Lady Gaga styles Harley Quinn goth-glam at Hollywood premiere of Joker sequel

The singer and actress arrived to the Los Angeles premiere at the TCL Chinese Theatre in a custom Celine black gown with oversized shoulders paired with Tiffany & Co jewelry, alongside her co-star Joaquin Phoenix in a matching black ensemble.

In her latest acting role, 38-year-old Gaga plays the love interest of the Joker (Phoenix) in the Todd Phillips-directed sequel.

The US star, real name Stefani Germanotta, told Variety magazine that she did not have a psychiatric nurse on hand during the filming of the psychological thriller – unlike when she starred in House Of Gucci.

"I was very much working closely with Todd and Joaquin every single day and it was like a completely different experience," she said on the black carpet.

The film is the sequel to Phoenix's Oscar-winning performance in 2019 film Joker, which also scooped the Oscar for best original score by Hildur Guonadottir.

Introducing the film on-stage at the premiere, director Phillips said "it is not necessarily the sequel you might expect", in videos circulating online.

The film, whose title refers to the French term for "madness of two", is a musical fantasia following Arthur Fleck, known as The Joker, and Quinn, as they fall in love at Gotham City's Arkham Asylum.

They are known for their toxic romantic relationship in the comics, and trailers for the film show Phoenix and Gaga singing and dancing together.

The US premiere comes after Gaga released a 13-track "companion" album to the film, titled Harlequin.