by Suzanne Fort

Created on: July 25, 2008   Last Updated: July 29, 2008

Madonna Louise Ciccone was the name Madonna was born with in 1958. She was born in Michigan. She grew up in a strict Catholic background as we discovered with "Papa Don't Preach". Madonna's mom died when she was 5 of cancer. The father re-married to a housekeeper. She went to college in Michigan and North Carolina, before moving to New York to do choreography and modeling.

Madonna is an artist that is constantly evolving. She started out in the 1980's with hits like "True Blue". Madonna was a woman who inspired many types of fashion in that time. People were wearing lace shirts, denim jackets, and getting their hair permed. Her song and appearance in "Desperately Seeking Susan" helped boost her appeal. Madonna turned from a lace wearing woman to a darker character in "Like a Prayer". She got a lot of heat from religious leaders because of her depiction of Jesus on the cross. "Like a Virgin" was another one of her many well known songs from the 80s. Her marriage to Sean Penn crumbled in the 80s as well.

Madonna second decade of music had the wonderful albums, "I'm breathless", "Immaculate", "Erotica", "Bedtime Stories", "Something to Remember", and "Ray of Light". Some of her looks and songs were a little bit too hot for some to handle including her S&M type themes. "Ray of Light" was pretty happy and upbeat and is more like the Madonna we know today.

Madonna's third decade of music is what we know now. It's mostly dance-type songs. She is more down to earth and likeable now than I think she ever has been. She is currently married to Guy Richie, but the tabloids think the marriage may be crumbling due to her recent rumored romance with Alex Rodriguez. Madonna just adopted a baby to add to her other children.

I would not say that Madonna is someone that is a good actress or that she should pursue acting, but her singing has always been great and she continues to surprise us with new songs and new looks.

You can probably find out more than you'd ever want to know in her brother's tell all book, "Life With My Sister Madonna". There are always rumors running around about Madonna involving her marriage, her lovers, and everything else she is doing. The father of Madonna's first child says Madonna is a great mother and this drama in the press about Alex Rodriguez is something new for Madonna. The truth is that Madonna is a true artist with a lot of talent. She can constantly reinvent her look and her songs in order to keep people buying her albums. I'm sure she has many other surprises in store from us in the future and I'm excited to see them.

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