Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone was born on August 16, 1958 in the small town of Bay City, Michigan. Her mother, Madonna Louise worked as a radiography technician. Father, Silvio Ciccone, worked as a design engineer at the Chrysler General Motors plant.
Madonna was born as the third child in a large Catholic family, which in addition to her had five more brothers and sisters. The children were raised in strict Catholic traditions requiring compulsory church attendance and diligent study at school. The Ciccone family was so devout that every day the children were woken up at 6 a.m. to spend an hour in church before being taken to the parish school.
Madonna with her parents and older brothers (left)
On December 1, 1963, when Madonna was five years old, her mother died of breast cancer. This was a terrible blow for the girl. For two years, Madonna fell into hypochondria, convincing herself that she, like her mother, had cancer. As soon as she left the house, she was immediately seized with horror and began vomiting.
“After my mother died, I had a terrible feeling that everyone had abandoned me.”
Madonna's parents
It was difficult for my father to cope with his large family. Therefore, soon various assistants began to appear in the house. In 1966, three years after the death of his mother, his father became involved with another housekeeper who helped with the housework, Joan Gustafson.
Madonna could not accept her stepmother, and their relationship was strained. The birth of Madonna's half-brother and sister further complicated the situation. She could not come to terms with the fact that a strange woman had taken her mother’s place in her father’s heart.
Relations with classmates also did not work out. Her peers considered her a “hello” girl. And many disliked her for her brilliant academic performance. The wayward shocking character was already evident in school years:
“When I was forbidden to wear makeup or wear nylon stockings, I wanted to do the opposite.”
As a sign of protest, and in order to attract more attention, Madonna pulled a pair of provocative, often mismatched stockings onto her teenage legs.
At the age of 14, Madonna Ciccone performs at a school talent evening. This was a key event in her childhood. But since she danced at this performance only in a bikini, the reputation of their Catholic family suffered greatly. The father was furious and put his daughter under house arrest, and the town discussed the performance for another month.
At 15, Madonna begins taking lessons ballroom dancing with teacher Christopher Flynn. He was everything to her: teacher, father, close friend...
Flynn was 30 years older than Madonna and was gay, so the student’s love remained unrequited. However, he took the student to classical concerts, exhibitions and gay clubs, introducing her to the world of art. The appearance of the excellent student begins to change towards a sloppy bohemian look, scaring off others.
At the same time, 15-year-old Madonna had her first boyfriend, 17-year-old Russell Long. Madonna made sure that her father and the whole school knew about her first lover. And a year later, even the convinced gay Flynn could not resist the beauty of the matured student. 16-year-old Madonna turned her mentor into a bisexual for a while.
In 1976, Madonna Ciccone graduates from school a few months before her final exams. Thanks to an excellent certificate, successfully passed an IQ test and excellent recommendations from teachers, she continues her dance education on a budget basis at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor. Professor Christopher Flynn, having received a position at the college, gave patronage to his “favorite student.”
The choice of a “frivolous” profession greatly worsened the already difficult relationships singers with father. All the years he hoped that his daughter would be a doctor or lawyer. But by that time, the father had ceased to have influence on his daughter. Madonna knew what she wanted and decided to go towards her goal.
Madonna at the University of Ann Arbor
According to teachers, Madonna had endurance, rare even for a dancer, which was further developed by ballet training. Having studied at the University of Michigan for only a year and a half, she begins to realize that she has no future in the province. And despite his father’s ban, he quits university to go to New York with the dream of opening his own dance studio.
In the summer of 1978, a plane delivered Madonna, full of determination and self-confidence, to New York airport. The girl had only $35, a winter coat and a suitcase with a dance uniform. In this city she had no relatives or acquaintances and she did not know where to go. Taking a taxi, Madonna said to take her to the very center. The trip cost $15 - slightly less than half of Madonna's entire fortune.
Madonna had a hard time in New York. She lived in poverty, periodically spending the night in basements and attics, and wandered. And sometimes, in search of food, she checked the contents of trash cans:
“I worked my ass off before I became who I am. And I literally starved, sometimes getting food from garbage bins, until I finally broke through...”
Already in November 1978, Madonna was invited to audition for the famous dance troupe of ballerina Pearl Lang. Working in the Pearl Lang troupe did not allow her to pay rent, and the dancer worked part-time as a Dunkin' Donuts seller, as well as as a model in an art studio, and as a nude model for photographers (these photos surfaced many years later, appearing in Playboy and Penthouse magazines ").
In a word, she had to spin in order not to die of hunger. She made her stage debut in the production of “I Never Saw Other Butterflies Again” as a boy from the Jewish ghetto.
Soon, Madonna Ciccone began to weaken in classes due to malnutrition, and Lang arranged for the dancer to work in the evenings for food as a cloakroom attendant at the Russian Samovar restaurant. Renting a room in a cheap and dangerous area of New York, where Madonna was raped by a maniac armed with a knife. After a mental injury, she becomes distracted in class and stops believing in her dancing future.
Due to a lack of funds, Madonna begins to go to auditions for Broadway musicals and as a backup dancer, although she previously considered this beneath her dignity, since she danced with Pearl Lange herself, a student of the famous Martha Graham. In 1979, luck smiled on her. At one of the castings as a backup dancer for French disco artist Patrick Hernandez for his 1979 world tour, the producers really liked Madonna’s dance and asked her to sing something.
Madonna sang the simple song “Jingle Bells” and, to the complete surprise of Madonna, who sang only in the school choir, she was invited to Paris, where they wanted to make her “something like a dancing Edith Piaf.” The artist finally left the Lang troupe and spent six months in France, Belgium and Tunisia. She was convinced of the prospects of a singing career, but 20-year-old Madonna by that time was passionate about punk rock, rebelled against the producers and did not want to sing the proposed disco-pop material. Six months later, Madonna fell ill with pneumonia, and after recovery, she flew back to New York to “visit friends,” never returning to the French producers.
Her boyfriend was waiting for her in New York: by the time she met the producers, she had been in love with musician Dan Gilroy for two weeks. Gilroy had a huge influence on the transformation of Madonna Ciccone from a dancer into a musician: he taught her to play drums and electric guitar. After practicing the drums every day to Elvis Costello's CD, Madonna became quite a good drummer and was accepted into Gilroy's band called the Breakfast Club.
In 1981, Madonna left the group. Gilroy recalled:
She has a natural talent for playing percussion instruments, and we offered her a lucrative deal. One evening she wanted to try herself as a singer, we gave her a chance in one of our numbers, and soon it happened. She couldn't get rid of it anymore. By this time we already had two singers and didn't need a third one, so she left us. It was probably one of the smartest decisions she ever made.
And in the same year, Madonna created the group Emmy in collaboration with her ex-boyfriend Stephen Bray, whom she took to play drums, already being a soloist. Together they record several dance compositions.
In 1981, Madonna Ciccone meets Camille Barbon, the owner of the Gotham recording studio. Soon Barbon offered to become the singer’s personal manager. Barbon rents more decent housing for Madonna, setting a salary and providing financial support as needed. Camille Barbon tried to get Madonna a contract with the label.
This work does not bring results. Therefore, Madonna, leaving the company, decides to independently ensure that the demo recording of her song gets auditioned by the “right people.”
Madonna's choice falls on the Dansteria company, which at that time was known for maintaining the traditions of entertainment venues. Dansteria was opened in 1981 by Rudolf, a famous impresario nightlife of that time. The establishment quickly became famous and fashionable. They talked and wrote about him constantly.
Madonna begins to visit this establishment, demonstrating excellent dancing skills. One of the most fateful acquaintances in Madonna’s life took place here.
Mark Kaminsa, the recognized king of DJs and aspiring producer, was the person who first played Madonna's record at Dunsteria. The delight in which the audience came convinced Mark that Madonna was a future star.
In 1982, with the help of the same Mark Kamins, Madonna recorded the single “Everybody”. Mark takes the cassette with Madonna's new song to Chris Blackwell, executive director Island records, but he refuses the singer.
Upset by the failure, Mark Kamins, through his friend Michael Rosenblatt, arranges for Madonna to meet with the founder of Sire Records, Seymour Stein. This time the contract was signed immediately. (Madonna Ciccone becomes simply Madonna). Under the terms of the agreement, Madonna receives an advance of $5,000, and for each song written, royalties and a publishing fee of $1,000. President Seymour Stein and Rosenblatt were confident in Madonna's success, but not so confident as to go all in and release the album right away. Rosenblatt developed a plan to promote Madonna through the release of dance singles.
Mark Kamins became the producer to work on Madonna's first single; this was his first experience. The result of their two-week work was a single, which, in their opinion, should have instantly elevated her to the top forty performers. But, after listening to what was considered a hit, Rosenblatt became depressed; Ain’t No Big Deal didn’t seem like that to him.
There was no time to re-record, so they put Everybody on both sides of the single. They decided not to put a photo of Madonna on the cover, since many, listening to her songs, thought that she was a black woman. This way it was possible to attract a wider audience. Rosenblatt's extraordinary decision paid off handsomely. In a matter of weeks, Everybody rocketed to the top of the dance music popularity charts.
In 1983, their debut album entitled Madonna was released. The song “Holiday”, presented on this disc, receives great success and is included in the top twenty American singles, and the next year in the top ten in Europe. In 2013 Rolling Stone included it in the top 100 best debut albums of all time. On at the moment Madonna album sales amounted to 10 million copies.
In 1984, the second album Like a Virgin was released. Which topped the US album chart. The album sold 26 million copies worldwide and eventually received a diamond certificate in the United States.
Meanwhile, the singer's career is gaining momentum. The songs she records invariably occupy the highest places in the ratings and charts.
Over the years of her musical activity, Madonna has successfully tried herself in different genres and directions, becomes the winner of many awards. Madonna also holds numerous records, in particular, she surpassed Elvis Presley in the total number of hits in the top ten on Billboard, and in this indicator she became second, second only to the Beatles.
Madonna's 2008-2009 Sticky and Sweet Tour is the highest-grossing male or female solo artist of all time.
Being one of the most famous media persons, Madonna received the nicknames Material Girl (based on the title of an early song, Material Girl) and Queen of Pop from the English-language press. She is also known as the author of children's books in the English Roses series, a popularizer of yoga and Kabbalah, and an activist in many charitable and human rights organizations.
After the earthquake in Haiti in 2010, the singer donated $250,000 to a fund for victims.
In addition, she is actively involved in the revival African republic Malawi, where her adopted children are from. And the Queen of Pop's personal fortune is estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars.
Madonna is very efficient - the singer practically does not rest. According to her, she begins to suffer from idleness already on the second day of vacation. Typically, she rises at four in the morning for the obligatory jog in the park, followed by a 45-minute yoga class and the traditional call to her guru at the London Kabbalah Centre. After this, Madonna is ready to have breakfast with her children. After such a busy morning, an equally busy day follows - business calls, negotiations, meetings. From noon, work begins on the lyrics and arrangement of songs or roles in films.
Personal life
Madonna's first husband was actor Sean Penn, whom she met on the set of the "MaterialGirl" video. It was love at first sight. Sean first saw Madonna as she walked down the stairs in a satin flowing dress. He was 24 and she was 26.
Madonna and Sean Penn
In the summer of 1985, on her own birthday, Madonna married Sean Penn. However, the newlyweds' happiness was short-lived. Soon Sean’s pride began to be hurt by the offensive nickname “Mr. Madonna” and the active interest of the press in their couple. Because of aggressive behavior“Mr. Madonna” in relation to journalists and his wife in the press they began to be called “evil Penns.” For the jealous Penn, marriage to Madonna became real torture. Not only did he have to constantly fend off the intrusive press, but his wife also reserved the right to “go left.” But for Madonna, the relationship with the ambitious (and even drinking) Penn was a test. Penn wanted to lock his wife at home.
Madonna, head over heels in love, meekly abandoned her performances and stage career. Penn fired all her bodyguards and began to accompany her everywhere himself. Madonna could not stand this and returned to the stage. Penn resigned himself, and this was the beginning of the era of “Mr. Madonna,” as the press dubbed him.
At the peak living together the couple starred in Shanghai Express - the film became the biggest failure in Penn's career and one of the worst for Madonna.
The scandalous marriage has cracked. What happened next shocked everyone: Penn turned into a tyrant. He began to beat his wife, mocked her, tied her up, threatening to disfigure her face with a lit cigarette. He demanded details adultery– imaginary and real. As a result, Madonna wrote a statement to the police about rape and beating, attaching a divorce petition to it. Penn was facing a significant sentence, but the singer withdrew the lawsuit...
However, according to the laws of the state of California, Sean was entitled to half of his wife’s fortune. But he did not lay claim to the seventy million dollars earned by Madonna over the years of their life together.
At the end of 1988, after four years of marriage, they divorced.
Madonna with Warren Beatty
Immediately after the divorce from Sean followed whirlwind romance Madonna with Warren Beatty, who was also an actor and a famous womanizer. By the way, Madonna started dating him while she was still married. But this union did not end in anything serious.
Later, Madonna became very close to Sandra Bernard, a famous comedienne. The singer was even suspected of having a non-traditional sexual orientation, but she resolutely denied these rumors.
Madonna with Sandra Bernard
At 38, Madonna finally became a mother. Madonna made an offer to personal sports trainer Carlos Leone to become the father of her child. She also asked him to undergo all necessary tests and monitor his health. The result of this obscene proposal is the daughter of Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon. Madonna wanted her daughter to be baptized by the Pope himself, but was refused.
With Carlos Leone (left), daughter - Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon
Later, at Sting's party, she met Guy Ritchie, where Madonna mistook the English director Guy Ritchie for a nice guy from the outskirts of London. When the misunderstanding was resolved, Madonna was very embarrassed. This became the reason for a closer acquaintance.
The wedding celebration took place on December 22, 2000 in one of the most beautiful castles in Scotland, Skibo.
With Guy Ricci (left), son Rocco (right)
Better soon medical center Los Angeles Madonna becomes a mother for the second time - she gave birth to a boy, Rocco. (By the way, Sting became the child’s godfather). In addition, the newlyweds also adopted a baby from a poor African family. However, this marriage did not last long. There were rumors that his marriage to Madonna was preventing Guy Ricci from creating film masterpieces. Be that as it may, it was Guy who insisted on a divorce, and in the fall of 2008 they divorced.
With Jesus Lucas. Daughter - Mercy James
Soon, Madonna begins a new romance - this time with a young model from Brazil, Jesus Lucas. And in the summer of 2009, there was an addition to Madonna’s large family - the singer adopted a girl from Malawi, Mercy James.
Her words speak about the role that Madonna’s heirs play:
“The most important thing in life is children. It is in children's eyes that we can see the real world."
Madonna with eldest daughter Lourdes and two adopted children
Let's gossip
Madonna's passion for black men and women can be called truly fatal. In the mid-90s, the singer, as mentioned above, was actively looking for a candidate to be the father of her child. The first of them was the outrageous basketball player Dennis Rodman. Tall, luxuriously built Rodman seemed ideal father future child! But the lovers desperately did not have the same schedules. Madonna performed actively, and Rodman spent all his time on the basketball court. In this case, too, I had to forget about “fruitful work” on the offspring.
with Dennis Rodman (left), Tupac Shakur (right)
In 1996, Madonna dated rapper Tupac Shakur. A year before the murder of the black legend, he and Madonna began a short-term and stormy romance. But Tupac began to be reproached for dating a white woman, albeit an outstanding one. As a result, they had to break up.
Madonna with Naomi Campbell
There were rumors that in 1992 Madonna had an affair with... Naomi Campbell! The girls were often seen together not only at official ceremonies, but also at parties. However, Madonna and Naomi Campbell claim that they are connected exclusively by many years of warm friendship.
Perhaps this is just a myth, but Madonna has many more similar stories behind her...
- Curious facts
- At the age of 10, the future sex revolutionary was going to become a nun. “I wanted to lead a righteous life. But the very idea of tonsure gave me ambivalent feelings. The more this story attracted me externally, the more it repulsed me internally.”
- Older brothers Martin (who began living on the street in 2011) and Anthony constantly beat and bullied Madonna as a child. WITH youth they took drugs. One of the brothers ran away from home and became an adherent of the Muna sect.
- Madonna's mother was descended from French Canadians, and her father was Italian.
- With the advent big money Madonna became interested in purchasing expensive real estate and art objects. She is one of the top 100 art collectors in the United States. Madonna has a house in Miami, and she recently bought another one in Los Angeles, while simultaneously selling her “pink estate” located in the Hollywood Hills. She owns a luxury apartment in New York worth more than $7 million.
- Madonna always studies bank investments and accounts herself, without trusting anyone. She also participates in all negotiations related to her career.
Madonna Quotes:
They say that good things do not last forever, and sooner or later they come to an end. These are the words of people who have achieved nothing in life.
Madonna never regrets anything: “I made mistakes, but I learned from them.”
My fear of something usually means I have to do it.
I pulled myself up by the straps of my own bra.
I am my own experiment, and my own masterpiece.
All Quotes >>> Madonna
- Studio albums
- Madonna (1983)
- Like a Virgin (1984)
- True Blue (1986)
- Like a Prayer (1989)
- Erotica (1992)
- Bedtime Stories (1994)
- Ray of Light (1998)
- Music (2000)
- American Life (2003)
- Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005)
- Hard Candy (2008)
- MDNA (2012)
Madonna Louise Ciccone was the third child in the family of Italian-American Tony and his wife Madonna. The girl was named after her mother, and soon the name became her only memory of herself. a loved one in the world. 30-year-old Madonna died of breast cancer - due to another pregnancy, she refused to treat the disease, and the issue of abortion was not even raised. Her daughter was only 5 years old at the time.
For the school concert, 14-year-old Madonna prepared dance number and went on stage in bright shorts and a revealing top, all smeared with paint of different colors. The teachers were shocked, the father was furious, and the words “Madonna is a whore!” appeared on the walls of their house. Thus was born an image that would one day make her a star.
Mistakes and lessons from New York
At the age of 15, Madonna began studying ballet and experienced her first serious love - with her choreographer, who was not only 30 years older, but also adhered to a non-traditional orientation. It was he who advised her to quit her studies at the University of Michigan and move to New York to join the troupe of the famous choreographer Pearl Lang.
She had a suitcase with her things and 35 dollars. So Madonna became a tramp.
She was accepted into the troupe, but only into the second cast, so she had to earn a living at the counter of eateries, from where Madonna was quickly kicked out for her harsh treatment of customers. She spent the night with random acquaintances, some of whom became her friends or lovers. There was a desperate shortage of money. Then Madonna decided on a bold and desperate step- went to work as a model in art studio and pose nude for photographers. One day she would regret it, but at the moment it didn't seem like the worst way to get money.
This continued until she met Dan Gilroy - a talented musician and part-time her lover, he was the first to see in Madonna not a dancer, but a singer. He taught her to play the drums and accepted her into her group, from which she soon fled, taking several members with her. Collective creativity was not for her - Madonna wanted personal success.
Triumph
They wrote the Madonna album together with DJ and guitarist Jellybean Benitez. Both were in love and dreamed of the same thing, their record received positive reviews and gradually gained higher positions in the charts. The idyll ended when Madonna realized she was pregnant. It was not the time to give birth to a child: the producers were pushing the recording of the second album, she herself was full creative plans and was not going to give them up for the sake of the child. She had an abortion without her lover's knowledge. Having learned about everything, Benitez never came to the recording studio again. This page of her life was in the past; triumph lay ahead.
The second album Like A Virgin instantly topped the US charts. Madonna shot her first video for the song Material Girl and went on tour. Her career developed the way she wanted, but the same could not be said about her personal life.
Sean Penn
When we met, the young actor was not at all intimidated in the presence of popular singer, but, on the contrary, showed himself to be as much a rebel as she was. Madonna was captivated by this. Their relationship was full of passion - they fought and made up equally violently and quickly became the desired prey of the paparazzi.
During their wedding, photographers sat in the trees, several helicopters circled the site, and Sean Penn fired a pistol at them. Such a marriage was quite in the spirit of Madonna.
But it was not only the paparazzi who became the object of the actor’s rage. Soon Penn began beating her during a stormy showdown. For some time, Madonna endured. She even dedicated the album True Blue to her husband, which became her most commercially successful record. Patience ran out when drunk Sean tied her to a chair at night and abused her as best he could for half the night. A divorce followed, and after it a series of lovers, which there are not enough fingers to list. Madonna’s name was tossed around in the press, accused of blasphemy and participation in pornography (someone published her nude photographs - that’s when she regretted working as a model), but, by and large, she didn’t care.
She achieved her goal - she became a star and the “queen” of pop music. Now we could think about children.
Lourdes
One day, while jogging in the park, a muscular cyclist caught her attention. Madonna approached him herself and invited him for a cup of coffee. The athlete's name was Carlos Leon, he dreamed of becoming an Olympic champion, but in the meantime he worked as a fitness instructor.
He never became a champion, but he became the father of Madonna’s own child - in 1996, she gave birth to a daughter, Lourdes, from him.
They really had a passionate affair, but the singer did not see her future next to Carlos, which she immediately admitted to him. When she became pregnant, she put forward a condition: the child should stay only with her, although the girl would see her father. Carlos did this too. “The press wrote that I became pregnant for PR. Only men can think this way. Getting pregnant and giving birth to a child is so difficult that no one will do it for some stupid reason,” Madonna brushed off further attacks after the birth of her daughter. Lourdes changed her. After 1996 (the year the baby was born), scandals involving Madonna became fewer and fewer, the style of music changed and appearance singers. It was as if she knew that fate was preparing for her a meeting with a representative of one of the most conservative nations in the world, from whom she would lose her head. It was English director Guy Ritchie.
An attempt at family life
They met at a party at Sting's house. Madonna, with her characteristic directness, asked Guy to teach her how to eat lobster. As a result, they ran away from both the guests and the singer’s guards to spend the whole night in pubs. For the first time in her life, Madonna lost her head. “I was sure that a long-distance relationship, he in England, me in America, would cool my head. But no, it didn't work out. I thought that the stubbornness characteristic of Guy and me would interfere with the development of our love. You know, a clash, a struggle between two strong personalities is not a toy for you! Again, no... It really blew my mind then,” she later recalled. In 2000, she moved to London with him and gave birth to a son, Rocco. A few months later, the couple got married - and it was not at all like her first wedding to Penn. Ricci took care of complete confidentiality; the press did not get a single photograph from the celebration.
For her part, Madonna made sure that people called her “Mrs. Richie” and not “Mr. Madonna.” Guy had only two notable films to her credit at that time, and she was a superstar, although for the first time in her life she wanted to be just a wife and mother. “In general, I now believe that home is where your children go to school,” she said in an interview and sported a T-shirt with the inscription “Mrs. Richie.” Was the singer overdoing it in her quest for “normalcy”, or was Guy tired of the gossip that family life with Madonna killed the director in him, but in 2008 the couple filed for divorce.
In 2016, the singer ceded custody of their son Rocco in court - the guy now spends more time with his father’s new family than with his mother. But Madonna made an effort and accepted his desire for freedom - once she herself would have done the same.
Quick Answer: 58 years old as of August 2016.
Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone, better known to us as simply Madonna, is considered one of the most famous singers over the past few decades. She is an actress, director, screenwriter, dancer and writer. She is the most commercially successful singer in the world, having sold more than 100 million singles and about 250 million albums during her career.
The star was born in Bay City, Michigan, USA. Her father Silvio was Italian and worked for one of the American automakers as a designer. Mother Madonna Louise descends from Canadian French. The girl who was born became the third child in the family (there were six in total). As she herself admits many years later, she was not liked at school and was generally considered a little crazy.
In 1963, her mother died of breast cancer and her father later married a maid who worked in their family. Then Madonna asked her father to send her to ballet school. After she graduated from high school, she entered the University of Michigan. At that time she was still dancing, but after university she planned to leave dancing. In 1977, she moved to New York, where at first she was almost a beggar - she simply had no money.
In 1979, she formed her first rock band, the Breakfast Club, with Dan Gilroy, and a few years later, an Emmy with Stephen Bray. It was these songs that New York DJ and producer Mark Kamins liked so much that he immediately brought Madonna together with Seymour Stein, the founder of the record company Sire Records. Thus began Madonna’s full-fledged musical career.
The first single released was called Everybody. It is interesting that initially the producers did not have hopes for it, but since there was very little time left before the song was released, it was decided to release it. By the way, they did not put a photograph of the singer on the cover of the single. As soon as the single hit the radio station, it instantly became a super hit.
At the same time, the company thought about releasing the first album, but in order not to waste money, it was decided to release another single. Thus, they wrote a song for Madonna called Burning Up, which also became a leader among other compositions.
The first album under the name Like A Virgin (“like a Virgin”) became business card Madonnas. It has become so popular that even now it continues to be in steady demand! After that, such successful records were released as True Blue, Like a Prayer, Blond Ambition Tour... The most recent album to date is a record called MDNA, which was very warmly received by critics. She was also well received by the public - she managed to reach the top of the charts of many charts. Stars such as Benny Benassi, Michael Malih, William Orbit, Demolition Crew and so on took part in the recording of the songs.
Currently, Madonna continues to release albums, record video clips, act in films and even comes up with her own clothing line. It is worth noting that her concerts are a very challenging show. For example, not so long ago she exposed her breasts at one of her concerts. However, this is just part of the show, not least thanks to which the singer is so popular.
She has three children: Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon born in 1996, Rocco Ritchie born in 2000, and adopted child David Banda born in 2005.
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Biography, life story of Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone (stage name – Madonna) – American singer and actress.Childhood
Madonna was born on August 16, 1958 in Rochester, Michigan, USA. Her family lived in Pontiac, as Michigan was known at the time, but the decision to open up to the world came to her when they visited her grandmother in Bay City. Madonna was named Madonna Louise Ciccone, but her family called her "Little Nonnie." When she was just five years old, her mother died of breast cancer. According to Madonna, “One of the hardest things I've faced in life was the death of my mother and I definitely haven't come to terms with that day.”. Madonna learned early to be strong and independent, but she always remembered her mother's courage: “She tried to hide her fear deep inside herself so that we wouldn’t know - she never complained.”.
After the death of his mother, the Ciccone family fell apart. Madonna and her brothers were sent to various relatives, and a couple of years later, to Madonna’s horror, her father Tony married their housekeeper Joan Gustafson, a guardian of strict order. The father forced the children to call her mother, but Madonna found it extremely difficult to do this. In fact, she never called her mother. Madonna was the oldest of eight children, so it was on her shoulders that the greatest burden of responsibility was placed. Madonna recalled: “As the oldest child in the family, I felt like my entire youth was spent caring for children. How I wanted to escape from all this then... I was the most typical Cinderella.”. Madonna said about her father: “If we didn’t have schoolwork, he’d give us homework—he was extremely adamant about forcing us to be useful.”. And also: “But if he weren’t so strict, I wouldn’t be who I am now.”.
When Madonna was little, she loved to sing along to songs on the radio while she helped with housework. She recalled: “There was always music playing in our house - either gramophone records, or the radio, or someone humming in the shower.”. Soon her father wanted her to take piano lessons, since most of her family played the piano. musical instruments, and her father was really obsessed with it. But this was not destined to come true - Madonna was her father’s favorite and persuaded him to let her take dance lessons instead of the piano.
CONTINUED BELOW
Madonna was 12 years old when she entered the local Catholic school high school. Tyranny reigned in the school: “You’ll get hit on the butt with a stapler if you don’t listen.”. But she also took classes that were of great service - tap dancing, jazz dancing and gymnastics. And here she revealed to the world the sociable Madonna, who until now had only been seen in the family. “I wanted to do everything and everyone told me that I can’t, I can’t wear makeup, I can’t wear tights, I can’t cut my hair, I can’t go on dates, I can’t even go to the movies with friends.”. She attracted attention for wearing fancy socks and was filmed in a friends' home movie with a fried egg on her belly. She was also noticed when she participated in a local talent competition, dancing in a bikini with body paint to the music of The Who.
As mentioned earlier, she wanted to do everything that she was forbidden to do. She turned her uniform skirt into a miniskirt, ran to the bathroom to put on makeup and put on tights. She flirted all the time. But when she wasn't flirting, she devoted herself entirely to her studies. Madonna recalled: “I tried so hard to study at school because my father rewarded us if we got straight A’s in our diaries. I wasn't as interested in studying as I was in wanting to save a lot of money with the 25 cents my dad gave us.". It's no surprise that Madonna shone in school theater, where she played leading roles in productions. After high school, she took dance classes at the University of Michigan. Her teacher was Chris Flynn. As she recalled: “I truly loved him. He was my mentor, my father, my imaginary lover, everything.".
Youth
Almost immediately after the University of Michigan, Madonna decided to go to New York to fulfill all her dreams. Everyone was against this idea, but her dance teacher said "Drive" and, fortunately for us, she went. So she was finally in New York, standing in the middle of Times Square (upon arriving in the city she asked the taxi driver to take her to the middle of everything) with $35 in her pocket, a bag full of tights and dance boots in one armpit and big doll in another. Madonna recalled: “When I arrived in New York, I flew on an airplane for the first time, drove a taxi for the first time, in general, did everything for the first time. And I arrived there with 35 dollars in my pocket. It was the bravest thing I've ever done. My goal was to conquer the city and I felt that I would have to". And also: “Even though I quickly got used to New York, I was really lonely.”.
“I could take anything in a taxi wherever I went. I took a deep breath, gritted my teeth, wiped away my tears and said, “I will do it - I have to do it, there is no other way.”. This was the beginning of Madonna's difficult times. She lived in a terrible house - there was no money for a better house. She recalled: “When my father first visited me, he was stunned. Cockroaches were crawling everywhere. There were drunks lying around in the corridor and everything smelled of spoiled beer.”. Then she won a scholarship to the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater, where she spent two years working hard during the day and even harder at night without losing her job at the fast food restaurant where she worked part-time.
She also occasionally attended the Blue Froggie Club, where she met Steve Bray. He was talented musician, but his relationship with Madonna was more physical. A little later, Madonna realized that the path to the top for her was not the completion of pure modern dance. It was not the competition that hindered her, but the lack of prospects. There were so many people trying for so few professions. She auditioned for theater and musical roles and achieved that she was taken to Paris to take part in a revue, standing behind Patrick Hernade. Hernade's administration realized that they had gotten their hands on something valuable, but they were too slow - when she asked for an increase in her fee, they refused. So, goodbye Paris and hello New York.
The desire to sing
Madonna returned to New York with a burning desire to succeed in music industry. She returned to live with her old boyfriend, Dan Gilroy. He and a couple of friends he met at dance school formed The Breakfast Band and needed a drummer - just for Madonna. Then she persuaded Dan to write a couple of songs for her as the singer of the group.
After a few months of being in the group, she realized they were going nowhere and formed her own group with herself as main singer. Over the next few months, they performed constantly in dubious New York clubs so that their name would become known in musical circles. It wasn't easy. Her group went through many changes in its composition and name. Clubs were more interested in punk and new wave, but Madonna pored over her goal. She was invited to model a little and take part in a short (one-hour) art film, A Certain Sacrifice.
Madonna finally landed a deal with Gotham Records, earning $100 in a week. Steve Bray went with her as drummer and songwriter. She continued to persist and finally landed a deal with Sire Records for just $5,000 and released her first single, Everybody. When it was first released to radio, many fans confused Madonna with the African-American disco diva. Music companies also didn't put Madonna's photo on the cover - they wanted people to think she was black in order to sell more records. The song Everybody sold over 250,000 copies and peaked at number three on the charts. John Jellybean Benitez found Madonna the song Holiday, which became an immediate hit, but she won first place with Borderline. There were rumors that her voice had been mechanically altered to sound like a girl's. Her first album, Madonna, released in 1983, received a great reception and won the hearts of millions of fans, as well as invitations to star in films.
Success
Madonna not only set the tone for music style, she also created a new fashion. In the Lucky Star music video, she showed off her Boy Toy look. Madonna's style was so popular that world famous lingerie store Fredericks of Hollywood reported a 40% increase in sales, which they attributed to the Down to Earth Girl look.
Never one to miss an opportunity to make a quick buck, Madonna sets up her own label, Wazoo. Among other things, Wazoo produced rubber bracelets and Boy Toy belt buckles. It wasn't long before millions of female fans around the world snapped up these rags of their No. 1 pop heroine. But it wasn't just the clothes that raised Madonna's sex reputation. Her music was about to take a turn in the other direction. The new album Like A Virgin made Madonna popular and soon everyone at home had their own disc with the album.
It instantly achieved triple platinum status on the American charts. Interestingly, Madonna's first album was still popular on the charts. 1985 was a very busy year for Madonna. The Material Girl video was released on February 1st, the Vision Quest film was released on the 15th, and the Desperately Seeking Susan film was released on March 29th. Her role in Desperately Seeking Susan added a significant dimension to her character. Madonna's singles Material Girl and Crazy For You were in the top five. Crazy For You won Madonna her first Grammy. Madonna's first big tour (she traveled all over America) was named after her album The Virgin Tour (1985).
Love
From small places to packed stadiums – it was a matter of a couple of months. While she was filming Material Girl, she met . And after the phrase "I wouldn't want to be Mr. Madonna anyway", she married him. Madonna recalled: “We were jumping on my bed, doing our usual morning ritual, and suddenly this look appears... I suddenly understand what he is thinking about.”.
“I said, no matter what you think, I’ll say yes!”. This was his chance and he took it. On August 16, 1985, they got married at the Malibu media circus, 13 helicopters with paparazzi flew in a circle during the ceremony, and the groom tried to beat up those photographers who were sitting in the bushes. Madonna recalled: “I didn’t think that I would get married with 13 helicopters above my head, it all turned into some kind of circus. At first I was outraged, but then I laughed.".
Incredible popularity
Since 1985, Madonna has been known as a person who can do everything: she is a singer, an actress, a composer, a stage director, and an official. Madonna was successful everywhere. She broke all records on every possible radio broadcast, video, sales and box office record, with more than 29 of her singles in the top ten, 11 of which were in 1st place. This is a world record! Take A Bow was at number one for 7 weeks, breaking the previous record of Madonna's hit Like A Virgin, which held number one for 6 weeks.
Madonna's No. 1 and No. 2 singles stayed at the top of the charts for 40 weeks - almost a full year of non-stop hits! Every studio album that contained her songs was in the top 15. All but one were in the top ten, and seven of them were in the top five. Madonna's international album sales are estimated at 120,000,000. Besides the main thing - music, to the unparalleled success of Madonna - she has more videos and roles than any artist in the history of MTV. Having been awarded many times for these videos, Madonna made a significant contribution to the video art model as her endless musical tours, combining music, stagecraft, performance and dazzling charisma, filled stadiums for the next three weeks.
These huge breakthroughs mean huge amounts of money, which is why Madonna is the richest woman in the world, followed by Oprah Winfrey. At the beginning of the 2000s, Madonna earned $13,000,000 a year. All the upcoming albums, singles, videos and films kept Madonna on the crest of a wave.
As if she hadn't been busy before. Madonna gave the world another piece of joy in September 2000. No, not another child. Madonna devoted this time to Music, her first full album since Ray of Light, which won a Grammy. It was, of course, a hit, but one that no one expected. Music entered the sales charts in first place, and not only in the United States, but also in 22 other countries, such as in Madonna's new home - England. It sold 420,000 copies in the first week alone, in the US alone. Music was Madonna's first album to hold the top position.
Throughout her hectic career, Madonna has released more than ten albums, starred in more than ten films and written (yes, she is also a writer) seven books. Madonna is a person who incredibly combines caring for her family and friends, and an incredible career, and social life, and charity. Her achievements are truly amazing. Many journalists claim that all people are divided into two types: those who love Madonna and those who hate her. That's the only way. There are no and cannot be indifferent to its activities.
Personal
Madonna, an incredibly beautiful and sexy woman, had many men, all of them completely handsome. However, not all of them managed to reach the heart of the star. After a divorce from
Singer Madonna is the real queen of American pop music. Moreover, she can boast not only that she sings. Madonna is also a fashion designer, director, producer and acclaimed writer. It is true what they say: a talented person is talented in everything. And the very story of this woman’s life, one might say, is a direct embodiment of a dream. Madonna's story shows that self-confidence and hard work will help you rise to the top, even if you are at the very bottom. One of the main facts about her is that Madonna was able to become a real sex symbol of the last century.
Currently, the outrageous singer has not lost her popularity and charisma. Thanks to which she was and remains one of the richest women in the world, with a corresponding level of influence.
Madonna is a singer with character. And even despite her not the youngest age, this versatile creative personality still has an impressive army of fans, not only among men, but also among women. The latter, by the way, are most often interested in what the performer’s height, weight, and age are. How old is Madonna is one of the most popular questions regarding the singer. Especially considering how popular plastic surgery is among American stars.
We inform you that this year Madonna is going to celebrate her sixtieth birthday. But the fact that she was able to maintain this level of activity is not surprising. After all, in her youth she was a cheerleader, even despite her small height. With a height of 163 cm, she now weighs 54 kg. Photos of Madonna in her youth are still easy to find on the Internet - she was and remains a very beautiful woman.
Biography and personal life of Madonna
The singer's full name is Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone. She was born in August 1958. Her father, Silvio Ciccone, worked as a design engineer at the Chrysler automobile plant. And my mother, Madonna Louise Ciccone, took x-rays.
The girl was a modest excellent student, but this role was shattered at a school talent competition when Madonna turned 14. She went on stage in a swimsuit, and her body was smeared with fluorescent paint. The dance to the song of The Who turned out to be very cheeky. She lost the competition, was put under house arrest at home, and at school she was called a whore for a long time. Madonna herself recalled that then on stage she “found herself” and realized who she should be. And the concept of a “modest whore” stuck with her in her career.
The debut album “Madonna” was released in the summer of 1983 and received mixed reviews from critics. Most of them reproached the aspiring singer for being too sexy and argued. That she won't last long on stage.
Madonna's biography and personal life have always attracted a lot of attention from fans. A woman is already famous for what she had huge amount romantic relationships, and she was married only twice. Moreover, often the men were younger and even much younger than herself. Madonna never had a happy and strong relationship.
Filmography: films starring Madonna
The actress’s filmography expanded quite rapidly, but this part of her career did not develop as well as the musical one.
Madonna can be seen in such films as “Visual Search”, “Shanghai Surprise”, “Broadway Bloodhounds”, “Dangerous Game” and others.
Madonna's family and children
In Madonna's life there were countless romances with different men- public or not. Some were even a few years younger, but the age difference never bothered the singer, and she calmly appeared with her boyfriends in front of the camera. Madonna's family and children are a rather sensitive topic. Officially, the artist was married to actor Sean Penn and director Guy Ricci. But both marriages ultimately ended in painful breakups.
Meanwhile, Madonna gave birth to only one of her two natural children while married. She gave birth to a son from Guy Ricci, but her daughter became an “illegitimate” child from her personal trainer Carlos Leon. The singer was in a relationship with him several years before her marriage to Ricci.
Madonna's son - Rocco John Ricci
Madonna's son - Rocco John Ricci - native son and the singer’s second child, whom she gave birth to in 2001, while in her second marriage to director Guy Ricci. The boy grew up like all children and studied well at school. But, as with many children of famous parents, Rocco began to have behavior problems as he grew older. Booze, nightclubs and everything that goes with it. Until, in the end, it all ended in a huge scandal, the reason for which was that Rocco was a drug addict.
It is now known that seventeen-year-old Rocco found work as a courier, lives separately from his mother and even entered into a relationship with a girl named Kimberly Turnbull.
Madonna's adopted son – David Banda Malave Ciccone-Ricci
Madonna's adopted son, David Banda Malave Ciccone-Ricci, was adopted by the couple in 2005. A dark-skinned boy from Malawi immediately attracted attention from the press. And the reason was that the process of adopting a child from Africa turned into a real scandal.
When all the documents were prepared and Madonna was about to take the child, the boy’s relatives suddenly showed up and wanted in every possible way to prevent the singer from taking David away from Malawi. But in the end everything ended well, David Ciccone-Ricci still found for himself new home and a big family.
Madonna's daughter - Lourdes Maria Ciccone
Madonna’s own daughter, Lourdes Maria Ciccone, became the artist’s first-born and her “illegitimate” child. The singer gave birth to a girl from her personal trainer Carlos Leon, with whom she was simply in a relationship at that time. But the wedding, although unplanned, still did not take place. As a result, the girl remained with her mother.
Now she is already 21 years old. Like her older brother, the girl attracts the attention of the press for a not very pleasant reason. The previously beautiful and extravagant girl, who was even called a “mini-Madonna,” completely stopped taking care of her own appearance, thereby becoming a real find for the yellow press.
Madonna's adopted daughter - Mercy James Ciccone
One more adopted daughter Madonna - Mercy James Ciccone was also cast in an opera from Malawi, Africa. Let us remember that the artist’s adopted son, David, is also from there. But the registration of guardianship over the girl began after the singer’s divorce from her last husband.
It is worth noting that even in this case there were scandals. In many newspapers, the news of another unexpected guardianship was called a “case of selling children.” And the whole point is that in Malawi at that time it was forbidden to place children under the guardianship of foreign “parents”. However, Mercy also left with Madonna for America and now lives with her star mother.
Madonna's ex-husband - Sean Penn
Madonna's ex-husband Sean Penn and the singer herself met back in 1985, when the performer was in a relationship with the singer Prince. This happened on the set of one of the artist’s videos, and the woman quickly became interested in the actor, who was a couple of years younger than her. They got married that same year, but the marriage fell apart four years later.
It is known that some time later Penn sneaked into the singer’s house and brutally killed her. But Madonna managed to escape and get to the police station. Penn denied the beating, although the woman's injuries spoke for themselves. The singer asked not to open a criminal case, since her ex always had poor anger control.
Madonna's ex-husband - Guy Ricci
Madonna's ex-husband, Guy Ricci, met his future one in 1998, at a party with singer Sting. During the conversation, it turned out that the aspiring director was ten years younger than the artist, and he came to the party just to meet Madonna, since he knew in advance that she would be there.
They got married in 2000, and very soon the singer gave birth to a son, Guy. Five years later, the couple adopted a boy from Africa. Their marriage lasted eight years. The real reason The divorce is still unknown, but there are rumors that the man was simply fed up with his wife’s strong passion for bondage. But there were no official statements.
When the singer was just starting her career, none of the fans thought to doubt the natural beauty of this woman. But the years passed, and the woman still did not age. Hot photos of Madonna before and after plastic surgery are easy to find on the Internet.
Photos in a swimsuit, for example, or photos allegedly leaked online where the singer is naked. Although officially fans were only presented with Madonna’s almost bare breasts. The performer herself completely denies the fact of surgical intervention, but medical specialists agreed that the singer had a facelift and nose job. In addition, he does not disdain the famous “beauty injections”.
Madonna's Instagram and Wikipedia
Madonna's Instagram and Wikipedia exist in in full. The singer’s official Instagram profile publishes photographs from magazine covers, photos with her children, nature shots and announcements of future performances. In total there are about 3.5 thousand photos and videos. And 11.5 million fans subscribed to the performer’s page.
As for Wikipedia, there you will see brief information about herself and her family, as well as a full list of awards and quite a lot of information about the formation of her career. Up to the chronology of music album releases. In any case, this information will be interesting and useful to all fans of this outrageous artist.