by Editing Services

Created on: November 25, 2008

Madonna was born Madonna Louise Ciccone, on August 16, 1958. She was born and brought up in Michigan. Her mother died from breast cancer when Madonna was only five years old. Madonna was a straight-A student at High School, and was also a member of the school cheerleading team.

She received a dance scholarship to the University of Michigan, and at the end of 1977, she moved to New York with the intention of pursuing a career in modern dance. One of Madonna's most-famous quotes from her earlier days is "I came here with $35 in my pocket," where she is referring to her move to New York.

In 1980, she and her former boyfriend Stephen Bray, formed the band Emmy, where she and Bray co-wrote numerous dance songs together. In 1982, Sire Records (which is a company belonging to Warner Bros Records) signed Madonna to their record label. Her debut single Everybody was released. In her early pop career, Madonna was known for wearing her trademark lacey clothes, and also for wearing necklaces bearing the Christian cross.

Some of Madonna's biggest hits during the eighties include: True Blue, Papa Don't Preach (Papa being the Italian word for Pope), Get into the Groove, Express Yourself and Cherish. In the nineties, she enjoyed hits with the following: Keep it together, Fever, Vogue, This Used to Be My Playground and Take a Bow. Her hits during the noughties have included: Music, Don't Tell Me, Die Another Day (theme-tune to the Bond film of the same name), and a cover of the Don Mclean song American Pie.

Her first recorded album was entitled Madonna and was released in 1983. The US number one hit-album Like a Virgin, was soon to follow. The title track Like a Virgin, stayed for six weeks at the top of the US singles chart. Some of her other albums include: True Blue, Bedtime Stories and Ray of Light. She has had eight tours during the course of her career. The first of which was The Virgin Tour and took place in 1985, and her most recent one was entitled the Sticky & Sweet tour.

1990 saw the release of Madonna's first greatest hits compilation album, The Immaculate Collection. As well as containing a large selection of her greatest hit songs such as Lucky Star, it contained two new songs, Justify My Love and Rescue Me.

Madonna has also acted in a number of Hollywood film productions. In 1985, Madonna starred in Desperately Seeking Susan alongside Rosanna Arquette. This featured the hit single, Get into the Groove. Some of her other earlier film roles include parts in Shanghai Surprise, and she also played the part of Breathless Mahoney in Dick Tracy, under Warren Beatty's direction. In 1996 she played the role of Eva Pern in the film adaptation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber hit musical, Evita; a film which gave rise to the hits You Must Love Me and Don't Cry for Me Argentina.

Other ventures which have been pursued by Madonna include: becoming a model for the clothing chain H&M, launching a clothing line and writing short stories for children. She also founded her own entertainment company in 1992.

In 1985, Madonna married actor Sean Penn. They divorced in January 1989. Madonna has also had a relationship with Warren Beatty. In 1996, she gave birth to daughter Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon (the father of whom is Madonna's fitness trainer Carlos Leon). Madonna married Guy Ritchie at the end of 2000, and the couple reside in London with their two sons, and Madonna's daughter Lourdes.

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