Much like Glenn Close, Lady Gaga was not following the Oscar nominations with bated breath this morning. Instead, she was sleeping in. But when the star who was born Stefani Germanotta rose around 8:30 a.m. she called her manager first thing and received the good news. Later in the day she spoke with the the New York Times about how much the nomination means to her and her family, and as is her custom, she also talked about how her success as Ally was only possible because of the deep and abiding bond she shares with her Star Is Born director and co-star, Bradley Cooper. “I don’t register this film in my mind as a time in my life when I ‘filmed a movie,’†she told Kyle Buchanan at the Times. “I register it as a time in my life when I became somebody else, and Bradley became someone else, and we lived those characters and fell in love.†After all, when you’re in a room with 100 people and only one of them believes in you, that creates a special kind of connection. “I feel them very much alive,†Gaga said of Ally and Jackson Maine. “And I think I always will.â€