All About Katy Perry's Parents, Keith Hudson and Mary Perry

The pop star's parents, Keith Hudson and Mary Perry, are pastors

Before she shot to stardom singing about extraterrestrials and kissing girls, Katy Perry was Katheryn Hudson — a promising gospel singer raised by two Pentecostal pastors in Southern California.

Born in Santa Barbara to Maurice Keith Hudson and Mary Christine (née Perry) on Oct. 25, 1984, Perry grew up in a "very pseudo-strict religious household," she told MTV in 2008. She was only exposed to gospel classics at home and began singing in her parents' ministry at age 9.

Six years later, Perry landed her first record deal in Nashville, where she "made the best record I could make as a gospel singer at 15," she told the outlet. By 2008, the singer had rebranded as a whipped-cream-bra-wearing pop star, prompting her parents to pray for her to "come back to God," she told Vogue Australia in 2018.

"I never left Him," Perry said. "I was just a little bit secular, I was more materialistic and more career-driven."

Keith and Mary are devout preachers who have been ministering together for four decades, according to their website.

Although Perry said she and her father "haven't always seen eye to eye," she confirmed that her parents support her musical career. "They may not be singing along with everything," she told Katie Couric in 2009, "but they are very happy."

From showing their support at her concerts to traveling the U.S. as evangelical ministers, here's everything to know about Katy Perry's parents, Keith Hudson and Mary Perry.

They met and married in Las Vegas

Perry's parents have a special tie to Las Vegas, the Grammy-nominated singer revealed while receiving a key to the Las Vegas Strip in June 2022 amid her Play residency.

"I have a lot of roots here, and this just feels so natural to be here," she said during the ceremony. "My aunt was a showgirl here, my grandma was a seamstress here, my dad grew up here and ended up being a chauffeur."

Her mother spent time as a radio news director and freelance journalist in Vegas, where she met Keith.

"My parents met here and got married here, so it's only natural that I would be onstage here eventually," Perry continued.

The couple said "I do" in Sin City on Dec. 2, 1979, and Mary marked their 41st anniversary in 2020 with a photo of herself and her husband on Instagram.

They are traveling ministers

Keith and Mary began ministering together in 1979, when "the Lord spoke to them during a marriage conference on their honeymoon," according to their website. They started a church together in 1980 in Santa Barbara and raised their children within the Pentecostal belief system.

"You know, there was a movie or a documentary called Jesus Camp, and I watched it, and I was like, 'Oh my Gosh, I didn't know they had behind-the-scenes footage of my childhood!' " Perry previously told Couric.

In 1987, the couple began to travel together as ministers; starting in 2004, Mary even preached throughout France for two years.

In 2006, Perry's mom launched Arise Women's Conferences, which aim to "raise up women who are bold, trailblazers, and think outside the box." Mary has hosted more than 50 of them around the world.

They are proud parents — and grandparents

Keith and Mary first started their family in 1982 when they welcomed their first of three children, a daughter named Angela. Angela was joined by a younger sister, Katy, in 1984. Four years later, the couple expanded their family again with a son named David.

In the decades since, their kids have welcomed children of their own, making Keith and Mary grandparents to four little ones. Their first grandkid arrived in 2014 when Angela welcomed her first child in a home birth assisted by none other than her sister Perry.

"Finally you can add 'helps delivers babies in living rooms' to my resume! It's been a miracle of a day...❤️," Perry tweeted. Two years later, she helped out again when Angela delivered her second child.

David, meanwhile, is a dad to a son named Legend, who was born in August 2019. Mary frequently shares photos of her spending time with her grandson, whether it's celebrating his birthday or driving around together.

Keith and Mary's newest grandchild arrived in 2020 when Perry welcomed her first child, a daughter named Daisy Dove, with fiancé Orlando Bloom.

They are both published authors

Keith published his first book in 2009, a religious text titled, The Cry: The Desperate Prayer that Opens the Heart of God. In the book's dedication, he thanks his wife and Perry, "whose voice is created to worship." In 2013, he wrote another book, Looking & Seeing: See Them with Your Heart Not with Your Eyes.

Mary also published her first book in 2009: Smart Bombs: Tearing Down Strongholds with the Explosive Word of God. Six years later, she penned a guide to "parenting with joy," a 14-part advice manual called Joyful Parent = Happy Home.

Perry brought her mom to meet Pope Francis

In April 2018, the "Hot N Cold" singer brought her mom and her now fiancé, Bloom, to meet Pope Francis in Rome.

"I'm such a big fan of Pope Francis. It's a combination of compassion, humility, sternness and refusal. He is a rebel — a rebel for Jesus," she told Vogue Australia afterward.

As for her desire to meet him, Perry told the outlet it first began when she and her mother went to Mass together during her Witness tour.

"It started when we were on the Asia leg of the tour and I went to Mass with my mom," she explained. "She hadn't sung those songs in 40 years and watching her made me cry. It's so beautiful and humbling to re-center in a place where it's not about anything else but reconnecting with the divine."

They both "found God" late in life

"My parents have stories. They probably have better stories than I do," the "California Girls" singer told Couric in 2009.

Before Mary and Keith "found God," they were living a more rock-and-roll lifestyle: Keith was pals with famed pro-psychedelics psychologist Timothy Leary, while Mary dated none other than Jimi Hendrix.

"[But] they found God, you know? They needed to find God. Not that they needed to find God, God found them, really," Perry told Couric.

The couple's website notes that "Mary was saved in Las Vegas in the late 70s."

Mary accidentally spoiled Perry's pregnancy announcement

When Perry learned she and Bloom were expecting their first child together, she eagerly started planning to announce the pregnancy to her family.

"I actually kind of put the news on a wine label … [I was planning to] bring it to a dinner or something or I would give it as a gift to a friend — like, 'Here's a nice bottle of wine,' and then they'd [have] the reaction later," she said on SiriusXM Hits 1.

But her creative idea did not go as planned. Perry "didn't get the chance to do it" after her mom spotted the bottle of wine at her house.

She explained: "And she's like, 'What is this?!' And that's how it happened. I was like, 'Well, you ruined the surprise.' I guess moms have intuition unlike any other, right?"

They show each other love on social media

Mary frequently shouts out her husband on Instagram, sharing anniversary tributes and sweet shots of the couple cozying up together.

"Thank you Lord! 39 years strong today and getting more fun all the time (who can't have fun with a husband like Keith!!)," she wrote alongside a photo of the pair to celebrate their anniversary in 2018.

She marked Valentine's Day with another cute snap of the pair, calling Keith her "Forever Valentine."

Her parents are supportive — to a point

"My parents are great, and I love them so much," Perry said during a Today interview in 2017. "I cry sometimes thinking about how much I love them."

While she shares a close bond with them, Perry also shared that her parents sometimes disapprove of how she approaches her work.

"They don't agree with some of the things I do and they do wish that I could do other things," she said. "And I just have to say, 'You are your own person, I am my own person, and my intentions are pure.' "

In April 2024, Mary and Keith joined Perry at the 35th Annual Colleagues Spring Luncheon & Oscar de la Renta Fashion Show, where their daughter was honored for her philanthropic efforts.

Mary is running for a seat on Santa Barbara's Republican Party Central Committee

According to Santa Barbara County's elections office, Mary will appear on the March 2024 ballot after declaring her candidacy for a seat on the Republican Party Central Committee.

If elected, she will be tasked with promoting the Republican Party's platform within her community and supporting the Republican Party's candidates in local elections.

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