Mothers and mentors celebrated at annual OC United Way breakfast

Cynthia Germanotta said it was important to give her daughters support to pursue their interests and told the crowd at Orange County United Way’s annual Women’s Philanthropy Fund Breakfast in Irvine on Tuesday that she knew the difference between their hobbies and their passions.

Perhaps it helped that her older daughter Stefani’s passions, especially for performance, were rather clear.

“I knew what she was going to be,” said Germanotta, whose daughter is known to most as Lady Gaga.

Orange County United Way brought together mothers of an entrepreneur, an Olympian and, yes, one of the biggest music stars in the world for a discussion about the roles mothers and mentors play. They were interviewed by author and dynamic speaker Scharrell Jackson.

Germanotta was joined by poet Heshmat Behzadi, whose daughter Shirin Behzadi is a business leader and philanthropist, and Stanford Health Care senior vice president Helen Wilmot, whose daughter Tierna Davidson was part of the U.S. Olympic gold medal soccer team in 2024.

Behzadi discussed her decision to send her daughter to the U.S. from Iran as a child to give her opportunities to flourish in a safe environment and shared advice she’d give her younger self: “Don’t be shy,” she said. “Speak up.”

Wilmot talked about the challenges of raising an elite athlete while advancing in her career in the medical field — “I lived on Outlook,” she said — and said she’s been impressed by her daughter’s advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community.

Germanotta’s daughter, of course, is a strong advocate for many, and they co-founded the Born This Way Foundation. Among the foundation’s priorities is helping young people with their mental health challenges.

“A lot of that didn’t happen until she gained a voice, so to speak, and a platform,” Germanotta said.