During a press conference for A Star is Born at the Toronto International Film Festival, Lady Gaga credited her dad and her gay fans for her success.

In the film, Gaga plays Ally – a role previously portrayed by Janet Gaynor in 1937, Judy Garland in 1954 and Barbra Streisand in 1976 – a singer who pursues a romantic relationship with an alcoholic rock star (played by Bradley Cooper). As Ally's career rises, his falls.

Cooper, who directed the film, changed the venue where the couple meets to a drag bar. He said that he did this based on a story Gaga told him about her early career in New York.

Gaga credited her dad and her gay fans for her success.

“I make a joke sometimes, behind every female icon is a gay man,” she said. “I really wouldn't be here without the gay community, what they have taught me about love and acceptance and bravery.”

A Star is Born opens on October 5.