Lady Gaga has a million reasons to celebrate.
On Friday, Dec. 3, the fashion-forward star kicked off awards season with her first Best Actress win at the New York Film Critics Circle for her iconic performance in the film House of Gucci.
Inspired by real-life events, the Ridley Scott-directed film, which was released on Nov. 24, sees Gaga portray Patrizia Reggiani, the wife of Adam Driver's character, Maurizio Gucci, who hired a hitman to murder her husband in 1995.
Back in Nov, the actress told E! News that she was "really proud" of her work, adding, "I think that playing a role that showcases a woman in survival mode is powerful."
To say that Gaga was incredibly committed to portraying Reggiani is a serious understatement. In an interview with the New York Times, she revealed that she maintained the character's notorious accent for nine months and never once broke character.
"My approach to this was not different than my commitment to music," she shared. "But I want to be clear: I don't think it's about sensationalizing method acting or being in character as the only way to do things. It would have been harder for me to go in and out of character on set than to stay in it."
In March, Reggiani expressed her displeasure that Gaga hadn't gotten in touch with her after she was announced to bring her to life onscreen.
"I am rather annoyed at the fact that Lady Gaga is playing me in the new Ridley Scott film without having had the consideration and sensibility to come and meet me," she told ANSA, an Italian wire service.
Gaga later explained her decision to not meet Reggiani. "I could tell very quickly that this woman wanted to be glorified for this murder," she said on Good Morning America in Nov. "And she wanted to be remembered as this criminal."
Instead, the A Star is Born actress made sure Reggiani was accurately represented within the story. "We worked hard to make sure Patrizia is true to who she was," she told E!. "She was never as shiny as the Guccis. She was a little bit trying too hard. A little bit embarrassing."
She also "couldn't say enough" about the film's "incredible cast"—which includes Driver, Jared Leto, Salma Hayek, and Al Pacino, and more—and their performances too, especially Driver's. "I love working with Adam Driver," she raved. "Every day he made me laugh. He made me cry. He was wildly intelligent."
Still, when the film was over, Gaga said she was ready to "let go" of the "tremendously complicated" character once and for all.
"When I got on that plane back from Italy, I threw out my cigarettes. I threw out the booze, I landed in L.A. and cleaned my life up because I couldn't live that way anymore," she told the New York Times. "It was killing me because it was killing her."