Surprising Facts You Didn’t Know About Lana Del Rey

You know the velvet vocals, the Hollywood sadcore, the obsession with Americana—but who is Lana Del Rey when the spotlight dims? Beneath the vintage Cadillac dreams and baroque melodrama lives a woman full of quiet contradictions. Let’s pull back the curtain on some truths even diehard fans might miss.

Did you know Lana’s first album was released under a different name?

Before the world knew her as Lana Del Rey, she recorded a synth-pop album under "Lizzy Grant" in 2010. Titled Lana Del Ray, it was a self-funded, tropical-tinged departure from the cinematic noir she’d later perfect. (She’d retool her sound and image entirely after that first attempt.)

Is it true she contributed spoken word to a Florence + The Machine song?

Yes—her haunting narration appears on the unreleased track "Ceremonials (Lana’s Version)". Florence Welch once called their collaboration "alchemy between two ghosts," though the track remains in the vaults. Fans have pieced together fragments from live shows, but the full version is still a mystery.

Did she really buy a vintage Porsche for $30,000 in a parking lot?

Absolutely. Her midnight-blue 1964 Porsche 911 became a symbol of her "ride or die" era. She’s said it reminded her of "driving with James Dean to the edge of the world," and yes—she still owns it.

Is the Norman F**ing Rockwell* album name a joke about therapy?

Not quite, but close. Lana has said the title was born from a therapist’s frustration: "You’re just like Norman Rockwell! You paint things so perfect, but they’re not." She leaned into the irony, riffing on the painter’s idealized America to contrast her own messy, modern disillusionment.

Did she write a poem for a French New Wave icon’s tribute book?

Yes—Alain Delon once asked Lana to contribute a poem to a collection honoring his career. She obliged with a surreal, romantic piece comparing him to a "golden-age comet" she’d loved since childhood. Delon reportedly called it "the only words that ever made me blush."