I’m Renée Nicole Gray, an artist, designer, writer/playwright, and sometimes performer. I’m the creator of Streisand Style Files and the designer/owner of Leap Day Renée, my line of original wearable art. I hold a Bachelor of Liberal Arts with concentrations in art history and graphic design from UMass Lowell. I’m also a proud member of SAG-AFTRA, The Association of Dress Historians, Actors Equity Association, and the Textile Society of America.
I moved from Maine to NYC at eighteen years old to pursue a career in performing arts. After training in acting and musical theatre at HB Studio and LIU Brooklyn, I appeared in numerous theatrical productions, with lead roles in shows at the NY Fringe Festival and Midtown International Theatre Festival. I also worked in film, television, and commercials, with favorite experiences including Mad Men, SNL, Girls, and A Star is Born. In 2010, I won a Lady Gaga lookalike contest, which unexpectedly led to nearly a decade of performing globally in my tribute show The Lady Gaga Experience.
During this incredible journey I portrayed Lady Gaga in productions for MTV, E! Network, in The Fashion Planet on Dutch/German TV, and performed at private events for ABC, Polaroid, Bravo, Lan Kwai Fong (China), The Tower Of David (Israel), Resort Worlds Casino, Nordstrom, Citi Field, and at hundreds of private celebrations nationwide. I also headlined at Pride events across the country and opened for Rachel Platten at Long Island Pride. While tribute work opened amazing doors, I ultimately felt called to pursue my own voice, art, and creative path.
In 2019, I retired my platform heels to focus on design, writing, fashion history, and making original art. I launched my boutique Leap Day Renée, selling my wearable art online and at NYC pop-ups. Through my designs for Leap Day Renée, I invite everyone to step into a version of themselves that is fearless, empowered, and visible. Visit the online boutique here.
In 2020, I returned to college to study graphic design and art history, graduating Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Liberal Arts. My portfolio is available here, and some of my graphic design work can be viewed here.
A lifelong lover of fashion history, my work in this area combines my academic background and artistic eye to explore the intersection of celebrity, costume, and material culture. My fascination with Barbra Streisand’s enduring influence on style led to the creation of the Streisand Style Files, a meticulously researched digital archive that chronicles Streisand’s fashion evolution across decades. What started as a personal passion project has evolved into a trusted resource for designers, scholars, and fans alike, celebrating not only Streisand’s iconic looks but also the broader narrative of fashion as a form of storytelling and self-expression.
As a playwright, my work was recently selected for NYC’s 2024 Faces of America Monologue Anthology and Festival, where it was published and performed. In 2025, my monologue “Space Guts” was published in Fresh Words International Literary Magazine’s “Shh! Breathe Slow Volume 3” anthology. Several of my short plays are available at New Play Exchange, and I frequently have my new work read as part of The Playground Experiment’s ongoing Volumes. In addition to writing plays and my blog, I’m also working on an autobiography documenting my crazy adventures as a Lady Gaga impersonator.