Biography of Madonna. Madonna is one of the most influential women of the 20th century. Name of Madonna singer
The show business star Madonna is known all over the world. During her almost 40-year career, she released many hits and became the founder of a special trend in musical culture. Her provocative style is copied, criticized, enthusiastically praised, but not forgotten. She leaves no one indifferent. At the same time, Madonna’s full, real name is known only to her loyal fans. She was able to make her pseudonym a brand that no longer stands for just a person, but an entire social phenomenon.
Early years
The future pop star was born on August 16, 1958 in Michigan into a large family; she was the 3rd child out of six. The girl's mother was of French-Canadian origin, her father was Italian. This is probably where Madonna’s fiery temperament originates. After graduating from school, the girl entered the University of Michigan, to the choreography department; she studied dancing and ballet for many years. At that time, Madonna’s real name, inherited from her mother, was completely unknown, and the girl dreamed of fame. In 1978, she moved to New York and enrolled in a dance class with the famous Alvin Ailey. She moonlights as a model, sings in different groups, her creative potential is bursting out.
Beginning of a musical career
Together with a group of New York musicians, Madonna creates the Emmy group, which writes and performs fashionable music for discos and nightclubs. Producers pay attention to the group and the soloist. And in 1982, Madonna signed a contract with the Sire Records label and released her debut single, Everybody. The singer's first album appears the following year, and the song Holiday enters the American and European charts. From the very beginning of her career, Madonna impressed with her energy, original stage performances and striking appearance.
Nickname
Even after she started dancing, Madonna started thinking about a stage name. From her parents she received a sonorous and complex name - Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone and therefore she had plenty to choose from for a pseudonym. She settled on the first part of her real name, especially since the name Madonna was memorable and, combined with the appearance and behavior of the singer, provocative. And it was precisely on shockingness that the aspiring performer relied. From her first steps on stage, Madonna, whose hits were still ahead, worked under her shortened name and made it famous in a few years.
Creative path
Already the first album made Madonna popular. The singer worked a lot, always thought out the set design and choreography of her performances to the smallest detail, and worked on her appearance. A natural brunette with appetizing curves, she found herself dressed as a blonde with bright makeup and sexy outfits.
From the very beginning of her career, the singer worked very hard, she changed several producers and labels, persistently striving to the top. The first Madonna album, despite the fact that it entered the charts, was still a common occurrence in pop music. But the 1984 album Like a Virgin was a real event. It sold millions of copies.
Madonna's real name no longer mattered; she became a star, and everyone knew her by her stage name. In 1990, the singer made her first world tour, which was accompanied by resounding success. Madonna not only performs fashionable songs, she sets a new standard for shows; her concerts are a whole performance, with a lot of costumes, scenery, and dancers.
At the end of the 90s, a real rain of awards poured down on Madonna, she received all possible music prizes, her records sold millions of copies, tickets for concerts anywhere in the world were sold out in a few hours.
Her stage path was often associated with scandals and provocations; the star always fueled her special image with various antics on stage and off. But she is also constantly in musical search; Madonna’s compositions are always the most advanced edge of pop music.
To date, the singer has released 13 albums, created 10 concert programs, with which she has traveled around the globe several times. Madonna, whose age is increasingly becoming the subject of discussion in the media and gossip, is not going to give up her position, despite the younger generations of competitors.
Outstanding Works
During her life, Madonna, whose hits have repeatedly gone multi-platinum, has released hundreds of songs. Experts and fans argue a lot about her creative heritage and about which works are considered the best. Her most famous songs were:
- Material Girl. A real calling card of the singer, which defined her style for many years, this song with a wonderful video a la Marilyn Monroe is a classic of world pop music.
- Cherish. The 1988 song and the black-and-white video for it became a certain milestone for Madonna, in which she appeared in the image of an ordinary American girl.
- Vogue. The perfect 80's dance song, with a wonderful video from David Fincher, was Madonna's first step into the 90's.
- Rain. An elegant and sophisticated song from the provocative album Erotica, it became one of the best “slow” songs of the decade. And Mark Romanek's magnificent video marked the beginning of a new video aesthetic in the 90s.
- Hung Up. The song from the early 2000s was further proof that Madonna is the queen of the dance-pop scene. The fiery melody and bright vocals made the composition a hit in discos all over the world.
- Frozen. The 1998 ballad proved that Madonna, whose biography is connected with dance music, not only knows how to put on a show, but also sings beautifully. The exquisite video for the song from Chris Cunningham received several awards and recognition from fans.
Film work
Throughout her career, Madonna, whose biography is full of creative experiments, has repeatedly made attempts to make a career as a film actress. She has 13 films to her credit, in which she played both episodic and leading roles. Critics do not rate Madonna's talent as a dramatic actress very highly. However, roles in the films “Body as Evidence”, “Evita”, “ best friend" and "Gone" showed that she is still a good actress.
Personal life
Throughout her career, Madonna's personal life has attracted the attention of the public and the press. The singer was officially married twice. Her first husband was actor Sean Penn. The second is the director. In addition, she has a huge number of novels to her credit. For several years, media attention was focused on her relationship with dancer Brahim Zeiba, who is 29 years younger than the singer. The affair ended in separation, and today Madonna is credited with a new relationship.
Scandals
Some journalists jokingly say that Madonna's real name is Lady Scandal. She is ready to create a stir from scratch. At one of the concerts in Istanbul, she decided to please her fans and exposed her breasts. Stripping is generally the pop star's favorite trick. At the 2003 MTV Awards, Madonna passionately kissed Britney Spears, which caused a huge stir. Later she repeated this trick with other girls. More than once, the singer’s songs became the reason for her accusations of anti-Semitism, inciting hatred towards the church, and it got to the point that the Pope was called upon to excommunicate her from the church.
Children
The pop diva also attracts no less attention from the press. She has four children: daughter Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon (father Carlos Leon), son Rocco (father Guy Ritchie), as well as two adopted children from Malawi: daughter Mercy Dane and son David Banda Mwale .
Madonna's children grow up under the supervision of nannies, because their mother is actively involved in her career. The eldest daughter has already grown up and is quite successfully building a modeling career. The singer sued Guy Ritchie for custody of her son for a long time and lost the case. For some time, Rocco lived with his father in London, but then returned to his famous mother.
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 very young 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 it was then on stage that 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. The woman is already known for the fact that she had a huge number of 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 affairs with different men - public and 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, is the singer's own son and 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
Another adopted daughter of Madonna, Mercy James Ciccone, was also taken to the 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 care 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 it was officially presented to fans only practically bare chest Madonnas. 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 development of her career. Down to the chronology of music album releases. In any case, this information will be interesting and useful to all fans of this outrageous artist.
Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone(English: Madonna Louise Ciccone, born August 16, 1958, Bay City, Michigan, USA) - singer, actress, director, songwriter, music producer and entrepreneur. On this page you will find full biography Madonna, her success story and the main stages of her ascent to the musical Olympus.
I am interested in learning more about famous and successful people in order to understand what helped them achieve such heights in life. To do this, we have a place where you can get acquainted with the biographies of outstanding people of our time who have succeeded in life.
But now there are only men in this section. This is probably not entirely fair; there are many amazing examples among women whose experience can be taken into account. Therefore, let's urgently correct this injustice!
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
It is very difficult to write something new about a person known throughout the world. The popularity of our today's heroine is really off the charts.
It’s hard to remain a modest “gray mouse” if you are the most commercially successful singer who has set a record for the sales of her records - more than 250 million album copies and 100 million singles. “The Queen of Pop” is what her fans call her.
In this article we will go through known facts her biography and see how a simple girl from a large family managed to achieve amazing success.
A person's dreams can be judged by what he achieves in adulthood. She will turn 61 in August 2019. Madonna looks 100% her age. In 2018, the singer took part in the #10YearChallenge, a flash mob on Instagram, during which she shared her new photo and a photo from 10 years ago.
The 10-year difference between Madonna's photos is almost invisible
The singer can boast of more than one achievement. The girl from the Great Lakes State, as Michigan is fondly called by Americans, has truly achieved a lot.
Madonna's name is included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, along with such stars as Louis Armstrong, ABBA, Queen
At the same time, as rightly noted in the singer’s official biography in the online version of the Hall of Fame, her achievements are not limited to the field of music, “and in terms of celebrity she is comparable to Marilyn Monroe.”
By the way, Madonna is very close to this image, to which she brings her own unique charm. In 2015, it was in this image – beautiful, bright and inviting – that the singer greeted visitors on the official website www.madonna.com. Now the “style icon” in the image of “Madam X” is promoting her 14th studio album of the same name, which is scheduled for release in June 2019.
However, Madonna herself considers physical beauty, although beautiful, to be ephemeral, and values it more than “the self-confidence that comes with achieving goals.”
By the way, a very apt statement that I experienced myself. Be sure to take it into your arsenal.
The fact is that when you have confidence in your own abilities, then you are not afraid of any new goals or obstacles. This is especially important to achieve financial success.
After all, when we earn money, we always risk something. People often avoid risk because they lack confidence in themselves.
Let's say you want to get involved in some financial instrument or create your own business. If you have dozens and hundreds of conquered goals behind you, then you will view the business not as a business, but simply as another goal that you want to conquer.
And you know that you will do it, because you have done it more than once. For such people, failure is not a big deal. They are charged for success. And as a rule, they achieve everything. As you can see, even Madonna confirms this.
The success of the pop diva allows her to be very confident in herself. I would like to give a list of all her awards, but full list Madonna's awards will last for a couple of pages. Therefore, I will leave this information at extracurricular reading and, as they say, I will be brief. Madonna has been nominated dozens of times and received the American Music Award, Billboard Music Award, The American Moviegoers Awards, BRIT Awards, Japan Gold Disc Awards, Grammy and others.
In 1996, Madonna received the prestigious Golden Globe film award for her role in the film Evita. In 2012, she received this award for the second time for the soundtrack “Masterpiece” for the film “WE. We believe in love." It’s impossible to count all the awards and honors of the performer, because their number has exceeded 290! She is named the best-selling female singer of all time and is included in the Guinness Book of Records.
Madonna has more than 20 film roles, hundreds of songs and dozens of albums under her belt.
Well, just not a woman, but some kind of “Drummer of capitalist labor.” Her inexhaustible powers are impressive! In my opinion, it’s time for the “hot thing” Madonna to be awarded another award for her “hot” stage experience!
You may ask, do I love her music and would I buy a ticket to see her perform? I’ll answer you this way: “there are no comrades according to taste,” but what definitely attracts me in our heroine is her amazing ability to achieve her goals.
“The Energizer” - Madonna manages to prove herself in many areas. If she decided to release business cards, a standard form would not fit all her positions. After all, she is a singer, songwriter, writer, screenwriter, director, dancer, actress, businessman, designer.
Human cloning is officially prohibited, so let's discard this reason, which explains Madonna's active professional activity, as fantastic. So what helps her keep up “on all fronts”?
The singer herself reveals the recipe for success:
In a word, a visual aid to a multi-faceted, “self-made” person. On this score, the pop diva is convinced that a person is a material from which one can make “a chic dress, or a doormat.”
Do you know what you want? As my experience in conducting trainings, consultations and coaching shows, people don’t know what they want. And if they do know, then most often it is something imposed on them from the outside and is not their “native” goals.
The same goes for ambitions. Think more broadly, don’t be afraid to set grandiose and important life goals for yourself. Buying an expensive car, an apartment and regularly going on vacation can hardly be called ambitious.
What helped her become like this?
As a child, Madonna had neither rich parents nor relatives associated with show business. She was born in 1958 into a Catholic family, where her mother, Madonna Louise Fortin, took care of the children (Madonna had three more brothers and two sisters), and her father, Silvio Ciccone, worked as an engineer-designer.
The head of the family adhered to a strict upbringing of his offspring, forbade watching television, demanded excellent school grades and compulsory church attendance. Madonna's mother died of cancer when the girl was only 5 years old. This was a huge tragedy for the child. Madonna's father married for the second time, and soon Louise Ciccone had a half-brother and sister.
Now the show business star admits that there was a lot of terrible and unpleasant things in her life, but she does not want to be pitied, since she does not feel sorry for herself. The formation of Madonna's personality occurred not thanks to some conditions, but in spite of it.
She had to work hard to get to the top
Since childhood, the girl wanted to stand out from the crowd, not get lost in total mass. With her shocking antics, Madonna already at a young age attracted the attention of others, which, apparently, she did not receive enough in the family. Either a girl will dress in multi-colored stockings, or she will perform a dance in only a bikini at a young talent competition.
In high school, Madonna participates in public life and demonstrates organizational, acting and dancing abilities. Despite her classes in the drama club and ballet studio, Madonna also has excellent performance in school subjects.
Although why should we be surprised, because her IQ is 140 points! According to this indicator, the pop star is 3 points ahead of Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States.
After school, Madonna continued her dance education at the University of Michigan, where she was awarded a scholarship as the best student. On the recommendation of a ballet teacher, and of her own free will, Madonna soon left the university and moved to New York to continue her career as a dancer.
A city with great opportunities did not welcome her with open arms. Madonna would later call her arrival in the metropolis, without money and with grandiose plans, the most courageous act of her life.
“My fear of something usually means I have to do it.”, Madonna admits. It is this quality in her that really impresses me. After all, courage is not the absence of fears in a person, but, on the contrary, the courage to look them in the eyes.
The taxi driver who dropped off the young provincial girl in the center of New York took from her neither more nor less, but almost half of the available cash - 15 dollars. At first, Madonna lived in virtual poverty, periodically spending the night in attics, and even sometimes checking the contents of garbage cans in search of food. However, this did not break our heroine and did not spoil the character of the future mega-star. Her distinctive quality has always been her ability to communicate and make acquaintances.
Madonna accidentally meets the Gilroy brothers, who had their own small orchestra. Soon they find a new acquaintance a place to stay and take her into their ensemble. Madonna comes to the conclusion that not dancing, but singing can be the chance that will lead her to worldwide fame and adoration.
She earns money from her audio recordings, which she unsuccessfully tries to promote in clubs.
There is still not enough money, and during this period Madonna manages to work as a cloakroom attendant, as a model in an art studio, and does not neglect nude photo shoots.
In the end, the persistent girl meets the famous New York DJ Mark Kamins, with whose support she releases her single “Everybody” in 1982. After the success of this song, the recording company Sire Records signed her.
In 1983, the debut album “Madonna” was released.
The pop diva admits: “I pulled myself up by the straps of my own bra.” For those who are quick to nod their heads, saying we know how she made her way onto the stage, let us answer in Madonna’s own words:
The debut album immediately brings the singer long-awaited recognition. The song “Holiday” from this disc is included in the TOP 20 American singles, and the next year it enters the top ten in Europe. In 1984, Madonna released new album"Like a Virgin", which became a hit with the song "Material Girl".
This record gives the singer her eponymous nickname and firmly sticks with her. Madonna agrees that she is quite a "material girl."
Her income is growing rapidly, and in 1992 she and the TV presenter Oprah Winfrey declared two of the richest women in show business
The Queen of Pop's personal net worth is estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars. Starting from scratch, the star now has a whole staff of assistants working on her image, but still takes part in financial matters, squeezing every last cent out of discs, video clips and shows.
Madonna's work changes over time. In the 80s, she toured the United States, trying on different, but always intriguing images. According to statistics, Madonna sells more albums than any American singer.
In 1989, the outrageous Madonna outdid herself in the video for the song “Like a Prayer.” The explicit video with controversial religious motives received sharp disapproval from the Catholic Church. As a result of this uproar, Pepsi terminated its previously concluded advertising contract with the singer.
Madonna’s creative motto of that period is expressed clearly: “scandals are the best advertising,” and the singer deservedly received another nickname “marketing genius.”
In 1990, the singer became the first female businessman to appear on the cover of Forbes magazine.
Madonna creates a controversial image for herself. Nobody knows what to expect from her next video or provocative PR move. Her activities cause a certain resonance in society, and this is exactly what she has always strived for - power and fame.
In addition to a huge number of fans, Madonna also has an army of ill-wishers, some of whom condemn “flirting” with religion, and some do not approve of creativity in general.
The heroine herself shares her memories as follows:
If we compare the star’s behavior in her turbulent youth and now, we can say that Madonna has “settled down.” She no longer causes public scandals, confirming the image of a self-sufficient and calm woman.
The pop diva, in addition to musical creativity and writing, is busy managing her own company Maverick, which produces films, books and music albums.
And if earlier the singer stated that “everyone has every right to share my opinion,” now Madonna admits that life has taught her to give in. After all, compromise is not a weakness, but an opportunity. “get your way through more subtle means.”
Well, flexibility and the ability to adapt are useful qualities in the arsenal of a motivated person.
Madonna has four children - daughter Lourdes, whose father was fitness trainer Carlos Leon, son Rocco from ex-husband film director Guy Ritchie, and adopted son David and daughter Mercy. 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."
It is to them that she tries to give what she did not receive from her mother due to her early death: home comfort, proper upbringing and true family values. Madonna tries to devote a lot of time to her family, realizing that there can be many pop stars, but the children have only one mother.
Madonna remains a workaholic, waking up early in the morning and dedicating several hours each day to staying in shape.
The self-made lady does not want to stop there. " I am my own experiment, and my own masterpiece.", she declares.
Often the price of success is so high that on the way to it you have to sacrifice almost everything and lose the most valuable thing. Madonna's biography is an example of how not to deviate from your goals and leave your opponents behind.
Madonna was born on August 16, 1958 in a family where, in addition to her, there were 4 older brothers. Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone - the singer's real name - completely repeats the name of her mother. The girl was raised in a religious family, but she was never an ideal daughter - on the contrary, she was considered strange and uncontrollable.
The future singer lost her mother very early, who died of breast cancer at the age of 30, a couple of months after the birth of another child. This was a big blow for the girl, and for a long time, already as an adult, the singer fell into hypochondria, as she was sure that she had the same disease.
Despite the fact that the girl studied very well, she was unable to build friendly relations with her classmates: they were jealous of her academic performance and considered her an “alien.” After all, the future world star could not hide his shocking character.
To prove her originality, at a school talent competition, 14-year-old Madonna Ciccone shocked everyone: she sang a song, appearing on stage in a revealing top and short shorts, her face painted with bright makeup. This event seriously affected the reputation of the future star and her Catholic family. The schoolgirl was put under house arrest, and insulting inscriptions addressed to Madonna often began to appear on the door.
Music career
A young girl arrived in the city of contrasts with a small budget (only $40), a small suitcase, extraordinary creativity and a great desire to become a dance queen. She lived in a crime-ridden area, often worked only for food, and even posed for photographers as a nude model (later these photographs would “pop up” and end up on the pages of Playboy magazine).
Soon she meets Seymour Stein, founder of the Sire Records label, who saw great opportunities in Madonna and signed a long-term contract with her. The first album was a success and 30 years later was even recognized as the best debut album in America. The track “Holiday” rose to the top of all US music charts and entered the top 20 best singles in America.
The second album, which was recorded in 1984, was awarded a diamond certificate. The singer becomes the queen of the world stage. Almost all of her tracks take first place in the charts.
In total, Madonna released 13 studio albums, 8 of them occupied the top line in the US charts, namely:
- 1984 – “Like a Virgin” (1st place).
- 1986 – “True Blue” (1st place).
- 1989 – “Like a Player” (1st place).
- 2000 – “Music” (1st place).
- 2003 – “American Life” (1st place).
- 2005 – “Confessions on Dance Floor” (1st place).
- 2008 – “Hard Candy” (1st place).
- 2012 – “MDNA” (1st place).
The star's acting career was less successful than her musical one. In total, there are more than 20 films with Madonna, but most of them were not even released. Here are some facts:
- In the early 90s, a documentary film was released about the singer’s life.
- Four years later, she played the main role in the filmed musical “Evita”.
- In 2000, the actress received a role in the film “Best Friend.”
- In 2004, a second documentary about the singer appeared on the screens.
- In 2015, she tried her hand as a director.
Madonna's personal life
Madonna in her youth was not deprived of male attention, and she was not at all embarrassed to demonstrate her intimate life in public. The singer had many affairs, about which there were various rumors.
After that, the singer had affairs with many famous and respectable men from the sphere of show business: among them, for example, Lenny Kravitz, Anthony Kids. All this continued until she fell in love with her fitness trainer Carlos Leon, whom she offered to become a father. Madonna asked her lover to get tested and lead a healthy lifestyle for the birth of a healthy child. Soon their daughter Lourdes Maria Ciccone-Leon was born (at that time the singer was 38 years old).
The next relationship - with director Guy Ritchie - began unusually romantically. At first, Madonna mistook her future husband for an ordinary provincial boy. But soon all the cards were revealed, and the singer could not resist the advances of the young director. Their wedding took place in December 2000.
Madonna and Guy Ritchie lived together for 8 years. The fruit of their love was a son named Rocco, and an adopted boy from an African family also appeared in the family. Soon, Madonna adopted another girl, Mercy Jame, and in 2017, two African twins: Stella and Esther. This became known after the singer shared photos with children in social networks, in which she hugged her daughters.
In 2013, the star began an affair with basketball player Denis Rodman. Madonna wanted to give him a son, but this did not happen, and their union soon collapsed.
Today, every person in the world knows the name of Madonna; her image is an icon of pop music, the personification of sexuality, shockingness and creative originality.
How old is Madonna and how does she manage to look so young? This is the question everyone asks when they see the star’s chiseled figure and her energetic dances during performances. Her external beauty Any girl can envy - with a small height of 164 cm, the singer’s parameters are ideal: 90-60-90. The personal account of the Queen of Pop on Instagram contains many photographs that give fans the opportunity to see their favorite in different images and settings. Author: Anastasia Kaykova
Childhood
In 1958, Madonna Louise Ciccone was born in Michigan, USA. Her family was very devout, sometimes her mother’s faith reached the point of fanaticism, which caused many problems for the girl’s father. Madonna never considered her name unusual, since her mother had the exact same name according to their family tradition, so she was not surprised that she was not teased. Upbringing in Madonna's family was strict, despite the wealth that their entire family had, the girl's parents forced her to save on literally everything. Fresh food appeared in the house extremely rarely; the bulk of the diet consisted of frozen semi-finished products. In most cases, clothes were made by the stepmother herself.
First attempts to show your personality
The girl's father was a kind man, but because of his work he did not have time to pay due attention to all six children. Frequent competition for her father's attention led to Madonna hating her brothers. Being intoxicated, they often mocked their sister in an attempt to attract their father's attention. At school, Madonna found peace only on the theater stage. She was a loner who preferred solitude to noisy companies. Many considered her too unusual and had a hard time accepting the fact that she was good at everything. The turning point that decided future fate Madonna became a school performance. After painting her body with paints, the girl performed a dance to the song “Baba O’Riley.” This event turned her whole world upside down and broke the image of a diligent girl that had been attached to her. The father, furious at this prank, punished Madonna, and the neighbors will remember this performance for many years to come.
University years
At the age of 15, the girl began attending ballet lessons. The mentor saw the potential for something great in Madonna and began to expand her horizons. Excellent grades and excellent memory contributed to the completion of schooling as an external student. After receiving her diploma, Madonna went to the University of Michigan for the Arts. Relations with her father deteriorated and communication ceased; he saw a different future for his brilliant daughter. Magnificent abilities were contained not only in Madona's mind, but also in her body. Her incredible stamina allowed her to train several times longer than her classmates. Despite all her talent, the girl still lacked technical skills and experience and had to look for ways to stand out from the crowd differently.
Chasing a dream
In 1978, the girl leaves everything and goes to New York to do great things. Her goal was the team with which the famous choreographer Pearl Lang worked. Perseverance and skill allow Madonna to perform in her production within a few months. To support herself, the girl works part-time as a cloakroom attendant in her free time. Living on the pennies she earns from various part-time jobs, Madonna has to live in dangerous areas of New York. At the age of 20, when the girl was returning home, she was raped by a gang living nearby. Having refused to report to the police, the dancer continues to persistently strive for her dream. However, strong pressure after experiencing stress leads to her losing faith in herself. Gradually, she begins to lose concentration on training and attend them less and less.
Discovery of singing talent
During one casting she went through, agents from a famous company noticed her and asked her to sing “Jingle Bells.” After much persuasion, she agreed and was quite surprised that she was praised. Madonna was offered to move to Paris where professionals would work on her and make her a star. The girl agreed and soon left the country. However, already in 1981, Madonna returned to the USA and met Camille Barbon. The woman saw talent in the young lady and began to develop it. Madonna's new manager, Camilla, tried to do everything for her, including providing for her needs. At first everything went great, but soon Barbon began to drink a lot and this affected her attitude towards the singer. Constant scandals, attacks of jealousy in public and incomprehensible mockery led to frequent quarrels. All this time, the singer is trying to promote her independent songs in secret from the drunkard Barbon.
First contract
She manages to find a DJ willing to help her sign a contract with a major record company. However, everything went downhill due to the poor health that Madonna was in due to poor living conditions. But the refusal did not stop the assertive girl and soon she signed a contract with Sire Records.
In 1983, the first studio album “Madonna” was released. The album was received ambiguously by the public and was not noticed for a long time. However, the artist’s talent and extraordinary ideas were hard to miss.
In 1984, another collection “Like a Virgin” was published. This material was considered more successful and it brought first positions on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. A tour to mark the successful release of the album takes place in many cities in the United States. At the beginning of the tour, Madonna was able to gather only 2 thousand spectators; by the end of her tour, the halls for more than 22 thousand people were filled in a few days. It would seem that everything was fine, but the difficult past returned at the most unexpected moment.
A series of failures
Shortly before her wedding to Sean Penn, the singer finds herself in the midst of a scandal. Journalists got hold of old photographs of the naked singer. All this instantly takes on incredible proportions and the media begin to cover the singer with tons of false rumors.
In 1987, the artist was hospitalized with a head injury. While intoxicated, her husband hit the singer on the head with a baseball bat. As expected from the media, many articles on this topic are soon appearing. One of them contained speculation about sadomasochistic relationships in the family and the singer’s participation in porn filming. However, the singer ignores all the gossip and soon everything calms down by itself.
In 1989, the singer was excommunicated from the church because of the “Like a Prayer” video. If the church perceived this video negatively, the music industry was delighted with the masterpiece created by Madonna, calling it the future musical art. That same year, the singer divorced her husband, which led to her depression.
From the beginning of 1991 to 1994, the singer provoked many scandals, changing every day.
Return to the top
Her mood stabilized in 1994, after the release of the album “Bedtime Stories”. The public received the new compositions well, which raised them to leading positions in the world charts.
In 1996, the singer gave birth to a daughter, Lourdes Maria Ciccone-Leon, despite having a child together, her relationship with Carlos Leone soon broke up. 1998 gave Madonna fans a new album, “Ray of Light,” which became the first in her work to receive only positive reviews from critics. First positions on the Billboard Hot 100 and national charts return Madonna to the top of popularity. For this album, the singer was awarded the Grammy Award for the first time, which was an incredible surprise for her.
Bold statements. Censorship in the USA
In 2000, Madonna married Guy Ritchie, with whom she gave birth to a son.
In 2001, the singer staged a large-scale tour, which had to be interrupted due to the September 11 terrorist attack. During the concert, she gave a speech in which she accused the US government of causing this violence. Such bold speeches led to negative attitudes from the government.
In 2003, the collection “American Life” was released; after the release of this album, the singer was accused of anti-patriotic views and was banned from holding concerts. The thing is that in the video of one of the songs on this album, topics were raised that showed the ruling power of the United States from the worst side.
In 2005, the singer released a new album, “Confessions on a Dance Floor.” Great shows and a world tour helped this collection reach the top of the charts. Released in 2008, “Hard Candy” does not cause a strong reaction from listeners due to the simplicity of the songs.
Latest performances
In 2010, the singer agreed to collaborate with the creators of the series “Glee” and transferred to them the rights to all her songs. In the same year, she opens a network of fitness clubs around the world and visits many of the countries personally. In the winter of 2014, shortly before the release of the album “Rebel Heart,” information was leaked and many of the songs became publicly available. However, the singer was not at a loss and released the songs as planned.
During her 2015 tour, the singer holds the record for the most money raised during a tour, most of which she donates to charity. In 2016, the singer appears in the chamber performance “Tears of a Clown.”
In January 2017, the singer protested against Donald Trump, which caused a harsh reaction and many bans on his part. Now most of her public appearances have been canceled due to the scandal with Trump.
- According to the Guinness Book of Records, Madonna is the most commercially successful performer in the history of music, as well as the best-selling rock performer of the 20th century.
- The singer actively professes Kabbalah. Religiosity, however, does not prevent her from shocking the audience with her appearance at concerts. Nevertheless, Madonna is so superstitious that she never accepts gifts from strangers.
- The athletic singer is very careful about her figure, spending many hours in the gym. Many young girls can envy her shape even now! Perhaps that is why she was cast as a fencing teacher in the James Bond film Die Another Day.
- She would like to live in Manhattan and share secrets with Demi Moore, but her reputation played a cruel joke on her. Madonna was unable to purchase the apartment she liked in Manhattan, in the famous San Remo building where Demi Moore lives, because the residents' committee did not approve her application. The residents decided that Madonna's fame would create too much trouble and noise for them.
Awards:
- Grammy Awards Best Long Form Music Video (1992)
- Grammy Awards Best Dance Recording (1999)
- Guinness World Records song to top the charts in the most countries (41) (2005)
- Guinness World Records The most successful album-selling female singer of the 21st century in the UK. (2011)
