Madonna Biography  

The Queen of Pop has quite possibly achieved more success as an international pop icon than any other female of all time. Madonna became a legendary pop diva in the 1980s with her music, and has five Grammy Awards and a legendary number of album sales under her belt. She is renowned for her sexually explicit and sometimes vulgar blonde bombshell persona, her unique music videos, and for using controversial themes and images in her work, combining politics, religion, and aggressive sexuality.  

Madonna is more than a musician and singer—she is also a songwriter, dancer, model, actress, and children’s book author. She was born in Michigan on August 16, 1958, as Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone, the third of six children in a Catholic family. Her parents are Italian-American Silvio “Tony” P. Ciccone and French Canadian Madonna Louise Fortin, who died at the age of thirty from breast cancer when Madonna was only five.  

After childhood beginnings of ballet classes and cheerleading, Madonna decided to leave college and move to New York City when she was twenty to pursue a dance career. This move led to her studying with Martha Graham and Pearl Lang, and performing with various modern dance companies. She went on to form several bands, and then signed a deal with Sire Records and founder Seymour Stein in 1982.  

Her early albums were mostly dance and pop music—popular but often dismissed by critics. Her first-ever single was “Everybody” in 1982, which was mildly popular, as was her debut album, Madonna, in 1983. However, it was the release of her follow-up album in 1984, Like a Virgin, the really gave Madonna the fame she continues to enjoy today. The title track is one of Madonna’s most recognized songs, and was also her first #1 hit on the U.S. music charts. “Like a Virgin” has been heavily criticized for its sexual content, as have many of her singles, albums, and music videos. Another single on that album, “Material Girl,” garnered Madonna further acclaim and the nickname The Material Girl.