Obsessed Lady Gaga Fan Cat Winter Broke After Bid To Become Lookalike

Lady Gaga has lots of fans — or as affectionately calls them: “Little Monsters” — but one wildly-obsessed fanatic has been driven to the brink of financial ruin by a bizarre quest to turn herself into a Gaga lookalike.

Englishwoman Cat Winter has ponied up $20,000 to turn herself into the ultimate impersonator. The trouble began more than two years ago, when Cat, who was then working as a lounge singer in the UK, ran into a friend who told her how much she resembled the “Poker Face” star.

“I hadn’t heard of her, but it was really freaky how much we looked a like,” Cat, an unemployed native of Colchester, Essex, divulges on the pages of the July 5 issue of Life & Style. “I was stunned by the similarity…She was outrageous, but also fantastic. I decided to try working as a lookalike and in June 2009 I contacted an agency. They said Lady Gaga tributes were so popular I could earn $1,000 a gig.”

Since then, Cat has forked over fistfuls of dough on breast augmentation (She went from a 32B to a D-cup.), costumes, wigs, makeup, a choreographer, and recording a CD. All in a bid to look like Gaga. She cut down on carbs when she noticed the star losing weight, and even adopted a baby food diet to help her achieve the pop singer’s signature look.

“It’s a lot of work. Gaga changes so much it’s hard to keep up with her. I knew it was costing a lot, but I was sure it was going to pay off.”

Winter, 32, used credit cards and bank loans to finance her transfomation. Now she charges $750 per gig to impersonate Gaga at nightclubs and wedding receptions, but is horribly in debt. “I’m determined to make it my full-time job,” Cat tells Life & Style. “I’ve put so much money into this thing. If I don’t find work soon as Lady Gaga, I face being homeless. I’ve got a booking to sing at a friend’s wedding in September, and a nightclub has offered me a gig in a few weeks – I’ll earn $1,000 per performance, but I need more work. I’ve put so much into this….I’m hoping it’ll all be worth it when I’m a full-time Lady Gaga lookalike and tribute act. Otherwise I’ll have done this for nothing,” she moans.

For now, Cat is depending on the charity of pals to stay afloat financially.

“I’ve spent so much money I could hardly afford to eat. Thankfully friends and family can put me up for now, but I don’t want to rely on handouts.”