed a Girl” in 2008, which went on to top international charts.Perry’s first mainstream studio album One of the Boys followed later that year and earned two Grammy Awards nominations. Her third studio album Teenage Dream was released in August 2010 and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200  and subsequently became the eleventh best selling album worldwide of 2010 and ninth best selling album worldwide of 2011. The recording earned six Grammy Award nominations, including the coveted Album of the Year and Record of the Year. In December 15, 2011, she was elected the Artist of the Year by MTV.According to Nielsen SoundScan, she sold over 37,620,000 million digital tracks in the United States alone, and sold more 11 million albums worldwide, which makes her one of the best selling artists of all time. Perry had a long relationship with Travie McCoy. She later married Russell Brand in October 2010 and separated from him in December 2011.Her song, The One That Got Away is currently number five on the American billboard