Cat Winter Lady GaGa lookalike broke

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'Turning into Lady GaGa has left me broke!'

Tuesday 15 June 2010

When pals told Cat Winter she was the spitting image of pop singer Lady Gaga, she decided to turn it into a money-spinning career.

In a bid to earn a living as a Gaga lookalike, Cat has gone to extreme lengths. As well as copying the star’s hair, clothes and make-up, she lost weight and had a boob job.

But the transformation has cost Cat almost £10,000 and left her broke – as she’s not yet made a single penny from
her lookalike business.

And last week she lost her job after her boss discovered she’d been secretly practising Gaga dance moves with
a choreographer when she should have been at work as a holiday camp singer.

“I’m hoping it’ll all be worth it when I’m a full-time Lady Gaga lookalike and tribute act,” says Cat, 32, from Colchester, Essex. “Otherwise I’ll have done this for nothing.

“I’ve spent so much money I could hardly afford to eat,” she moans. “Thankfully friends and family can put me up for now, but I don’t want to rely on handouts.”

Cat first heard of Lady Gaga in January 2008 when a friend pointed out her resemblance to the singer.

She says: “I was stunned by the similarity – we were the same height at 5ft 2 and both weighed 8st 7lbs.

“She was outrageous but also fantastic. I decided to try working as a lookalike and in June 2009 I contacted an agency. They said Lady Gaga tributes were so popular I could earn £500 a gig.”

Cat, who often gets asked by strangers if she’s the real Lady Gaga, then set out to make herself look as much like the American star as possible and funded it with credit cards and bank loans.

Cat began by spending £1,500 on make-up, wigs and hairpieces, then spent £2,000 on several custom-made costumes.

real life gaga

In May, she spent £300 on professional pictures and forked out £2,000 recording and packaging five Lady Gaga tracks to help her launch herself as a tribute act.

“I knew it was costing a lot, but I was sure it was going to pay off,” says Cat.

Single Cat says the toughest part so far has been losing weight to keep up with Lady Gaga’s new slimline look.
“I noticed Lady Gaga was losing weight, so I cut back on carbs,” says Cat. “It was hard, but over a year I lost a stone.”

But the extreme dieting had an unwanted side effect. “My boobs deflated,” says Cat, who claims her parents and friends are proud of her new look. “So a few weeks ago I had a boob job going from a 32B to a D. It cost £4,000, but my loans covered it.”

However, last week Cat lost her regular job singing in a local holiday camp.

“My bosses got cross because I took time off for a dancing session,” she explains.

As her job came with accommodation, she now faces being homeless.

Sadly Cat – who isn’t with an agency – hasn’t done a gig yet but she hopes the Lady Gaga work will soon roll in as she doesn’t want to claim benefits.

“I’ve got a booking to sing at a friend’s wedding in September, and a nightclub has offered me a gig in a few weeks – I’ll earn £500 per performance,” she says. “But I need more work. I’ve put so much into this.”

By Alison Smith-Squire