Photo of Renee Nicole Gray smiling with victory rolls in a vintage white fur stole

I moved to NYC from Maine at eighteen years old to pursue a career in performing arts. My life has since been devoted to creating art in a wide variety of mediums. As a performer, I have worked in numerous film and TV productions, commercials, print ads, and as a voice-over artist for the Playboy cartoon “Bunni Power.” Some of my theatrical roles include appearances in the NYC Fringe Festival and Midtown International Theatre Festival. After many years of work, I was proud to join actor’s unions SAG-AFTRA and Actors Equity. I have also worked as a costume designer for multiple productions.

Photographed entering Barbra Streisand’s Village Vanguard concert on Sept. 26, 2009. Photo by Chad Batka for The New York Times.

I’m best known for my decade of work as Hollywood’s go-to Lady Gaga lookalike, sound alike, and tribute artist. In 2010 I won a lookalike contest and stumbled into a job as a Lady Gaga impersonator. I went on to create the tribute show “The Lady Gaga Experience.” This was an amazing adventure, during which I opened for K Pop star G.E.M. in China, and Rachel Platten. I played Lady Gaga in productions for MTV, E! Network, and in “The Fashion Planet” on Dutch/German TV, and performed at private events for ABC, Bravo, Lan Kwai Fong (China), The Tower Of David (Israel), Citi Field, and hundreds more. During this time, I was making my own costumes and accessories and was inspired to start designing original work. I opened my boutique in 2018. While playing Lady Gaga was tons of fun, I wanted to do more with my life than just celebrate and mimic someone else’s career. I evolved away from doing impersonator work in 2019 to pursue other interests. Currently, I’m currently working on a book about this period of my life (read snippets at mylifeasladygaga.com.)

I have always loved fashion history and Barbra Streisand. Combining these interests, I created The Streisand Style Files in 2019 to celebrate her iconic fashion style and document the designers who have contributed to it. I publish my general royal dress/costume and fashion history research at The Dresstorian, and am a member of The Costume Society of America and The Association of Dress Historians. One of my reviews, published in the Journal of Dress History can be found below. To contact me, email reneenicolegray@gmail.com, or connect with me on LinkedIn or social media @reneenicolegray.