Lady Gaga reveals how mental health struggles shaped Harley Quinn role

In an interview with Vogue, Lady Gaga confessed that her personal experiences with mental health helped her prepare for the role of Harley Quinn. The singer and actress played this iconic character in the anticipated film Joker: Folie à Deux, directed by Todd Phillips, in which she starred alongside Joaquin Phoenix.

“Harley Quinn is a character people know from the ether of pop culture. I had a different experience creating her, namely my experience with mania and chaos inside,” she shared in an interview with the magazine. She took this opportunity to highlight the stereotypical perception of women as emotional and unpredictable when, in reality, they are often just emotionally overloaded.

Lady Gaga knows precisely what she is talking about. Several years ago, she began sharing information about her mental health struggles. Her first depressive episodes occurred when she was still a teenager. She was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. Over time, she began to experience panic attacks accompanied by whole-body pain and stiffness. After years, she was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, a rheumatic disease that often develops in people who experienced trauma at a young age.

The artist has a history of self-harm and has also had suicidal thoughts. All of these difficult experiences help her embody new characters today.

Besides working on "Joker: Folie à Deux," Lady Gaga has also been working on new music recently. The first single from her new album is set to be released in October, and the premiere of "Joker: Folie à Deux" is scheduled for October 4. Gaga wants her fans to know about the happiness and health she has found after the difficult years.