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Madonna Louise Ciccone Ritchie (born August 16, 1958), known as Madonna, is an American pop singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born in Bay City, Michigan and raised in Rochester Hills, Michigan, Madonna moved to New York City for a career in modern dance. After performing as member of the pop musical groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her self-titled debut album in 1983, and then produced three consecutive number-one studio albums on the Billboard 200 in the 1980s.
Madonna is known for her works that explore religious symbolism and sexual themes which also drew criticism from the Vatican in the late 1980s
. In 1992, she founded an entertainment company, Maverick, which published a book of photographs (Sex). She also released a studio album (Erotica) and starred in a film (Body of Evidence) with erotic themes. These works generated negative publicity and coincided with a fall in commercial sales in the 1990s.[title=Madonna Biography] Madonna's career was revived in 1998, when the release of her album Ray of Light garnered critical acclaim. She subsequently made four consecutive number-one studio albums.
Madonna has acted in 22 films. Although several failed critically and commercially, she earned a Golden Globe Award for her role in the 1996 film Evita. Divorced from actor Sean Penn, Madonna bore a daughter by personal trainer Carlos Leon before marrying film director Guy Ritchie. She and Richie have a son and in 2008 they adopted a second, Malawian David Banda, over media allegations they violated that country's adoption laws.
Madonna has been dubbed "one of the greatest pop acts of all time" and dubbed "The Queen of Pop" by some media.[work=Rolling Stone] She is ranked by the Recording Industry Association of America as the best-selling female rock artist of the twentieth century and the second top-selling female artist in the United States with 63 million certified albums. Guinness World Records list her as the world's most successful female recording artist of all time and the top-earning female singer in the world with an estimated net worth of over US$400 million, having sold over 200 million records worldwide. On March 10, 2008, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
CareerEarly life and career debutMadonna was born Madonna Louise Ciccone in Bay City, Michigan. Her mother, Madonna Louise (née Fortin), was of French Canadian descent, and her father, Silvio "Tony" P. Ciccone, was a first-generation Italian American Chrysler/General Motors design engineer whose parents originated from Pacentro, Italy. Madonna is the third of six children; her siblings are Martin, Anthony, Paula Mae, Christopher, and Melanie.
Madonna was raised in the Detroit suburbs of Pontiac, Michigan and Avon Township (now Rochester Hills, Michigan). Her mother died of breast cancer at age 30 on December 1, 1963. Her father married the family housekeeper, Joan Gustafson, and they had two children; Jennifer and Mario Ciccone. "I didn't accept my stepmother when I was growing up," Madonna said, "in retrospect I think I was really hard on her." Madonna convinced her father to allow her to take ballet classes. Madonna attended St. Frederick's Elementary School and St. Andrew's Elementary School (present day Holy Family Regional) and West Middle School. She attended Rochester Adams High School, becoming a straight-A student and a member of the cheerleading squad. Madonna received a dance scholarship to the University of Michigan after graduating from high school.
Madonna's ballet teacher persuaded her to pursue a dance career, so she left the University of Michigan at the end of 1977 and moved to New York City. Madonna had little money and for some time lived in squalor, working at Dunkin' Donuts and with modern dance troupes. Speaking of her move to New York, Madonna said, "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." While performing as a dancer for the French disco artist Patrick Hernandez on his 1979 world tour,[title=Madonna Biography ] Madonna became romantically involved with the musician Dan Gilroy, with whom she later formed her first rock band, the Breakfast Club in New York. In it, she sang and played drums and guitar before forming the band Emmy in 1980 with drummer and former boyfriend Stephen Bray.[work=Rolling Stone] She and Bray wrote and produced dance songs that brought her local attention in New York dance clubs. Disc jockey and record producer Mark Kamins was impressed by her demo recordings, so he brought her to the attention of Sire Records founder Seymour Stein.
1982–1985: Madonna and Like a VirginIn 1982, Madonna signed a singles deal with Sire Records, a label belonging to Warner Bros. Records. Her first release was "Everybody" on April 24, 1982.[last=Holden ] Her debut album, Madonna was primarily produced by Reggie Lucas.
Madonna's look and manner of dress, performances and music videos, became influential among young girls and women. Defined by lace tops, skirts over capri pants, fishnet stockings, jewelry bearing the Christian cross, and bleached hair, it became a female fashion trend in the 1980s. Her follow up album, Like a Virgin, became her first number one album on the U.S. albums chart; its commercial performance was buoyed by the success of its title track, "Like a Virgin", which reached number one in the U.S. with a six week stay at the top.[ The album sold 12 million copies worldwide, eight of which in the U.S. She performed the song at the first MTV Video Music Awards, wearing her then-trademark "Boy Toy" belt.][work=MSN Live Earth ] Like a Virgin is listed by the National Association of Recording Merchandisers and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the Definitive 200 Albums of All Time.
In 1985, Madonna entered mainstream films, beginning with a brief appearance as a club singer in the film Vision Quest. Its soundtrack contained her second U.S. number-one single "Crazy for You". Later that year, she appeared in Desperately Seeking Susan. The film introduced the song "Into the Groove", which became her first number-one single in the UK.[work=BBC] Madonna embarked on her first concert tour in the U.S. in 1985 titled The Virgin Tour, with the Beastie Boys. In July that year, Penthouse and Playboy magazines published a number of black and white nude photos of Madonna taken in the late 1970s. Madonna took legal action to try and block them from being published, but when that failed she became unapologetic and defiant. At the outdoor Live Aid charity concert at the height of the controversy, Madonna made a critical reference to the media and stated she would not take her jacket off because "they might hold it against me ten years from now".
1986–1991: True Blue, Like a Prayer and the Blond Ambition TourMadonna released her third album, True Blue, in 1986, prompting Rolling Stone to say that "it sounds as if it comes from the heart". The album included the ballad "Live to Tell", which she wrote for the film At Close Range, starring her then-husband Sean Penn. True Blue produced four Top 5 singles on the Billboard charts: "Live to Tell", "Papa Don't Preach", "Open Your Heart" and "True Blue".[Madonna singles Billboard chart performance. Allmusic. Retrieved on May 29, 2008.] In the same year, Madonna starred in the film Shanghai Surprise and made her theatrical debut in a production of David Rabe's Goose and Tom-Tom, both co-starring Sean Penn.
In 1987, Madonna starred in ''Who's That Girl'', and contributed four songs to its soundtrack; including the title track and the U.S. number-two single, "Causing a Commotion". In the same year, she embarked on the Who's That Girl Tour. It marked her first conflict with the Vatican, as Pope John Paul II urged Italian fans not to attend her concerts. Later that year, Madonna released a remix album of past hits, You Can Dance. In 1988, city officials in the town of Pacentro began to construct a ft statue of Madonna in a bustier. The statue commemorates the fact that her ancestors had lived in Pacentro. In 1988, Madonna starred as Karen in a play by David Mamet called Speed-the-Plow.
In early 1989, Madonna signed an endorsement deal with soft drink manufacturer Pepsi. She debuted her new song, "Like a Prayer", in a Pepsi commercial and also made a music video for it. The video, which features many Catholic symbols such as stigmata and burning crosses, was condemned by the Vatican.[work=MyVillage]
Madonna's fourth album, Like a Prayer, released in 1989, was co-written and co-produced by Patrick Leonard and Stephen Bray. Rolling Stone hailed it as "...as close to art as pop music gets". Like a Prayer peaked at number one on the U.S. album chart and sold seven million copies worldwide, with four million copies sold in the U.S. alone. The album produced three Top 5-charting singles: the title track (her seventh number-one single in the U.S.), "Express Yourself" and "Cherish".[Madonna singles Billboard chart performance. Allmusic. Retrieved on May 29, 1986.]
In 1990, Madonna starred as "Breathless" Mahoney in a film adaptation of the comic book series Dick Tracy. To accompany the launching of the film in May 1990, she released ''I'm Breathless'' that includes songs inspired by the film's 1930s setting. It features her eighth U.S. number-one single, "Vogue", and her Academy Award-winning song "Sooner or Later". The second single released from ''I'm Breathless'' was "Hanky Panky", which peaked in the U.S. at number nine. In April 1990, Madonna began her Blond Ambition World Tour. Featuring religious and sexual themes, the tour drew controversy from her performance of "Like a Virgin" during which two male dancers caressed her body before she simulated masturbation. The Pope again encouraged Italians not to attend to it. A private association of Catholics, called Famiglia Domani, also boycotted the tour for featuring eroticism. In response, Madonna said, "I am Italian American and proud of it" and the Church "completely frowns on sex... except for procreation."
In November 1990, Madonna released her first greatest hits compilation album, The Immaculate Collection, which includes two new songs: "Justify My Love" and "Rescue Me". "Rescue Me" became the highest-debuting single by a female artist in the U.S. chart history at the time, entering at number 15 and peaking at number nine.[ "Justify My Love" became a number-one dance hit in the U.S. Its music video featured scenes of sadomasochism, bondage,][ same-sex kissing and brief nudity. It was deemed too sexually explicit for MTV and banned from the station.][title=Madonna: Rebel without a Cause ] In 1991, Madonna starred in her first documentary film, Truth or Dare, which chronicles her Blond Ambition Tour, as well as her personal life. The following year, she appeared in the baseball film A League of Their Own with a
portrayal of Italian American Mae Mordabito, and recorded the film's theme song, "This Used to Be My Playground".
1992–1997: Maverick, Sex controversy and EvitaMadrid premiere of Evita In 1992, Madonna founded her own entertainment company, Maverick, consisting of a record company (Maverick Records), a film production company (Maverick Films), and also music publishing, television, merchandising and book-publishing divisions. It was a joint venture with Time Warner as part of a $60 million recording and business deal. The deal gave her a 20% royalty, equal at the time to Michael Jackson's.[last= Kirschling] At the same time she released her fifth studio album Erotica, featuring three sexual songs—"Erotica", "Where Life Begins", and "Did You Do It?". The album peaked at number two in the U.S., becoming one of her least successful records.
During 1993, she starred in two films. First was the erotic thriller Body of Evidence. The film contained S&M and bondage and was poorly received by critics. Her 2003 video to "Hollywood" was a homage to the work of photographer Guy Bourdin which led to a lawsuit by Bourdin's son due to the use of his father's work without permission.
Personal lifeRelationshipsIn the late 1970s, Madonna dated Dan Gilroy, with whom she formed the band Breakfast Club. In the early 1980s, she dated her collaborator Stephen Bray,[title=Five professional collaborations that carried on in the bedroom] artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, DJ and record producer Mark Kamins, and musician Jellybean Benitez.[ While filming the music video for "Material Girl" in 1985, Madonna dated actor Sean Penn and married him later that year. After filing and withdrawing divorce papers in December 1987, they separated on New Year's Eve 1988 and divorced in September 1989. Of her marriage to Penn, Madonna said, "I was completely obsessed with my career and not ready to be generous in any shape or form." Madonna then began a relationship with Warren Beatty while working on the film Dick Tracy in 1989.]
Madonna with husband Guy Ritchie
In late 1990, Madonna dated Tony Ward,[title=Crazy for Madonna's men ] a bisexual model and porn star who starred in her music videos for "Cherish" (1989) and "Justify My Love" (1990). Their relationship ended by early 1991,[first=Lynn] and Madonna began an eight-month relationship with rapper Vanilla Ice, who appeared in her Sex book.
David Banda adoption controversyIn October 2006, Madonna traveled to Malawi to help build an orphanage, which she also funded as part of the Raising Malawi initiative. On October 10, 2006, she filed adoption papers for a boy named David Banda Mwale, born on September 24, 2005 and renamed David Banda Mwale Ciccone Ritchie. Banda was flown out of Malawi on October 16. The adoption raised public controversy because Malawian law requires would-be parents to reside in Malwa for one year before adopting. The effort was highly publicised and culminated into legal disputes.
Madonna refuted the allegations on The Oprah Winfrey Show in October 2006. She said that there are no written adoption laws in Malawi that regulate foreign adoption and that Banda had been suffering from pneumonia after surviving malaria and tuberculosis when she met him. Madonna blamed the media for "doing a great disservice to all the orphans of Africa" by discouraging the adoption. Singer and humanitarian activist, Bono, defended her by saying, "Madonna should be applauded for helping to take a child out of the worst poverty imaginable."
Some said that Banda's biological father Yohane did not understand what adoption meant and had assumed that the arrangement was fostering. He said, "These so-called human rights activists are harassing me every day, threatening me that I am not aware of what I am doing." He also said, "They want me to support their court case, a thing I cannot do for I know what I agreed with Madonna and her husband." Madonna responded that Banda had rejected her offer of financial support and preferred adoption. The adoption was finalized on May 28, 2008 Yohane Banda expressed satisfaction but said, "I might challenge some aspects of the order."
Work at the Kabbalah CentreSince the late 1990s, Madonna has been a devotee of the Jewish mysticism Kabbalah Centre and a disciple of its head, Rabbi Philip Berg, and his wife Karen. She also studies with Rabbi Eitan Yardeni, whose wife Sarah Yardeni runs her favorite charitable project, "Spirituality for Kids", a subsidiary of the Centre. Madonna donated $21 million towards a new Kabbalah school for children. Israeli rabbis condemned the song "Isaac" from Confessions on a Dance Floor because they believed it was a tribute to Rabbi Isaac Luria and claimed that Jewish law forbids commercialising a rabbi's name. Madonna claimed that she had named it after an Israeli singer and said, "The album isn't even out, so how could Jewish scholars in Israel know what my song is about?" Madonna has defended her Kabbalah studies by stating it "would be less controversial if I joined the Nazi Party" and that the Kabbalah is "not hurting anybody."
LegacyMadonna side profile.
Many critics have described her lyrics as simple, and even dull. Her Confessions Tour is the highest grossing concert tour by a female artist. In the United Kingdom, she is the most successful female in the singles chart history and has more number one singles than any other female solo artist. In 2008, she surpassed Elvis Presley as the artist with most top ten hits in the history of Billboard Hot 100. In 2007, Madonna was listed by VH1 as eighth in the Greatest Women of Rock & Roll. On March 10, 2008, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
There has been speculation about her relationships with other women, including Naomi Campbell and Sandra Bernhard. The book Sex depicts her in sexual situations with men and women, and she has been credited with educating people about bisexuality. Madonna has been criticized by the Roman Catholic Church, particularly during her "Who's That Girl", "Blond Ambition" and "Confessions" tours. New York Times journalist and author Gay Talese relates this to her Italian ancestry – people from Pacentro have been in a long tradition of rebellion against Catholics. Madonna had her son Rocco baptized in a Presbyterian Church.
Madonna has generated academic interest. Interdisciplinary research and publications address her relationship to and place within commodity culture, the mass-media spectacles she creates, and the iconography of minority groups such as gay and lesbian people, which she uses in videos such as those for "Vogue", "Like a Prayer", "La Isla Bonita" and "Borderline". These publications were so extensive that in the 1990s, academics would refer to "Madonna Studies" as a sub-field of media studies.
In 2006 a new water bear species (Latin: Tardigrada), Echiniscus madonnae, was named after Madonna. The paper with the description of E. madonnae was published in the international journal of animal taxonomy Zootaxa in March 2006 (Vol. 1154, pages: 1–36). The authors' justification for the name of the new species was: "We take great pleasure in dedicating this species to one of the most significant artists of our times, Madonna Louise Veronica Ritchie." The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) number of the species is 711164.
DiscographyMadonna singles discography
- 1983: Madonna
- 1984: Like a Virgin
- 1986: True Blue
- 1989: Like a Prayer
- 1992: Erotica
- 1994: Bedtime Stories
- 1998: Ray of Light
- 2000: Music
- 2003: American Life
- 2005: Confessions on a Dance Floor
- 2008: Hard Candy
Tours Madonna has had eight successful tours in the course of her career, being:
- 1985: The Virgin Tour
- 1987: Who's That Girl World Tour
- 1990: Blond Ambition World Tour
- 1993: The Girlie Show Tour
- 2001: Drowned World Tour
- 2004: Re-Invention World Tour
- 2006: Confessions Tour
- 2008: Sticky & Sweet Tour
External Links
AskMen.com - Madonna
Copyright Citations
This article is licensed under the GNU License
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