Madonna – Pop goes the Queen!

Madonna Louise Ciccone is a renowned American singer, songwriter and actress who rose to international fame in the 1980s. Madonna was part of the musical era that witnessed the emergence of MTV. Known for her unconventional music videos, Madonna earned the moniker ‘Queen of Pop’ for reinventing through visual imagery. Her unconventional style earned her a massive fan following, while her albums have also earned her great critical acclaim.

In the 40 years of her career as an artiste, Madonna has produced various hit singles and albums which have earned the top position on several music charts in USA and abroad. She has delivered hit albums such as “Like a Virgin”, “Live To Tell”, “Vogue”, “Frozen”, “Take a Bow”, etc. Furthermore, Madonna also received success as an actress appearing in films such as ‘Desperately Seeking Susan’, ‘Dick Tracy’, ‘A League of Their Own’, and ‘Evita’. Madonna holds the Guinness World Records of being the highest selling female recording artiste of all time, selling over 300 million records worldwide.

Early Life and Education

Madonna was born on 16^th August 1958 in Rochester Hills, Michigan, U.S. as the daughter of Madonna Louise Fortin and Silvio Anthony “Tony” Ciccone. While her mother was a home-maker, her father was an engineer designer for General Motors and Chrysler. She was raised as a Catholic with her five siblings, Anthony, Martin, Paula, Christopher, and Melanie. Madonna has Italian and French-Canadian ancestry.

Madonna studied at the St. Andrew’s and the St. Frederick’s Catholic Elementary Schools. She earned the reputation of being a bright yet unconventional student at West Middle School. She was a straight-A’s student at Rochester Adams High School after which she enrolled into University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance. Madonna took ballet lessons after her ballet teacher recognized her talents.

Career Rise  

Madonna made her musical debut in 1982 with the solo dance album ‘Everybody’ which became an instant hit, topping several dance charts. In 1983, she released the eponymous album ‘Madonna’ which earned her a fan following but she caught wide-spread attention for her 1984 album ‘Like a Virgin’ which made her an international star. The title track featured on the Billboard chart top position for six weeks consecutively. In 1985, Madonna won rave reviews for her acting chops in the film ‘Desperately Seeking Susan’, which also featured the dance number “Into the Groove “, sung by Madonna. She also sang the single “Crazy for you” in another film, ‘Vision Quest’ after which she embarked on ‘The Virgin Tour’, her first live-in-concert tour.

Madonna’s popularity sky-rocketed during 1986-90, during which time she produced many successful albums such as ‘True Blue’, ‘Who’s that Girl’, ‘You Can Dance’ and ‘Like a Prayer’. She also displayed her acting skills in the films ‘Who’s That Girl’, ‘Bloodhounds of Broadway’, ‘Dick Tracy’, ‘Shanghai Surprise’ etc.  In 1992, Madonna joined the Warner Music Group with whom she co-founded the label ‘Maverick Records’. She launched the album ‘Erotica’ and continued to appear in films such as ‘Body of Evidence’, ‘Blue in the Face’, ‘Dangerous Game’, and ‘Four Rooms’ between 1993-99. In 1996, Madonna received acclaim for essaying the role of Eva Perón in the musical hit ‘Evita’ which earned her a Golden Globe Award. From 2000 onwards, Madonna has appeared in several films including ‘Die Another Day’, ‘The Next Big Thing’ etc and produced the hit albums ‘Music’, ‘American Life’, ‘Hard Candy’, ‘MDNA’ and ‘Rebel Heart’.

Madonna – Young Pictures

 

 

Personal Life – Relationships and Children

The 1.64 meter tall  Madonna has been married two times. Madonna’s first marriage to renowned actor Sean Penn lasted for 4 years, from 1985-1989. Madonna’s relationship with her personal fitness instructor, Carlos Leon, resulted in the birth of their daughter Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon. The couple were together from 1995-1997. In 2000, Madonna tied the knot with director Guy Ritchie in 2000. And gave birth to their son Rocco John Ritchie. She also went to Malawi to adopt a son, David Banda Mwale Ciccone Ritchie in October 2006. Madonna and Ritchie divorced in 2008.

Madonna adopted three more children from Malawi. While daughter Mercy James was adopted in June 2009, twin daughters Esther and Stella were adopted in February 2017. As of 2017, Madonna lived in Lisbon, Portugal with all her children.

Madonna – Net worth

Madonna has an estimated net worth of approximately of $580 Million.