Lady Gaga's fiancé is a tech CEO who went to Harvard with Mark Zuckerberg

Mon, 07/29/2024 - 13:03

Lady Gaga Michael Polansky — Michael Polansky and Lady Gaga attended the Paris Olympics together.
Marco Bello/Reuters

Lady Gaga called longtime boyfriend Michael Polansky her fiancé while speaking to France's prime minister at the Olympics.
He's a tech CEO who works for Napster cofounder and former Facebook president Sean Parker.
Polansky attended Harvard at the same time as Mark Zuckerberg and worked for early Facebook investor Peter Thiel.

The Paris Olympics began a few days ago but have already given us plenty of water cooler fodder. Perhaps unexpectedly from the Games, one such piece of news is that Lady Gaga has reportedly gotten engaged.

The Grammy-winning musician introduced her longtime boyfriend, Michael Polansky, as her "fiancé" while speaking with France's prime minister, Gabriel Attal, at the Olympic Games. Gaga had performed Zizi Jeanmaire's "Mon Truc en Plumes" ("My Thing With Feathers") at Friday night's Opening Ceremony for the games.

The two have been linked for at least four years. Polansky is a tech CEO who works for Napster cofounder and former Facebook president Sean Parker.

Gaga and Polansky reportedly met through Parker and have been together since at least 2020. Here's what we know about Polansky:

Michael Polansky attended Harvard at the same time as Mark Zuckerberg.

According to his LinkedIn, he studied applied math and computer science and went on to work at hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, as well as Founders Fund, the venture capital firm founded by Peter Thiel, the first outside investor in Facebook.

Polansky later served as COO for Airtime.

Sean Parker Shawn Fanning Airtime — Sean Parker, left, and Shawn Fanning, right, cofounded Airtime.
Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Airtime

Airtime is the video-chat platform founded in 2011 by Napster founders Sean Parker and Shawn Fanning. But Airtime failed to take off and in 2016, it was relaunched as a free app for iOS and Android.

Polansky appears to have been involved in several of Parker's other ventures since 2010.

According to his LinkedIn page, he's the executive director of the Parker's charity, the Parker Foundation; he's a board member at the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy; he's managing partner at Parker Ventures; and he's CEO of the Parker Group, which serves as the umbrella organization for all of Parker's other endeavors.

According to Pitchbook, Polansky is also cofounder of VC firm Hawktail; executive advisor at private equity firm Cove Hill Partners; senior advisor at boutique VC growth investor 7 Global Capital; and partner at investment firm Unless Management.

Gaga herself has several business ventures, including cosmetics company Haus Labs and a since-discontinued fragrance, Fame, which, according to Gaga, sold 6 million bottles in a week, which would make it the second-fastest selling perfume of all time, behind Coco Chanel.

Gaga also founded the nonprofit Born This Way Foundation, which focuses on mental health and youth empowerment, in 2012.

Polansky and Lady Gaga likely met through events and parties that Parker has hosted and were first spotted together on New Year's Eve in 2020 in Las Vegas.

The couple became "Instagram official" that February after attending the Super Bowl together. Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Germanotta, posted a picture of them at the time with the caption, "We had so much fun in Miami. Love to all my little monsters and fans, you're the best!"

Polansky may have inspired some of Gaga's music.

Gaga with a short blonde haircut in a white suit sitting and playing at a white piano. — Gaga called Polansky her "stupid love" in an Instagram post, referring to the title of one of her songs.
Jim Chapin/Getty Images

After releasing a song called "Stupid Love" in 2020, Gaga posted a photo of the couple on Instagram with the caption, "I've got a STUPID love."

The couple has made several high-profile appearances since going public.

michael polansky lady gaga iNAUGURATION — Lady Gaga and Michael Polansky attended President Biden's inauguration in 2021.
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / Getty Images

Polansky joined Gaga for President Joe Biden's 2021 inauguration, where she performed the national anthem.

They also went to the 2024 Super Bowl, where they were spotted holding hands and rooting for the 49ers.

lady gaga — Gaga and Polansky look on in the third quarter during Super Bowl.
Rob Carr/Getty Images

They were seated near California Gov. Gavin Newsom and his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom.

Most recently, they were seen at the Paris Olympics together.

A blond woman in a blue fleece and sunglasses, next to a man in a black baseball cap and black jacket. — Gaga introduced Polansky as her fiancé at the Paris Olympics.
Arturo Holmes/Getty Images

Gaga introduced Polansky as her "fiancé" to French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal in a video posted to Attal's TikTok account. Gaga performed French song "Mon Truc en Plumes" ("My Thing With Feathers") at the opening ceremony for the Olympics.

Read the original article on Business Insider

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Lady Gaga's fiancé is a tech CEO who went to Harvard with Mark Zuckerberg