Madonna Louise Ciccone[a] 

(/tʃɪˈkoʊni/; Italian: [tʃikˈkoːne]; born August 16, 1958) is an American

singer, songwriter, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", Madonna is noted for her
continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, and visual presentation. She
has pushed the boundaries of artistic expression in mainstream music, while maintaining control
over every aspect of her career.[2] Her works, which incorporate social, political, sexual,
and religious themes, have generated both controversy and critical acclaim. A prominent cultural
figure crossing the 20th and 21st centuries, Madonna remains one of the most "well-documented
figures of the modern age",[3] with a broad amount of scholarly reviews and literature works on her,
as well as an academic mini subdiscipline devoted to her named Madonna studies.
Madonna moved to New York City in 1978 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing as
a drummer, guitarist, and vocalist in the rock bands Breakfast Club and Emmy, she rose to solo
stardom with her debut studio album, Madonna (1983). She followed it with a series of
successful albums, including all-time bestsellers Like a Virgin (1984), True Blue (1986) and The
Immaculate Collection (1990) as well as Grammy Award winners Ray of Light (1998)
and Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005). Madonna has amassed many chart-
topping singles throughout her career, including "Like a Virgin", "La Isla Bonita", "Like a Prayer",
"Vogue", "Take a Bow", "Frozen", "Music", "Hung Up", and "4 Minutes".
Madonna's popularity was enhanced by roles in films such as Desperately Seeking
Susan (1985), Dick Tracy (1990), A League of Their Own (1992), and Evita (1996). While Evita won
her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress, many of her other films received poor reviews. As a
businesswoman, Madonna founded the company Maverick in 1992. It included Maverick Records,
one of the most successful artist-run labels in history. Her other ventures include fashion
brands, written works, health clubs, and filmmaking. She contributes to various charities, having
founded the Ray of Light Foundation in 1998 and Raising Malawi in 2006.
With sales of over 300 million records worldwide, Madonna is the best-selling female recording artist
of all time. She is the most successful solo artist in the history of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart
and has achieved the most number-one singles by a woman in Australia, Canada, Italy, Spain, and
the United Kingdom. With a revenue of over U.S. $1.5 billion from her concert tickets, she remains
the highest-grossing female touring artist worldwide. Forbes has named Madonna the annual top-
earning female musician a record 11 times across four decades (1980s–2010s). She was inducted
into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008, her first year of eligibility. Madonna was ranked as
the greatest woman in music by VH1, and as the greatest music video artist ever
by MTV and Billboard. Rolling Stone also listed her among its greatest artists and greatest
songwriters of all time.

Contents

 1Life and career

o 1.11958–1978: Early life
o 1.21979–1983: Career beginnings, rock bands, and Madonna
o 1.31984–1987: Like a Virgin, first marriage, True Blue, and Who's That Girl
o 1.41988–1991: Like a Prayer, Dick Tracy, and Truth or Dare
o 1.51992–1997: Maverick, Erotica, Sex, Bedtime Stories, Evita, and motherhood
o 1.61998–2002: Ray of Light, Music, second marriage, and touring comeback
o 1.72003–2006: American Life and Confessions on a Dance Floor
o 1.82007–2011: Filmmaking, Hard Candy, and business ventures
o 1.92012–2017: Super Bowl XLVI halftime show, MDNA, and Rebel Heart
o 1.102018–present: Madame X, catalog reissues, and autobiographical film
  2Artistry
o 2.1Influences
o 2.2Musical style and composition
o 2.3Voice and instruments
o 2.4Music videos and performances
 3Legacy
 4Awards and achievements
 5Discography
 6Filmography
 7Tours
 8Enterprises
 9See also
 10Notes
 11References
o 11.1Book sources
 12External links

Life and career

1958–1978: Early life
Madonna Louise Ciccone[4] was born on August 16, 1958, in Bay City, Michigan, to Catholic parents
Madonna Louise (née Fortin) and Silvio Anthony "Tony" Ciccone.[5][6] Her father's parents were Italian
emigrants from Pacentro while her mother was of French-Canadian descent.[7] Tony Ciccone worked
as an engineer designer for Chrysler and General Motors. Since Madonna had the same name as
her mother, family members called her "Little Nonnie".[8] Her mother died of breast cancer on
December 1, 1963. She later adopted Veronica as a confirmation name when getting confirmed in
the Catholic Church in 1966.[9] Madonna was raised in the Detroit suburbs of Pontiac and Avon
Township (now Rochester Hills), alongside her two older brothers, Anthony and Martin, and three
younger siblings, Paula, Christopher, and Melanie.[10] In 1966, Tony married the family's housekeeper
Joan Gustafson. They had two children, Jennifer and Mario.[10] Madonna resented her father for
getting remarried and began rebelling against him, which strained their relationship for many years
afterward.[5]
Madonna attended St. Frederick's and St. Andrew's Catholic Elementary Schools, and West Middle
School. She was known for her high grade point average and achieved notoriety for her
unconventional behavior. Madonna would perform cartwheels and handstands in the hallways
between classes, dangle by her knees from the monkey bars during recess, and pull up her skirt
during class—all so that the boys could see her underwear.[11] She later admitted to seeing herself in
her youth as a "lonely girl who was searching for something. I wasn't rebellious in a certain way. I
cared about being good at something. I didn't shave my underarms and I didn't wear make-up like
normal girls do. But I studied and I got good grades... I wanted to be somebody."[5]
Madonna's father put her in classical piano lessons, but she later convinced him to allow her to
take ballet lessons.[12] Christopher Flynn, her ballet teacher, persuaded her to pursue a career in
dance.[13] Madonna later attended Rochester Adams High School and became a straight-A student
as well as a member of its cheerleading squad.[14][15] After graduating, she received a dance
scholarship to the University of Michigan and studied over the summer at the American Dance
Festival in Durham, North Carolina.[16][17]
In 1978, Madonna dropped out of college and relocated to New York City.[18] She said of her move to
New York, "It was the first time I'd ever taken a plane, the first time I'd ever gotten a taxi cab. I came
here with $35 in my pocket. It was the bravest thing I'd ever done."[19] Madonna soon found an
apartment in the Alphabet City neighborhood of the East Village[20] and had little money while working
at Dunkin' Donuts and with modern dance troupes, taking classes at the Alvin Ailey American Dance
Theater, and eventually performing with Pearl Lang Dance Theater.[21][17][22] She also studied dance
under the tutelage of Martha Graham, the noted American dancer and choreographer.[23] Madonna
started to work as a backup dancer for other established artists. One night, while returning from a
rehearsal, a pair of men held her at knifepoint and forced her to perform fellatio. She later found the
incident to be "a taste of my weakness, it showed me that I still could not save myself in spite of all
the strong-girl show. I could never forget it."[24]

1979–1983: Career beginnings, rock bands, and Madonna

In 1979, Madonna became romantically involved with musician Dan Gilroy.[25] Shortly after meeting
him, she successfully auditioned to perform in Paris with French disco artist Patrick Hernandez as
his backup singer and dancer.[21] During her three months with Hernandez's troupe, she also traveled
to Tunisia before returning to New York in August 1979.[25][26] Madonna moved into an abandoned
synagogue where Gilroy lived and rehearsed in Corona, Queens.[21][11] Together they formed her first
band, the Breakfast Club, for which Madonna sang and played drums and guitar.[27] While with the
band, Madonna briefly worked as a coat-check girl at the Russian Tea Room, and she made her
acting debut in the low-budget indie film A Certain Sacrifice, which was not released until 1985.[28]
[29]
 In 1980, Madonna left the Breakfast Club with drummer Stephen Bray, who was her boyfriend in
Michigan, and they formed the band Emmy and the Emmys.[30] They rekindled their romance and
moved into the Music Building in Manhattan.[21] The two began writing songs together and they
recorded a four-song demo tape in November 1980, but soon after, Madonna decided to promote
herself as a solo artist.[31][21]
In March 1981, Camille Barbone, who ran Gotham Records in the Music Building, signed Madonna
to a contract with Gotham and worked as her manager until February 1982.[32][33][34] Madonna
frequented nightclubs to get disc jockeys to play her demo.[35] DJ Mark Kamins at Danceteria took an
interest in her music and they began dating.[36] Kamins arranged a meeting with Madonna
and Seymour Stein, the president of Sire Records, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Records.
[35]
 Madonna signed a deal for a total of three singles, with an option for an album.[37]
Kamins produced her debut single, "Everybody", which was released in October 1982.[35] In
December 1982, Madonna performed the song live for the first time at Danceteria.[38][39] She made her
first television appearance performing "Everybody" on Dancin' On Air in January 1983.[40] In February
1983, she promoted the single with nightclub performances in the United Kingdom.[41] Her second
single, "Burning Up", was released in March 1983. Both singles reached number three
on Billboard magazine's Hot Dance Club Songs chart.[42] During this period, Madonna was in a
relationship with artist Jean-Michel Basquiat and living at his loft in SoHo.[43][44] Basquiat introduced
her to art curator Diego Cortez, who had managed some punk bands and co-founded the Mudd
Club.[45] Madonna invited Cortez to be her manager, but he declined.[45]
Following the success of the singles, Warner hired Reggie Lucas to produce her self-titled debut
album, Madonna.[46] However, Madonna was dissatisfied with the completed tracks and disagreed
with Lucas' production techniques, so she decided to seek additional help.[47] She asked John
"Jellybean" Benitez, the resident DJ at Fun House, to help finish the album's production and a
romance ensued.[48] Benitez remixed most of the tracks and produced "Holiday", which was her first
international top-ten song. The album was released in July 1983, and peaked at number eight on
the Billboard 200. It yielded two top-ten singles on the Billboard Hot 100, "Borderline" and "Lucky
Star".[49] In the fall of 1983, Madonna's new manager, Feddy DeMann, secured a meeting for her with
film producer Jon Peters, who asked her to play the part of a club singer in the romantic
drama Vision Quest.[50]

1984–1987: Like a Virgin, first marriage, True Blue, and Who's That

Girl
In January 1984, Madonna gained more exposure by performing on American Bandstand and Top
of the Pops.[51][52] Her image, performances, and music videos influenced young girls and women.
[53]
 Madonna's style became one of the female fashion trends of the 1980s.[54] Created by stylist and
jewelry designer Maripol, the look consisted of lace tops, skirts over capri pants, fishnet stockings,
jewelry bearing the crucifix, bracelets, and bleached hair.[55][56][57] Madonna's popularity continued to
rise globally with the release of her second studio album, Like a Virgin, in November 1984. It
became her first number-one album in Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, the
UK, and the US.[58][59] Like a Virgin became the first album by a female to sell over five million copies
in the U.S.[60] It was later certified diamond in by the Recording Industry Association of
America (RIAA), and has sold over 21 million copies worldwide.[61]

Madonna performing at the Live Aid charity concert on July 1985

The album's title track served as its first single, and topped the Hot 100 chart for six consecutive
weeks.[62] It attracted the attention of conservative organizations who complained that the song and
its accompanying video promoted premarital sex and undermined family values,[63] and moralists
sought to have the song and video banned.[64] Madonna received huge media coverage for her
performance of "Like a Virgin" at the first 1984 MTV Video Music Awards. Wearing a wedding dress
and white gloves, Madonna appeared on stage atop a giant wedding cake and then rolled around
suggestively on the floor. MTV retrospectively considered it one of the "most iconic" pop
performances of all time.[65] The second single, "Material Girl", reached number two on the Hot 100.
[49]
 While filming the single's music video, Madonna started dating actor Sean Penn. They married on
her birthday in 1985.[66]
Madonna entered mainstream films in February 1985, beginning with her cameo in Vision Quest.
The soundtrack contained two new singles, her U.S. number-one single, "Crazy for You", and
another track "Gambler".[49] She also played the title role in the 1985 comedy Desperately Seeking
Susan, a film which introduced the song "Into the Groove", her first number-one single in the UK.
[67]
 Her popularity caused the film to be perceived as a Madonna vehicle, despite how she was not
billed as a lead actress.[68] The New York Times film critic Vincent Canby named it one of the ten best
films of 1985.[69]
Beginning in April 1985, Madonna embarked on her first concert tour in North America, the Virgin
Tour, with the Beastie Boys as her opening act. The tour saw the peak of Madonna
wannabe phenomenon, with many female attendees dressing like her.[70] At that time, she released
two more hits, "Angel" and "Dress You Up", making all four singles from the album peak inside the
top five on the Hot 100 chart.[71] In July, Penthouse and Playboy magazines published a number of
nude photos of Madonna, taken when she moonlighted as an art model in 1978.[72] She had posed
for the photographs because she needed money at the time, and was paid as little as $25 a session.
[73]
 The publication of the photos caused a media uproar, but Madonna remained "unapologetic and
defiant".[74] The photographs were ultimately sold for up to $100,000.[73] She referred to these events
at the 1985 outdoor Live Aid charity concert, saying that she would not take her jacket off because
"[the media] might hold it against me ten years from now."[74][75]
In June 1986, Madonna released her third studio album, True Blue, which was inspired by and
dedicated to her husband Penn.[76] Rolling Stone was impressed with the effort, writing that the album
"sound[s] as if it comes from the heart".[77] Five singles were released—"Live to Tell", "Papa Don't
Preach", "True Blue", "Open Your Heart", and "La Isla Bonita"—all of which reached number one in
the U.S. or the UK.[49][78] The album topped the charts in 28 countries worldwide, an unprecedented
achievement at the time, and remains Madonna's best-selling studio album, with sales of 25 million
copies.[79][80] True Blue was featured in the 1992 edition of Guinness World Records as the best-
selling album by a woman of all time.[81]
Madonna starred in the critically panned film Shanghai Surprise in 1986, for which she received her
first Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress.[82] She made her theatrical debut in a production
of David Rabe's Goose and Tom-Tom; the film and play both co-starred Penn.[83] The next year,
Madonna was featured in the film Who's That Girl. She contributed four songs to its soundtrack,
including the title track and "Causing a Commotion".[84] Madonna embarked on the Who's That Girl
World Tour in June 1987, which continued until September.[85][86] It broke several attendance records,
including over 130,000 people in a show near Paris, which was then a record for the highest-
attended female concert of all time.[87] Later that year, she released a remix album of past hits, You
Can Dance, which reached number 14 on the Billboard 200.[58][88] After a tumultuous two years'
marriage, Madonna filed for divorce from Penn on December 4, 1987, but withdrew the petition a few
weeks later.[89][90]

1988–1991: Like a Prayer, Dick Tracy, and Truth or Dare