Madonna

Madonna Louise Ciccone is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, actress and businesswoman from Bay City, Michigan. Known as the “Queen of Pop”, she is one of the most commercially successful and influential recording artists in popular music, and her work has a major impact on popular music, visual presentation and music video production.

Early life and move to New York

Madonna is born in 1958 and grows up in the Detroit suburbs of Pontiac and Rochester Hills. She is the daughter of Silvio “Tony” Ciccone, an engineer and physicist, and Madonna Louise Fortin, an X-ray technician. After her mother dies in 1963, she attends Catholic schools and later studies dance at the University of Michigan on a scholarship. In 1978 she leaves college and moves to New York City to pursue dance and music.

Early bands and recording breakthrough

In New York, Madonna works various jobs while studying dance and performing with bands including Breakfast Club and Emmy. She signs to Sire Records in 1982. Her debut single, “Everybody”, appears that year, followed by “Burning Up” and “Holiday”. Her first album, Madonna (1983), reaches the US top ten and establishes her as a notable pop artist. Like a Virgin (1984) becomes her first number-one album in several countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, and its title track becomes her first US number-one single.

1980s success and image

During the 1980s, Madonna becomes closely associated with fashion and visual presentation as well as music. True Blue (1986) produces singles including “Papa Don’t Preach”, “Open Your Heart” and “La Isla Bonita” and becomes one of the decade’s best-selling albums. She also acts in films such as Desperately Seeking Susan, Shanghai Surprise and Who’s That Girl, and tours with the Who’s That Girl World Tour. Her marriage to actor Sean Penn ends in divorce in 1989.

“Like a Prayer”, touring and controversy

Like a Prayer (1989) includes autobiographical material and collaborations with Patrick Leonard, Stephen Bray and Prince. Its singles include “Like a Prayer”, “Express Yourself” and “Cherish”, and the title video draws controversy for its religious imagery. In 1990 she releases the soundtrack I’m Breathless, which includes “Vogue”, and begins the Blond Ambition World Tour, noted for its theatrical style and controversial imagery. Her first greatest-hits compilation, The Immaculate Collection, becomes one of the best-selling compilation albums of all time.

Business ventures, film and mid-1990s work

In the early 1990s Madonna founds Maverick, an entertainment company that includes Maverick Records and later signs artists such as Alanis Morissette and Michelle Branch. She releases Erotica and the photography book Sex in 1992, both of which attract major media attention for their explicit content. She also appears in A League of Their Own, Body of Evidence and Dangerous Game. Bedtime Stories follows in 1994 and features a softer sound, with singles including “Secret” and “Take a Bow”.

Evita, motherhood and electronic music

Madonna portrays Eva Perón in Evita (1996) and wins the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy. She gives birth to her daughter Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon and becomes interested in Eastern spirituality and Kabbalah. Ray of Light (1998) introduces electronic influences and collaboration with William Orbit, wins several Grammy Awards including Best Pop Album, and includes “Frozen” and “Ray of Light”. She also records “Beautiful Stranger” for Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999).

2000s albums, tours and later projects

Music (2000) becomes her first US number-one album in more than a decade. She marries film director Guy Ritchie later that year and has a son, Rocco Ritchie. She returns to touring with the Drowned World Tour in 2001, appears in Swept Away and Die Another Day in 2002, and records the title song for the latter. American Life (2003) addresses fame, identity and American culture, and its title video is withdrawn after the start of the Iraq War because of its military imagery. She also begins publishing children’s books with The English Roses.

Dance music, touring and expanding business interests

Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005), produced largely with Stuart Price, returns to dance-oriented music and includes the hit “Hung Up”, which samples ABBA’s “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)”. The accompanying Confessions Tour becomes the highest-grossing tour by a female artist at that time. Around this period she founds Raising Malawi and adopts a child from Malawi. She signs a major touring and recording agreement with Live Nation in 2007, directs the documentary I Am Because We Are and the feature film Filth and Wisdom in 2008, and releases Hard Candy, which includes collaborations with Justin Timberlake, Timbaland and Pharrell Williams and features “4 Minutes”. The Sticky & Sweet Tour becomes one of the highest-grossing tours by a solo artist. Her marriage to Guy Ritchie ends in divorce in 2008.

2010s and later career

Madonna releases Celebration in 2009 and launches the Material Girl clothing line and the Hard Candy Fitness chain. Her second feature film as director, W.E. (2011), receives mixed reviews but earns her a Golden Globe Award for the song “Masterpiece”. She performs at the Super Bowl XLVI halftime show in 2012 and releases MDNA the same year, followed by the MDNA Tour. Rebel Heart appears in 2015 with the Rebel Heart Tour. In 2017 she moves to Lisbon, Portugal, with her children, and that experience influences Madame X (2019), which incorporates fado, morna and Latin music and becomes her ninth number-one album on the Billboard 200. The Madame X Tour is later affected by injuries and ends early during the COVID-19 pandemic. She releases the concert documentary Madame X in 2021, returns to Warner Records in a catalog partnership in 2022, and issues the remix compilation Finally Enough Love: 50 Number Ones. She also collaborates with artists including Dua Lipa, Missy Elliott, Christine and the Queens, the Weeknd and Playboi Carti.

Recognition and legacy

Madonna has sold hundreds of millions of records worldwide and is frequently described as the best-selling female recording artist in history. She has set numerous Billboard chart records, including the most number-one songs on the Dance Club Songs chart. Her awards include Grammy Awards, MTV Video Music Awards, Golden Globe Awards and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008. Her work also spans fashion, publishing, fitness, philanthropy and film production, and it attracts extensive academic study.