Madonna | biography

Madonna

Profession: Singer
Place/Date of Birth: Michigan USA
Associated with: Guy Ritchie

Elsewhere, British music acts swept the awards bash, with pop heartthrob Robbie Williams, Coldplay and newcomer James Blunt all scooping prestigious accolades. Robbie - who also gave a show-stopping performance of ’Tripping’ - saw off top stars like Eminem and Moby to win Best Male. Despite his success the singer confessed he is still troubled. He admitted: "I’m a great bunch of guys. I don’t know who I’m going to wake up with in the morning."

Coldplay notched up gongs for Best Act UK & Ireland and Best Single for ’Speed of Sound’. The band were beaten in the Best Rock Act and Best Album categories by US punk trio Green Day. James Blunt walked off with Best New Act. Best Female category went to Colombian-born Shakira, Snoop Dogg won Best Hip-Hop and Best Pop went to the Black Eyed Peas.

Live 8 organiser Bob Geldof drew huge cheers when Madonna presented him with the Free Your Mind award for his efforts to stamp out world poverty.

Madonna has defended her interest in Kabbalah - Nov 1, 2020
Madonna has defended her interest in Kabbalah - claiming she would have sparked less controversy joining the Nazis. The pop diva says press reports of the mystical Jewish faith have left her fuming - and are based on ignorance. She said "would be less controversial if I joined the Nazi Party".

She added to Attitude magazine: "It’s not hurting anybody. ’What do you mean you study the Torah if you’re not Jewish? What do you mean you pray to God and wear sexy clothes? We don’t understand this’. It frightens people. So they try to denigrate it or trivialise it so that it makes more sense."

The star also revealed she is disgusted when critics label the religion a ’cult’. She said: "We’re all in a cult. In this cult we’re not encouraged to ask questions. And if we do ask questions, we aren’t going to get a straight answer. "The world’s in the cult of celebrity. That’s the irony of it."

The 47-year-old singer also likened herself to Hollywood star Tom Cruise, who has been criticised for his devotion to Scientology. She stormed: "If it makes Tom Cruise happy, I don’t care if he prays to turtles. And I don’t think anybody else should."

Madonna has launched a scathing attack on modern society - Oct 17, 2020
Madonna has launched a scathing attack on modern society - claiming people will go to hell if they don’t mend their "wicked" ways. The pop diva - who is a devoted follower of Kabbalah, a mystical offshoot of Judaism - revealed she calls the western world "The Beast" and believes society is chasing illusionary dreams that ignore the real issues.

The singer told a TV documentary: "People are going to go to hell if they don’t turn from wicked behaviour. "The material world... the physical world, the world of illusion that we think is real, we live for it. We’re enslaved by it. It will ultimately be our undoing."

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Biography

Madonna Louise Ciccone was born in Michigan USA in 1958., the third of eight children. During her school years she was a cheerleader, excelled in dance and drama classes which gave her the love of performing that she is famous for. Moving to New York in 1977 to pursue her dream, (with a rumoured $35 dollars to her name) Madonna worked as a model and studied dance under notorious choreographer Alvin Ailey. Two years later she formed a band, The Breakfast Club and met boyfriend Steve Bray who recognised her talents immediately and helped her to create the solo dance tracks which saw her signed by Sire Records, releasing her first single, Everybody, with DJ Mark Kamins, in 1982.

The following year Madonna broke away from Kamins and recorded Holiday which went straight in to the American top 20 and was a hit across Europe. She cemented her raunchy image with Like A Virgin, her first US number one, and Material Girl with it’s iconic video. By this time Madonna was becoming one of the most emulated and best loved artists in the world and she became even more popular thanks to her part in Live Aid and a high profile marriage to Sean Penn.

The pop diva followed up her success with several singles from the True Blue album and turned her hand to acting for the first time in the poorly received A Certain Sacrifice and of course, Desperately Seeking Susan. Her first real flop was alongside her husband in the laughable Shanghai Surprise. Her failure’s in the film department didn’t stop David Mamet from casting her in a Broadway production of Speed the Plow - by this time talent or no, Madonna’s was name that guaranteed attention.

1989 saw the singer court controversy with the video for Like A Prayer, featuring a black Jesus, which outraged and shocked the Catholic church and caused Pepsi to cancel a sponsorship deal. But far from ruining her career, this stunt saw her become the icon that we know today. The 1990s were the pinnacle of Madonna’s success, her divorce from Sean Penn pushing her further in to the lime light, beginning with a part in Dick Tracy opposite Warren Beatty and a fantastic soundtrack album alongside featuring hit song Vogue. Documentary film Truth or Dare and her Blonde Ambition tour (with that pointy bra) followed with further controversy.

In 1992 she signed a multi million pound deal with Time Warner guaranteeing the release of music, films and books through her own record label, Maverick. She made the most of the deal with picture book Sex, which caused another controversy but rocketed up the bestsellers charts nonetheless. Erotica was her first album for years though not to generate a US number one. People thought that perhaps Madonna had gone too far with her need to shock, and perhaps she had realised it too as her next album was far mellower and a part in Evita in 1996 made her bankable again.

Later that year she fell pregnant with Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon, daughter of her personal trainer. But far from slowing her work, having a child only seemed to spur Madonna on, she released the runaway success, Ray of Light which produced hit after hit and recorded Beautiful Stranger for the second Austin Powers movie. she also starred alongside Rupert Everett in romantic comedy The Next Best Thing.

It was around this time that Madonna met British director Guy Ritchie - the man who would change her life. They had son Rocco in 2000 and they married in 2002 after Madonna moved permanently to England, took to wearing flat caps and drinking tea. The title track of her album Music gave her a transatlantic number one hit. Collaborations with Ritchie, especially their film Swept Away, have generally been unsuccessful but Madonna’s music career continues to go from strength to strength, her latest album American Life has been a worldwide hit and she has even found time to pen a children’s book, The English Roses. Now, an honorary Brit and devout follower of Kaballah, Madonna lives with her family in Marylebone and Wiltshire. She also owns a ?4 million Spanish-style villa in Beverly Hills, a house in Miami and a duplex overlooking Central Park in New York.
(Updated April 04)
December 2007