Haunted by the memories of her mother’s frailty, she was determined to make her own voice heard.
With her fingerless gloves, fishnet stockings and large crucifix necklaces, she became a trendsetter as girls around the world imitated her sense of fashion.
A seven time Grammy award winner, she has remained a mover and shaker on the pop scene for over three decades.
Childhood
Madonna Louise Ciccone was born on August 16, 1958 in Michigan to a Catholic family. The third of six children, she learned early on how to handle her role as the middle child, admitting that she was “the sissy of the family.When she was five, her mother died of breast cancer. Her father married the family housekeeper.
Madonna fought hard against the rules imposed by her stepmother. She rebelled against her traditional upbringing by turning her conservative clothing into revealing outfits, frequenting underground gay nightclubs and rejecting her religious background.
However, she was a straight-A student, cheerleader and disciplined dancer who graduated from high school a semester earlier than her peers. In 1976, her hard work earned her the attentions of the University of Michigan, which offered her full scholarship to their dance program.
Career
She dropped out of college and moved to New York to purse a dance career. In her first year there, she was held at gunpoint and raped. The assault became a source of endless motivation for her. Madonna paid her rent with a handful of odd jobs, including nude art modeling; serving at the Russian Tea Room; and performing for the American Dance Center.
The 1980s was Madonna’s boom decade, and she dominated the music charts with a succession of multimillion-selling albums, and her musical and fashion influence on young women was felt around the globe. The song “Holiday” also earned the singer an appearance in 1984’s ‘American Bandstand’.
Her 1985 follow-up album, ‘Like a Virgin’, hit No. 1 on the Billboard Chart and went platinum within a month.
She then started her first music tour, The Virgin Tour. She gave hits after hits ‘True Blue’ (1986), Who’s that Girl (1987), You Can Dance (1987) and ‘Like a Prayer (1989)’ creating a wave of iconic music videos, constantly re-crafting her persona.
By 1991, she had achieved 21 Top 10 hits in the US and sold more than 70 million albums internationally, generating $1.2 billion in sales.
The singer affirmed her business acumen in 1992 when she signed a seven-year, $60-million deal with Time Warner, guaranteeing release of all albums, films, and books under her Maverick production corporation.
Her first Maverick project was a highly controversial 128-page coffee-table photo book,’Sex’, which had Madonna posing nude. ‘Sex’ was followed by the mostly panned erotic film thriller ‘Body of Evidence and the album ‘Erotica’.
In 1998, she released ‘Ray of Light, a critically-acclaimed outing that had her delving into electronica and spiritual exploration.
She stepped on to Hollywood but her films were not hits and she slowly bowed out. She released her successful children’s book, ‘The English Roses’ in 2003.
‘Confessions on a Dance Floor’ marked her return to music. Released in late 2005, the album topped the Billboard 200 chart and was accompanied by a world-wide tour in 2006
Controversy
Madonna’s ‘Like a Prayer’ video featured interracial relationship themes, burning crosses and a blending of sexual innuendo and religious ideologies. As a result of the video, Pope John Paul II urged fans not to attend her concerts in Italy.
In 2006, despite following all legal procedures, Madonna faces scrutiny from human rights groups and the media when she began the process to adopt a 13-month-old kid from Malawi. The adoption raised public concerns about whether special treatment was given to Madonna considering the fact that Malawian law normally requires one year of residence for potential adoptive parents.
Achievements
Madonna has sold more than 300 million records worldwide. The Guinness World Records acknowledged her as the best-selling female recording artist and the fourth best-selling act of all time. She is the most certified artist of all time in the UK.
Billboard named Madonna as the top touring female artist of all time.
She has been honored with 20 MTV Video Music Awards the most for any artist.
Madonna holds the record for the most number-ones on all Billboard charts with a total of 156 number-ones.