Malawian child welfare officials are expected to file a report on the suitability of Madonna and Ritchie as adoptive parents after two trips to their London residence in May and December.
Madonna angry at Guy no-show? - April 19 2007
Madonna is said to be furious with husband Guy Ritchie after he failed to join her on her trip to Malawi.
The Queen of Pop has been in Africa visiting the orphanage where the couple adopted David Banda last year, and Guy was apparently supposed be coming too.
But The Sun reports that the 38-year-old film director has postponed his trip three times this week claiming he is too busy with work, prompting heated phone calls.
Madonna, 48, is travelling with baby David and daughter Lourdes, 10. Guy was meant to be bringing the couple’s other son, six-year-old Rocco, with him.
A source close to the family told the paper: "Madonna is furious with him. They fell out before she left London when he first postponed due to a last-minute meeting.
"Since then Guy and Madonna have rowed over the phone, screaming and shouting at each other. She really hoped Rocco would be with her to see the kids at the orphanage."
Hopefully the pop megastar’s mood improved when she was greeted by cheering crowds as she visited a community centre in Malawi yesterday - with locals apparently praising her decision to adopt David Banda.
Madonna cheered by Malawians - April 19 2007
Madonna was greeted by cheering crowds when she visited a community centre in Malawi yesterday - with locals apparently praising her decision to adopt David Banda.
The pop diva - who sparked controversy when she brought the Malawian baby home to the UK last year - was met by people holding signs saying "Well done Madonna. Adopt more" and "Madonna we love you" when she arrived at the centre in Lilongwe, reports the Daily Star.
Some of the fans had waited for hours in the hot sun for a glimpse of the singer, who has spent the last few days in the impoverished country.
Madge, who has taken daughter Lourdes and son David on the trip, has already visited her new son’s old home, the church-run Home of Hope orphanage in Mchinji.
She’s also toured UN-backed development projects in the small village of Mtanga, where farmers are being helped to grow maize and start fish farming.
see photos of Madonna in Malawi
Madge to adopt orphanage? - April 18 2007
She’s already in the process of adopting Malawian toddler David and there are rumours that she’d like to adopt a girl as well - but now it seems Madonna may want to take on an entire orphanage.
The Queen of Pop is back in Malawi for her charity work and so 18-month-old David Banda can see his biological dad. While there, she’s returned to the Home Of Hope orphanage, says the Daily Mail.
The star is quoted as saying: "I might take over the orphanage because the pastor here is getting old and about to retire. I love you and I have all your welfare at heart.
"I will do my very best to support you all and take care of you in the same way as David."
She added: "If Malawians will work hand in hand with me, I will help Malawi."
The 48-year-old apparently plans to spend a month a year in the African country overseeing the orphanage, farming and hospital projects she is helping to fund.
Madge revisits adopted son’s orphanage - April 18 2007
Madonna, her daughter and the young Malawian boy she’s in the process of adopting visited his old orphanage in Malawi.
Helena Bonham Carter
Hugh Laurie
Rachel Weisz
Faces in Fashion
Ricci Stoene
Sadie Frost
Musicians
DJ Jon Carter
Graham Coxon
Ms Dynamite
Writers & Artists
Amanda Craig
Features
Celeb Rehab
Keeping up with the WAGs...
Profiles: Film
Angelina Jolie
Keira Knightley
Tom Cruise
Profiles: Music
Britney Spears
Kylie Minogue
Madonna
Profiles: Fashion
Kate Moss
Naomi Campbell
Victoria Beckham
Win a flight to New York
Win a flight to New York
Win a return flight to New York and get paid for your opinions!
| Book local Hotels |  |
under £40 | |
from £40 to £60 | |
from £60 to £80 | |
from £80 to £100 | |
over £100 |
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