Rumors about celebrities are often bizarre, and a popular one seems to be that Katy Perry is adopted. But is this actually true?
Katy Perry was not adopted. Her birth parents are Mary Christine and Maurice Keith Hudson. Both are born-again Christians and pastors, and she is the niece of filmmaker Frank Perry. She was born in California, and has two siblings; an older sister and a younger brother. She still spends most of her time in her hometown – Santa Barbara.
Read on to learn more about Katy Perry’s family!
Katy is Very Close with Her Family
Katy Perry was born in Santa Barbara, California, but has English, German, Irish, and Portuguese ancestry. Her parents are Mary Christine and Maurice Keith Hudson – born-again Christians and Pentecostal pastors. Katy’s birth name was Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson, but when she was beginning to gain fame, she feared people might confuse her with the actress Kate Hudson, so she changed her first name to Katy, and took her mother’s maiden name – Perry – as her last name. In fact, through her mother she is also related to Oscar-winning director Frank Perry.
Katy’s parents were the reason she initially only made Christian music; secular music was discouraged in her house. She was a part of their ministry and sang in their church until she was 17. She is not very religious herself, but has said, “I pray all the time – for self-control, for humility.”
Katy’s older sister is Angela Hudson and her younger brother is David Hudson. Both are singers, so this talent seems to run in their family. In fact, when Katy began taking vocal lessons as a child, she used her sister Angela’s cassettes to practice singing, and soon began to write and publicly perform her own music. Katy dropped out of high school when she began writing music, but has said that she regrets this decision. “I’m kind of bummed at this stage that I didn’t have a great education because I could really use that these days.”
Katy is very close with her family. Her brother describes her as a tomboy when she was growing up. She has said about her siblings, “We are like the Three Musketeers — actually the Three Stooges.”
Katy Perry is a True California Girl
Katy Perry loves her hometown. Despite having moved around with her parents quite a bit when she was young, her family is eventually settled in Santa Barbara, her birth city. She still spends a lot of time there; she has said, “I make a lot of music there ‘cause it’s only an hour and fifteen minutes away from L.A. at the right times and the energy level is so dramatically different — people, priorities, community, connection.”
Katy was desperate to fit into the typical Californian girl label when she was growing up; she spent her time engrossed in hobbies such as rollerblading, surfing, and skateboarding. She also took dance lessons when she began taking vocal lessons.
In fact, one of Katy’s most memorable songs to-date is the single California Gurls, which features Snoop Dogg and was released in 2010. The song was quick to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100.