Madonna

Madonna, also known by the nickname the “Queen of Pop”, is a multiple award winning American singer-songwriter and actress who became incredibly famous all over the world upon the release of her self-named album, Madonna in 1983. The album included great hit songs like, Holiday, Lucky Star and Borderline. Some of the other very famous songs of her massively successful career include Papa Don’t Preach, Like a Prayer, and Frozen. Since launching her solo career in the early 1980s, she has sold over 300 million records all over the globe, thereby making her one of the most successful musicians of all time.

Throughout her career, she has also starred in several popular movies, most notably the 1996 musical drama film titled Evita, which won her a Golden Globe award for Best Actress. Her other notable film appearances include 1993’s Body of Evidence and 2002’s Die Another Day.

She was born on 16th August, 1958 in Bay City, Michigan to Madonna L. Fortin and Silvio Ciccone. She grew up with two older siblings and three younger siblings. In 1985, Madonna and American actor Sean Penn tied the knot. The marriage was short lived and ended in 1989. In 1996, Madonna became a mother for the first time when her relationship with Carlos Leon led to the birth of her daughter Lourdes Ciccone Leon. In 2000, she got married for the second time to filmmaker Guy Ritchie. The marriage produced two children – one biological son named Rocco Ritchie and an adopted son from Malawi named David Banda. After the demise of her marriage to Ritchie in 2008, she went on to adopt several other children.

Madonna performing live in 2015. Source Wikimedia.

Facts about Madonna

• Madonna was named after her mother.
• At the age of 5, Madonna lost her mother to breast cancer.
• In high school, she was a cheerleader and a straight-A student.
• During her high school years, she gained notoriety for her odd behaviors, such as refusing to shave her underarms and frequently exposing her underwear to the boys in her school.
• Prior to gaining stardom, she did a number of odd jobs, including working as a waiter. She dropped out of college in the late 1970s and travelled from Michigan to New York with only $35 on her and the burning desire to become somebody in life. According to her, that was the bravest decision she had ever made in her life.
• While living in New York City and working as a dancer for other artists, Madonna was once sexually assaulted by a gang of men.
• Before enjoying worldwide fame as a solo artist, Madonna was a member of a number of bands, including Breakfast Club, where she played the drums.
• Madonna is skilled at playing a number of instruments, including the guitar and the drums.
• Since releasing her debut album titled Madonna in 1983, she has sold over 300 million records all over the world, thereby entering the Guinness World Records as the best-selling female singer of all time.
• Since the early 1990s, her concerts have generated over $1 billion in revenue. She is therefore regarded as the highest-grossing solo touring artist in the entire history of music.
• In 1990, she Madonna was selected to be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, but she refused accepting the honor. As a result of that she has no star on the Walk of Fame.
• She won her first Grammy Award in 1992.
• In 1994, while appearing on David Letterman’s late night show Late Show with David Letterman, she shocked everyone by clutching her underwear and asking Letterman to smell it.
• While performing live at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards, Madonna raised few eyebrows when she passionately kissed both Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears, whom she was performing live with.
• In 2003, Madonna’s published a children’s picture book titled The English Roses. The book went on to become one of the most successful children’s picture books ever published.
• According to Madonna, the first rock concert she ever attended was that of her idol David Bowie.
• In 2007, she was named by the Guinness World Records as the world’s highest paid female musician.
• In 2008, she received one of the greatest honors an artist can receive in the music industry when she was inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
• She is one of the most awarded singers of all time.