Thanks to her outsize ambition, [artist id="3061469"]Lady Gaga[/artist] has been compared to any number of famous blondes, including [artist id="501686"]Britney Spears[/artist] and [artist id="1098"]Madonna[/artist]. But it turns out that Gaga most identified with another golden-tressed lady when she shot her video for "Paparazzi."

Princess Diana was the reference point for her VMA-nominated "Paparazzi" clip, Gaga said in her V magazine cover story. Her accompanying photo spread was shot by Mario Testino, who regularly photographed the princess while she was alive.

"Yes, Diana was the most iconic martyr of fame," she says in the September issue. "She died because of it."

As for all those other blondes that people are quick to compare her to, well, Gaga said, that's just lazy. "Look, when I was a brunette, they called me Amy Winehouse. Then they called me Christina, then Gwen. I just don't think most people's reference points go back very far."

Although Gaga may get slightly peeved when she's compared to Madonna or Britney, it's the moments when she's recognized by people who play a completely different genre of music that tickle her fancy. When she found out that Faith No More covered one of her songs, she was ecstatic.

"I love Faith No More! Their song 'Epic' was my burlesque number at the bar I used to work at! I used to fog myself and dance to it," she recalled. "When I found out they did 'Poker Face,' I was like, 'Sh--!' "

Her newfound fame means that sometimes she also finds herself in tabloid magazines being critiqued for her odd sense of fashion. But she isn't concerned by what gossip editors have to say about her. "Us Weekly putting me on the worst-dressed list, I could care less," she said. "If Karl Lagerfeld called me an ugly hag, then I'd be upset. Because it's Karl Lagerfeld."

She went on to say that people may have also misinterpreted her look and aesthetic. "To us, it's just beautiful," she said. "The idea that Gaga is just kooky for the sake of being kooky is so wrong."

Things are about to change for the Gaga stage show once she hits the road for her [article id="1618664"]tour with Kanye West[/article] in October. She told the magazine that the duo are "exploring aesthetics and new technology that neither of us have traveled, and we are attempting an epic story."