Katy Perry opened up to Vanity Fair, dishing on how the pop princess went from preacher's kid to a self-described "ballsy girl."
In 1984, Perry was born to evangelical, traveling ministers Mary and Keith Hudson, 63. Although the family travelled a lot, Perry mostly grew up in Santa Barbara, California.
The singer grew up sheltered by parents who didn't read her bedtime stories and forbid her from listening to secular music. But this firm form of child rearing may have proved worthwhile when Perry moved to Los Angeles at 17.
As a fledgling artist in the City of Angels, Perry spent time in nightclubs but never suffered seeing herself on the cover of a grocery tabloid in a moment of intoxication, an occurrence that has plagued some of her contemporaries.
Perry released four top singles on one album, Teenage Dream, and was the first female artist to do so in more than 20 years, but she was far from an overnight success.
At 15, Perry began her professional singing career in Nashville, recording a Christian album that only sold a few hundred copies.
The songstress revealed part of the secret to her massive success, saying, "I don't take anything for granted. There are so many different talents out there just waiting to be found. There are 500 other girls right behind me. And I know that, because I was one of them."
Perry also dished on one of the keys to her marriage with comedian Russell Brand, citing their trust in one another as a major factor.
