A grieving mother has claimed that her late daughter inspired Lady Gaga on her path to superstardom, and is asking the 'Poker Face' pop icon to give the tragic teen her due.

Yana Morgana, mother of Lina, who committed suicide in 2008, said that Lina's pal Lady Gaga copied her daughter's ideas about music and style.

The mother is seeking the rights to release the dozen or so songs her daughter, Lina, recorded with Lady Gaga-then Stefani Germanotta.

"I'm doing this because I want to keep her spirit alive," the Daily Telegraph quoted Morgana as telling New York Post.

"Lady Gaga is holding Lina's soul, and I want her soul to be free.

"Every other word she says is from Lina.

"She talks about having a dark and tragic life, but she had everything she wanted in the world. She went to [the same] high school as Nicky Hilton, her parents were rich.

"But Lina did have a tough life, and she often talked about her tragic life," said the mother.

A music producer introduced the pair in early 2007, in the hope Germanotta's songwriting and Lina Morgana's singing would generate hits.

Within a year of their collaboration, Lina jumped to her death from the roof of a 10-story hotel. And about a month after the October 2008 suicide, Germanotta became Lady Gaga.

Moreover, it's not only Morgana who noticed the similarities.

Tyler Schwab, Lina's ex-boyfriend, said he was stunned the first time he saw a Gaga video.

"It was the same style, the same look, the same music, the same voice, the same jaw line - the way they expressed themselves," said Schwab.

"And I was like, 'Is that Lina?' It was so, so shocking. It was like looking at a ghost," he added. (ANI)