Katy Perry, Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson

• 1984–2006: Early life and career beginnings
Perry was born Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson in Santa Barbara, California to Keith, a West Coast scenester in the 1960s, and Mary Hudson (née Perry), an evangelist who grew up in Southern California and had "a tempestuous first marriage in Zimbabwe". Perry has German, Portuguese, Irish, and English ancestry. She is the second child of two pastors. She has an older sister and younger brother. Perry's mother's aunt and uncle were screenwriter Eleanor Perry and director Frank Perry.
Perry was incorporated into her parents' ministry and sang in their church between the ages of nine and seventeen. She grew up listening to gospel music, was not allowed to listen to what her mother called "secular music", and attended Christian schools and camps. As a child, Perry learned how to dance in a recreation building in Santa Barbara. She was taught by seasoned dancers and began with swing, Lindy Hop, and jitterbug. She took her GED after her freshman year at Dos Pueblos High School and decided to leave school in the pursuit of a career in music. Perry initially started singing "because (she) was at that point in childhood where (she) was copycatting sister and everything she would do." Her sister practiced with cassette tapes, while Perry took the tapes herself when her sister was not around. She rehearsed the songs and performed them in front of her parents, who suggested she take vocal coaching. She grabbed the opportunity and began taking lessons at the age of nine and continued until she was sixteen. She later enrolled in at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, and studied Italian opera for a short period of time.
At the age of 15, Perry's singing in church attracted the attention of rock veterans from Nashville, Tennessee, who brought her there to polish her writing skills. In Nashville, Perry started recording demos and was taught by country music veterans on how to craft songs and play guitar. Perry signed to the Christian music label Red Hill, under which she recorded her first album at the age of 15. Performing as Katy Hudson, she released the self-titled Gospel-rock album in 2001. The album was unsuccessful, however, after the label ceased operations at the end of 2001. She later changed her surname to Perry, her mother's maiden name, because "Katy Hudson" was too close to film actress Kate Hudson. At the age of 17, Perry left her home for Los Angeles, where she worked with Glen Ballard on an album for record label Island. The album was due for release in 2005, but Billboard reported it also went nowhere. Perry was dropped by Island Def Jam Music Group. Some of Perry and Ballard's collaborations included "Box", "Diamonds" and "Long Shot", were posted on her official MySpace page. "Simple", one of the songs she recorded with Ballard, was released on the soundtrack to the 2005 film The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.