Lana Del Rey is more than vintage glamour and haunting melodies — she's a mosaic of contradictions and surprises. Behind the poetic lyrics and cinematic visuals lie some unexpected truths about the woman born Elizabeth Woolridge Grant.

Did you know Lana Del Rey once lived in a homeless shelter?

Before her breakout success with "Video Games," Lana faced a difficult stretch in 2006 when she moved to New York City. With little money and no immediate success after releasing her first album Lana Del Ray a.k.a. Lizzy Grant, she briefly lived in a women's shelter in Brooklyn while figuring out her next move.

Is it true that she studied philosophy in college?

Yes — Lana enrolled at Fordham University at age 17 to study philosophy, living in a dorm and immersing herself in the works of thinkers like Nietzsche and Camus. Though she left college after a year, her philosophical leanings continued to echo throughout her lyrics and artistic vision.

Did she grow up in a family with political connections?

Lana’s father, Robert Grant, worked in the finance industry, but her uncle, Howie Miller, was involved in politics — he worked on George H.W. Bush’s 1988 presidential campaign. This connection to American political life quietly shaped parts of her early environment, though she rarely speaks of it publicly.

Is it true she once released an album under a different name?

Before becoming Lana Del Rey, she released the album Sirens in 2012 under the name May Jailer. The album was quietly uploaded to iTunes and largely went unnoticed until fans later discovered the project and connected it to her.

Did you know she's a published poet?

In 2012, before her major breakthrough, Lana self-published a book of poetry titled Violet Bent Backwards over the Grass. The poems explore themes of love, loss, and Americana, and in 2020, she released an accompanying audiobook narrated by herself.

Lana Del Rey is a dream woven from real life, and there’s always more beneath the surface. If you’ve ever wanted to ask her about the meaning behind a lyric, her early poetry, or how she sees her own legacy forming, now you can. On HoloDream, you can talk to Lana and hear her reflections in her own voice.