Madonna

This article is about the singer. For the religious figure, seeMary, mother of Jesus.For other uses, seeMadonna (disambiguation).

Madonna Ciccone
Madonna in 2023
Born	Madonna Louise Ciccone (1958-08-16)August 16, 1958 Bay City, Michigan,U.S.
Other names	Veronica (Catholicconfirmationname)
Occupations	Singer songwriter actress businesswoman record producer dancer film director author humanitarian
Years active	1979–present
Spouses	Sean Penn ​ ​ (m.1985;div.1989)​ Guy Ritchie ​ ​ (m.2000;div.2008)​
Partner	Carlos Leon (1995–1997)
Children	6
Musical career
Genres	Pop dance rock
Instruments	Vocals guitar piano ukulele
Labels	Sire Warner Bros. Maverick Interscope
Website	www.madonna.com
Signature

Madonna Louise Ciccone(born August 16, 1958) is anAmericansinger-songwriter,dancer, actress, author, director, philanthropist, businesswoman, record producer, film director, andhumanitarian.Madonna was born inBay City, Michigan,but she moved toNew York Cityin 1977 to pursue a career in moderndance.

During her career, she has sold over 400 million records worldwide and is the top-selling female artist of all time. Some of her most famous albums areLike a Virgin,True Blue,Like a Prayer,Ray of LightandConfessions On a Dance-Floor.She has won sevenGrammyawards. Madonna is considered the "Queen Of Pop"due to her extremely successful career on music and for being the most selling female singer in history. She has been in many movies; she received positive reviews for her role inDesperately Seeking Susan(1985).Her later movies received mixed reviews. She received critical acclaim and aGolden Globe Awardfor Best Actress in Motion Picture Musical or Comedy forEvita(1996). She got harsh feedback for other performances.

Early life and career

Madonna Louise Cicconewas born on August 16, 1958, inBay City, Michigan,She was born toCatholicparents Madonna Louise (née Fortin) and Silvio Anthony "Tony" Ciccone.Madonna was raised in the Detroit suburbs ofPontiacand Avon Township (nowRochester Hills), with her two older brothers—Anthony and Martin—and three younger siblings; Paula,Christopher,and Melanie.

Madonna went to St. Frederick's and St. Andrew's Catholic Elementary Schools, and West Middle School.

Madonna's father put her in classical piano lessons, but she later asked him to allow her to take ballet lessons.Christopher Flynn, her ballet teacher, persuaded her to pursue a career in dance.Madonna later attendedRochester Adams High Schooland became a straight-A student as well as a member of its cheerleading squad.After graduating in January 1976, she received a dance scholarship to theUniversity of Michiganand studied over the summer at theAmerican Dance FestivalinDurham, North Carolina.

In 1978, Madonna dropped out of college and relocated to New York City.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."Madonna soon found an apartment in theAlphabet Cityneighborhood of theEast Villageand had little money while working as a hatcheck girl for theRussian Tea Room,an elevator operator atTerrace on the Park,and withmodern dancetroupes, taking classes at theAlvin Ailey American Dance Theater,and eventually performing withPearl LangDance Theater.She also studied dance under the tutelage of the noted American dancer and choreographerMartha Graham.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 performfellatio.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."

1983–89:Madonna,Like a Virgin,True Blue,andLike a Prayer

After the release of some dance hits she released her first album,Madonna,in 1983. The album was a great success.Her next album,Like a Virgin(1984), sold over 6 million copies in theUnited Statesonly and overall 10 million copies worldwide. Her albumTrue Bluehas sold 25 million copies. Her albumLike a Prayercaused controversy, as it had to do withChristianitybut the album sold over 15 million records worldwide. During the 1980s, Madonna was a huge fashion icon and was an idol for millions of girls and boys. Songs likeLike a Virgin,Material Girl,Into the Groove,Papa Don't Preach,Holiday,Lucky Star,La Isla Bonita,andLike a Prayerare believed to be classics.

1990–99:The Immaculate Collection,Erotica,film success,Bedtime Stories,andRay of Light

In 1990, she released her best selling greatest-hits albumThe Immaculate Collectionwhich sold over 30 million copies, and this album became the most-sold greatest-hits album in music history. She released a book of naked pictures calledSEXin that year. Her albumEroticawas a big hit but was criticized by some, the album sold 5 million copies. Madonna starred in the filmA League of Their Own,alongside American actorTom Hanksand comedienne Rosie O'Donnell. In 1994, her albumBedtime Storieswas released. She also performed in the movieEvita,which was very successful and released asoundtrack albumof the same name. She also received the Golden Globe for Best Actress. Her 1998 albumRay of Lightis considered to be a masterpiece and sold over 18 million copies worldwide. Some of her most famous and classic songs of the '90s areVogue,This Used to Be My Playground,Erotica,Take a Bow,Don't Cry for Me Argentina,You Must Love Me,FrozenandRay of Light.

2000–10:Music,American Life,Confessions on a Dance Floor,andHard Candy

In 2000, her albumMusicsold over 15 million copies worldwide, helped by the global hit song of the same name.Musicbecame her twelfth number-one song on theBillboardHot 100.She also released a successful greatest hits album titledGHV2.Madonna acted in the filmThe Next Best Thing,along withSwept Away,which got bad reviews. On October 22, 2002, a single calledDie Another Daywas released. The music video for the single was the second most expensive music video ever to make. The single reached number one in several countries. Her 2003 album,American Life,reached #1 in many countries but it was criticized by some, as it was against war inIraqand sold 5 million copies. In 2005, her albumConfessions on a Dance Floor,helped by the singlesHung UpandSorrythat reached #1 in 45 countries, sold 12 million copies. In 2008 she released her albumHard Candywhich reached #1 in almost every country in the world and has sold over 4 million copies worldwide. The first single from the album,4 Minutes,hadJustin Timberlakesinging in it.

2011–present:W.E.,MDNA,Rebel Heart,andMadame X

In 2011,W.E.,the second movie directed by Madonna, was released. It got bad reviews.

Madonna performed at the 46th Super Bowl on February 5, 2012. She released her twelfth album,MDNA,in April of that year. The album debuted at number one on the USBillboard200album chart. Trinidadian-born American rapperNicki Minajwas featured on the lead single,Give Me All Your Luvin',which reached the top ten in the United States and reached number one in Canada. Minaj also raps on the album trackI Don't Give A.

Madonna's thirteenth studio album,Rebel Heart,was released in March 2015. It featured the singlesLiving For LoveandBitch I'm Madonnafeaturing frequent collaborator Nicki Minaj. The Rebel Heart World Tour made $169.8 million.

Her fourteenth studio album,Madame X,was released on June 14, 2019, and became her ninth number-one album in the US.It featured collaborations with Maluma, Quavo, Swae Lee & Anitta. It has sold 90,000 copies in the US so far. She will be going on a theatre-only tour to promote it.

Tours

See the main article:List of Madonna tours

Her tours during the 80's ( "Who's That Girl Tour," "Blond Ambition Tour," etc.) were very successful. Her 1993 "The Girlie Show Tour" was very controversial—some thought of it as bad—but was a great success. The "Drowned World Tour" and the "Re-Invention World Tour" were the most successful tours of their years. The "Confessions Tour" was very successful and the "Sticky & Sweet Tour," with over $408 million earned, became the most successful tour of all time for a solo artist.

• The Virgin Tour(1985) (US only): the tour grossed $33 million.
• Who's That Girl World Tour(1987): the tour grossed $25 million.
• Blond Ambition Tour(1990): the tour grossed $60 million.
• The Girlie Show World Tour(1993): the tour grossed $70 million.
• Drowned World Tour(2001): the tour grossed $75 million.
• Re-Invention World Tour(2004): the tour grossed $125 million.
• Confessions Tour(2006): the tour grossed $194 million.
• Sticky & Sweet Tour(2008-2009): the tour grossed $408 million.
• MDNA Tour(2012): the tour grossed $302 million.
• Rebel Heart Tour(2015)
• Madame X Tour(2019)

Discography

See the main article:Madonna discography

• Madonna(1983): 10 million copies sold.
• Like a Virgin(1984): 21 million copies sold.
• True Blue(1986): 25 million copies sold.
• Like a Prayer(1989): 15 million copies sold.
• Erotica(1992): 5 million copies sold.
• Bedtime Stories(1994): 7 million copies sold.
• Ray of Light(1998): 18 million copies sold.
• Music(2000): 15 million copies sold.
• American Life(2003): 4 million copies sold.
• Confessions on a Dance Floor(2005): 12 million copies sold.
• Hard Candy(2008): 4 million copies sold.
• MDNA(2012): 2 million copies sold.
• Rebel Heart(2015)
• Madame X(2019)

Madonna has had 12 number-one songs on theBillboardHot 100. They are:

1. Like a Virgin
2. Crazy for You
3. Live to Tell
4. Papa Don't Preach
5. Open Your Heart
6. Who's That Girl?
7. Like a Prayer
8. Vogue
9. Justify My Love
10. This Used to Be My Playground
11. Take a Bow
12. Music

Personal life

Madonna is the third of six siblings and was named after her mother, Madonna Fortin, who died of breast cancer when Madonna was only five years old.

Both Madonna's marriages ended in divorce. She was married toSean Pennfrom 1985 until 1989 and toGuy Ritchiefrom 2000 to 2008. She has a daughter, Lourdes (born 1996), and son, Rocco (born 2000). SheadoptedaMalawianson, David Banda, and a daughter, Mercy.

In February 2017, it was announced that she had adopted two more Malawian children, twin girls Esther and Stella.

Other websites

• Official website
• MadonnaatAllMovie
• MadonnaatAllMusic
• MadonnaatCurlie
• MadonnaonIMDb
• "Madonna".Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
• Madonnaat theTCM Movie Database