MADONNA
______________________________
BIRTH: August 16, 1958,
Bay City, Michigan, U.S.
Madonna Louise Ciccone is an American singer, performer and actor. She is called “The Queen of Pop”. She is known for reinventing her style of music and image in the music industry.
Madonna was born to Silvio “Tony” Ciccone and Madonna Fortin on 16th August, 1958, in Michigan, United States. Her father was a defense engineer. Her mother was an X-ray technician and former dancer. Madonna is the third child of her parents, she has five siblings. The Ciccone family belonged to the Catholic faith. Madonna’s mother passed away on ist December, 1963. Madonna was five years old at the time. Her father remarried the family’s housekeeper, Joan Gustafson.
Madonna was a hard-working and disciplined student. She graduated from high school a semester early. In 1976, she got accepted to the University of Michigan with a full scholarshipfor the dance program. In the following year, she received a scholarship to study with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. She also got the opportunity to perform with choreographer Pearl Lang in 1978.
Madonna moved to New York after dropping out of the University to pursue a career in dance. She did odd jobs to pay her rent. In 1979, she started dating Dan Gilroy. Gilroy was the founding member of the pop band, Breakfast Club. In the following year, she joined Gilroy’s band as a drummer. She later became the lead singer of the band. She also formed a few bands of her own, namely Madonna & the Sky, The
Millionaires and Emmy. Madonna also played a part in the movie A Certain Sacrifice in 1979.
Madonna signed a solo record with Sire Records. Her first single, “Everybody” from 1982, topped the dance charts. In 1983, her first album, “Madonna’ was released, which gradually gained success. It was her second album, ‘Like a Virgin’ (1985), that gave her international recognition. It sold about twelve million copies. The title track of this album was number one on the Billboard Charts for six weeks.
In 1985, she starred in the film Desperately Seeking Susan. She also sang “Into the Grove” for this movie. It became number one on the U.S. dance charts. She sang “Crazy for You” the same year for the movie Vision Quest which also hit the number one spot. Also in 1985, she went on her first concert tour called ‘The Virgin Tour!
In 1986, her album ‘True Blue’ came out. Its singles “Papa Don’t Preach”, “True Blue” and “Live to Tell” topped the music charts. This album topped the charts in more than twenty-eight countries. In 1990, she released her compilation album ‘The Immaculate Collection It was recognized as the ‘best-selling compilation album by any solo artist in history! Madonna co-founded Maverick records in association
with Warner music group in 1992. In 1996, she played Eva Peron in the musical drama Evita and
received the Golden Globe for Best Actress for her performance in the movie in 1997.
Madonna is also associated with production companies and fashion lines. These include Hard Candy Fitness, Truth or Dare by Madonna and Material Girl.
Madonna was awarded as the ‘Artist of the Decade: Mega Artist’ by MTV in 1989. She received her first Grammy award in 1991 for Madonna- Blonde Ambition World Tour Live’ in the category of ‘Best Music Video, Long Form! She has won six more Grammy Awards since then. Madonna is credited with over sixteen Guinness World Records. Her world records include ‘Highest grossing music tour per concert
by a female artist’, ‘Highest paid female singer on the planet’ and ‘Largest TV audience Super Bowl
in history. TRL Awards awarded her with the “Lifetime Achievement Award’ in 2006, Madonna was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008. She was named ‘World’s Wealthiest Female Musician’ by Forbes magazine in 2008.
Madonna married actor Sean Penn in 1985. They divorced four years later. She then married director Guy Ritchie in 2000. They had two sons. Madonna and Ritchie separated in 2008. Madonna is a mother to six children, three of whom are adopted.
Madonna launched a short film, secret project revolution at the Art of Freedom initiative in 2013. It aimed to promote free speech “to address persecution and injustice across the globe.” She founded the Ray of Light Foundation in 1998. She also co-founded a charitable organization, Raising Malawi. It works to provide schools for education. In July 2017, she established a children’s hospital called the Mercy James Institute for Pediatric Surgery and Intensive Care.