Pop sensation Lady Gaga has revealed that she was raped as a teenager and she went through emotional therapy to recover from the incident.

During a candid interview with Howard Stern, Gaga, 28, recalled how she was sexually assaulted when she was around 19-years-old, but she only spoke of the incident now because she does not want "to be defined by it", reported Us magazine.

"I went through some horrific things that I'm able to laugh (at) now, because I've gone through a lot of mental and physical therapy and emotional therapy to heal over the years.

"My music's been wonderful for me. But, you know, I was a shell of my former self at one point. I was not myself. To be fair, I was about 19. I went to Catholic school and then all this crazy stuff happened, and I was going, 'Oh, is this just the way adults are?'" she said.

Gaga said that she did not divulge information about the assault before because she did not want the attacker to receive any credit for her motivation to succeed.