Madonna - biography and personal life. Family assembled: Madonna posted a photo of her six children on Instagram for the first time

Biography, life story of Madonna

Childhood

Madonna was born on August 16, 1958 in Rochester, Michigan, USA. Her family lived in Pontiac, as Michigan was known at the time, but the decision to open up to the world came to her when they visited her grandmother in Bay City. Madonna was named Madonna Louise Ciccone, but her family called her "Little Nonnie." When she was just five years old, her mother died of breast cancer. According to Madonna, “One of the hardest things I've faced in life was the death of my mother and I definitely haven't come to terms with that day.”. Madonna learned early to be strong and independent, but she always remembered her mother's courage: “She tried to hide her fear deep inside herself so that we wouldn’t know - she never complained.”.

After the death of his mother, the Ciccone family fell apart. Madonna and her brothers were sent to various relatives, and a couple of years later, to Madonna’s horror, her father Tony married their housekeeper Joan Gustafson, a guardian of strict order. The father forced the children to call her mother, but Madonna found it extremely difficult to do this. In fact, she never called her mother. Madonna was the oldest of eight children, so it was on her shoulders that the greatest burden of responsibility was placed. Madonna recalled: “As the oldest child in the family, I felt like my entire youth was spent caring for children. How I wanted to escape from all this then... I was the most typical Cinderella.”. Madonna said about her father: “If we didn’t have school assignments, he would give us homework—he was extremely adamant about forcing us to be useful.”. And: “But if he weren’t so strict, I wouldn’t be who I am now.”.

When Madonna was little, she loved to sing along to songs on the radio while she helped with housework. She recalled: “There was always music playing in our house - either gramophone records, or the radio, or someone humming in the shower.”. Soon, her father wanted her to take piano lessons, since most of her family played musical instruments, and her father was really obsessed with it. But this was not destined to come true - Madonna was her father’s favorite and persuaded him to let her take dance lessons instead of the piano.

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As mentioned earlier, she wanted to do everything that she was forbidden to do. She turned her uniform skirt into a miniskirt, ran to the bathroom to put on makeup and put on tights. She flirted all the time. But when she wasn't flirting, she devoted herself entirely to her studies. Madonna recalled: “I tried so hard to study at school because my father rewarded us if we got straight A’s in our diaries. I wasn't as interested in studying as I was in wanting to save a lot of money with the 25 cents my dad gave us.". It is not surprising that Madonna shone in the school theater, where she played leading roles in productions. After high school, she took dance classes at the University of Michigan. Her teacher was Chris Flynn. As she recalled: “I truly loved him. He was my mentor, my father, my imaginary lover, everything.".

Youth

Almost immediately after the University of Michigan, Madonna decided to go to New York to fulfill all her dreams. Everyone was against this idea, but her dance teacher said "Drive" and, fortunately for us, she went. So, she was finally in New York, standing in the middle of Times Square (upon arriving in the city, she asked the taxi driver to take her to the middle of everything) with $35 in her pocket, a bag full of tights and dance boots in one armpit and big doll to another. Madonna recalled: “When I arrived in New York, I flew on an airplane for the first time, drove a taxi for the first time, in general, did everything for the first time. And I arrived there with 35 dollars in my pocket. It was the bravest thing I've ever done. My goal was to conquer the city and I felt that I would have to". And also: “Even though I quickly got used to New York, I was really lonely.”.

“I could take anything in a taxi wherever I went. I took a deep breath, gritted my teeth, wiped away my tears and said, “I will do it - I have to do it, there is no other way.”. This was the beginning of Madonna's difficult times. She lived in a terrible house - there was no money for a better house. She recalled: “When my father first visited me, he was stunned. Cockroaches were crawling everywhere. There were drunks lying around in the corridor and everything smelled of spoiled beer.”. Then she won a scholarship to the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater, where she spent two years working hard during the day and even harder at night without losing her job at the fast food restaurant where she worked part-time.

She also occasionally attended the Blue Froggie Club, where she met Steve Bray. He was talented musician, but his relationship with Madonna was more physical. A little later, Madonna realized that the path to the top for her was not the end of pure modern dancing. It was not the competition that hindered her, but the lack of prospects. There were so many people trying for so few professions. She auditioned for theater and musical roles and achieved that she was taken to Paris to take part in a revue, standing behind Patrick Hernade. Hernade's administration realized that they had gotten their hands on something valuable, but they were too slow - when she asked for an increase in her fee, they refused. So, goodbye Paris and hello New York.

The desire to sing

Madonna returned to New York with a burning desire to succeed in music industry. She returned to live with her old boyfriend, Dan Gilroy. He and a couple of his friends, whom he met at dance school, created a group called The Breakfast Band, they needed a drummer - just for Madonna. Then she persuaded Dan to write a couple of songs for her as the singer of the group.

After a few months of being in the group, she realized they were going nowhere and formed her own group with herself as main singer. Over the next few months, they performed constantly in dubious New York clubs so that their name would become known in musical circles. That was not easy. Her group went through many changes in its composition and name. Clubs were more interested in punk and new wave, but Madonna pored over her goal. She was invited to model a little and take part in a short (one-hour) art film, A Certain Sacrifice.

Madonna finally landed a deal with Gotham Records, earning $100 in a week. Steve Bray went with her as drummer and songwriter. She continued to persist and finally landed a deal with Sire Records for just $5,000 and released her first single, Everybody. When it was first released to radio, many fans confused Madonna with the African-American disco diva. Music companies also didn't put Madonna's photo on the cover - they wanted people to think she was black in order to sell more records. The song Everybody sold over 250,000 copies and peaked at number three on the charts. John Jellybean Benitez found Madonna the song Holiday, which became an immediate hit, but she won first place with Borderline. There were rumors that her voice had been mechanically altered to sound like a girl's. Her first album, Madonna, released in 1983, received a great reception and won the hearts of millions of fans, as well as invitations to star in films.

Success

Madonna not only set the tone for music style, she also created a new fashion. In the Lucky Star music video, she showed off her Boy Toy look. Madonna's style was so popular that world famous lingerie store Fredericks of Hollywood reported a 40% increase in sales, which they attributed to the Down to Earth Girl look.

Never one to miss an opportunity to make a quick buck, Madonna sets up her own label, Wazoo. Among other things, Wazoo produced rubber bracelets and Boy Toy belt buckles. It wasn't long before millions of female fans around the world snapped up the rags of their No. 1 pop heroine. But it wasn't just the clothes that raised Madonna's sex reputation. Her music was about to take a turn in the other direction. New album Like A Virgin made Madonna popular and soon everyone at home had their own disc with the album.

It instantly achieved triple platinum status on the American charts. Interestingly, Madonna's first album was still popular on the charts. 1985 was a very busy year for Madonna. The Material Girl video was released on February 1st, the Vision Quest film was released on the 15th, and the Desperately Seeking Susan film was released on March 29th. Her role in Desperately Seeking Susan added a significant dimension to her character. Madonna's singles Material Girl and Crazy For You were in the top five. Crazy For You won Madonna her first Grammy. Madonna's first big tour (she traveled all over America) was named after her album The Virgin Tour (1985).

Love

From small places to packed stadiums – it was a matter of a couple of months. While she was filming Material Girl, she met . And after the phrase "I wouldn't want to be Mr. Madonna anyway", she married him. Madonna recalled: “We were jumping on my bed, doing our usual morning ritual, and suddenly this look appears... I suddenly understand what he is thinking about.”.

“I said, no matter what you think, I’ll say yes!”. This was his chance and he took it. On August 16, 1985, they got married at the Malibu media circus, 13 helicopters with paparazzi flew in a circle during the ceremony, and the groom tried to beat up those photographers who were sitting in the bushes. Madonna recalled: “I didn’t think that I would get married with 13 helicopters above my head, it all turned into some kind of circus. At first I was outraged, but then I laughed.".

Incredible popularity

Since 1985, Madonna has been known as a person who can do everything: she is a singer, an actress, a composer, a stage director, and an official. Madonna was successful everywhere. She broke all records on every possible radio broadcast, video, sales and box office record, with more than 29 of her singles in the top ten, 11 of which were in 1st place. This is a world record! Take A Bow was at number one for 7 weeks, breaking the previous record of Madonna's hit Like A Virgin, which held number one for 6 weeks.

Madonna's No. 1 and No. 2 singles stayed at the top of the charts for 40 weeks - almost whole year never-ending hits! Every studio album that contained her songs was in the top 15. All but one were in the top ten, and seven of them were in the top five. International album sales of Madonna are estimated at 120,000,000. Besides the main thing - music, to the unparalleled success of Madonna - she has more videos and roles than any artist in the history of MTV. Having been awarded many times for these videos, Madonna made a significant contribution to the video art model as her endless musical tours, which combined music, stagecraft, performance and dazzling charisma, filled stadiums for the next three weeks.

These huge breakthroughs mean huge amounts of money, which is why Madonna is the richest woman in the world, followed by Oprah Winfrey. At the beginning of the 2000s, Madonna earned $13,000,000 a year. All the upcoming albums, singles, videos and films kept Madonna on the crest of a wave.

As if she hadn't been busy before. Madonna gave the world another piece of joy in September 2000. No, not another child. Madonna devoted this time to Music, her first full album since Ray of Light, which won a Grammy. It was, of course, a hit, but one that no one expected. Music entered the sales charts in first place, and not only in the United States, but also in 22 other countries, such as in Madonna's new home - England. It sold 420,000 copies in the first week alone, in the US alone. Music was Madonna's first album to hold the top position.

Throughout her hectic career, Madonna has released more than ten albums, starred in more than ten films and written (yes, she is also a writer) seven books. Madonna is a person who incredibly combines caring for her family and friends, and an incredible career, and social life, and charity. Her achievements are truly amazing. Many journalists claim that all people are divided into two types: those who love Madonna and those who hate her. The only way. There are no and cannot be indifferent to its activities.

Personal

Madonna, an incredibly beautiful and sexy woman, had many men, all of them completely handsome. However, not every one of them managed to reach the heart of the star. After a divorce from

Madonna's daughter Lourdes Leon is known primarily because of her famous mother. The pop diva named her child in honor French city Lourdes, which she said her mother had always wanted to visit. Unlike the star mom, Lourdes avoids publicity and prefers to lead a more private lifestyle.

Lola's biography

Lourdes Maria Ciccone-Leon (abbreviated as Lola) was born on October 14, 1996. This happened at the Good Samaritan Clinic in Los Angeles. The girl's parents are Cuban fitness trainer Carlos Leon and popular singer Madonna (Lourdes is her first child). At that time, the diva was 38 years old.

According to media reports, it is known that the birth lasted about 16 hours. Madonna steadfastly endured the protracted physiological process, and after some time a Cuban took her and her child from the hospital. Lourdes' parents met while the singer was jogging, and separated seven months after the baby was born. Carlos Leon always maintains a relationship with his daughter and thanks the pop diva for Lourdes.

In addition to Lourdes, Madonna has 4 daughters and 2 sons. Rocko John Ritchie is the half-brother of our heroine and Madonna’s own son, born in marriage from British director Guy Ritchie. The rest of the children are adopted by the singer in different intervals time, natives from the African Republic of Malawi.

Rebellious spirit

When the girl was not yet 18 years old, heated discussions flared up around her person. This was due to the fact that while on vacation with friends in France, she was spotted smoking illegal substances.

A little later, after completing her studies at school, Lourdes went on vacation to Cannes and was again spotted by the paparazzi while smoking illegal plants. One can only guess how the popular pop diva reacted to such rebellious behavior.

Girl's hobbies

Madonna's daughter (the girl's photo is posted in the article) has been interested in clothing design since childhood. Lourdes takes an active part in the joint family business, overseeing the youth clothing brand Material Girl.

On this moment she is studying at college at the University of Michigan, where her mother was educated at one time. Before this, the girl attended the LaGuardia School of the Arts. In addition, Lola periodically tries herself as an actress, practicing her skills theatrical arts, singing and dancing, and also appears in commercials. Not long ago she became the face of Stella McCartney perfume.

IN at a young age a girl could put on knee-high sneakers and combine them with leggings of any color, while decorating her head with a knitted hat, and carry a bucket bag in her hands. Lourdes's stepfather, Guy Ritchie, could put a stop to the wild children's imagination. Attending social events with him, she looked like a princess, and not like an eccentric hooligan.

It is known that in adolescence, the girl launched a clothing line together with Madonna, which played a role significant role in shaping her sense of style. Thanks to this, Lourdes has become a true fashionista, who is aware of all the latest trends, but besides this, she tries to follow and trust her own taste.

It was at this time that Madonna's daughter began to criticize her parent's clothes without hesitation. According to the girl, her mother had unfeminine, sometimes even tasteless, things in her wardrobe. She shared her thoughts and ideas about fashion and beauty on her personal blog, calling herself a designer, blogger, and also the daughter of a pop queen.

After jointly launching a clothing line with her mother, the girl began to wear more feminine dresses, lace blouses, and also give preference to pumps and other elements of a real lady’s wardrobe. However, it is worth noting that Lola did not completely abandon her passion for leather jackets and rough boots; on the contrary, she learned to harmoniously combine various rock star accessories in her look, creating a daring but laconic style.

Girl's appearance

In addition to fashionable images, Madonna's daughter recently attracted public attention with her appearance. She began to wear wide, thick and very shaggy eyebrows (by the way, the pop diva herself wore these at the dawn of her youth).

At such a young age, Lola has a large number of tattoos on her body. There is an arrow-circle on the hand, and the words “dad” and “mom” are written on the fingers. On the finger is a large R in honor of her half-brother named Rocco, as well as the name "Mercy" (the name of one of her adopted sisters). On the inner thigh there is an image of the letter W, possibly representing the capital letter of the name of Lourdes' new boyfriend, who has recently accompanied the girl everywhere.

Many also paid attention to the armpits of Madonna's daughter. Lola stopped caring for them, and the public began to get the impression that the girl was even proud of it. She, not ashamed of her unshaven appearance, posted photographs with unkempt armpits for everyone to see.

It is worth noting that Madonna herself, like her daughter, supported the vegetation trend that was popular on social networks. Previously, Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus, Gigi Hadid and other Hollywood stars had already boasted of unshaven armpits.

The dancer, writer, actress, director and screenwriter is known to most for her video clips, stage performances, and the use of political, sexual and religious imagery in her work.

“Madonna” is the artist’s real name, and “Veronica” was chosen by the singer herself as a child for confirmation, and it is not official. Madonna is a citizen of the United Kingdom. The most commercially successful singer, having sold the most records of any female artist: more than 250 million albums and 100 million singles, deservedly bearing the title of “Queen of Pop”.

Madonna began her music career in 1979 as a drummer in her pal Dan Gilroy's New York rock band. Breakfast Club, soon moving on to guitar, vocals and writing his own material. Over the years of her musical activity, Madonna has tried herself in different genres and directions, and has won many awards, including a Grammy (7 awards out of 28 nominations). In 1998, Madonna was included in the Guinness Book of Records as the owner of the longest continuous streak of top ten singles (with Like a virgin(1984) by Secret(1994)), also Madonna in 2008 overtook Elvis Presley in the total number of hits in the first “ten”, and according to this indicator she became second, second only to the Beatles. According to the message record company Madonnas Warner Brothers Records in 2005, worldwide sales of her albums exceeded 250 million copies. In 2008, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Madonna received the nickname "Materialist" from the English-language press. Material Girl) and "Queen of Pop" (eng. Queen of Pop). She is also known as a follower and popularizer of Kabbalah, an activist in many charitable and human rights organizations, one of which is “Renaissance Malawi” (English) Russian .

Although actor career Madonna's career was less successful than her musical one (she became the record holder for the number of Golden Raspberry anti-awards for the worst role), she starred in more than twenty films and was awarded for her performance in the film musical "Evita" prestigious award Hollywood Foreign Press Association Golden Globe. Madonna also voiced Princess Selenia in the English version of the dubbing of Luc Besson's film "Arthur and the Minimoys" (in the original French version of the film, the Princess was voiced by Mylène Farmer).

Biography

Childhood and career

Second single

To justify the significant costs of producing and distributing the album, Seymour Stein wanted to ensure that it was a success. Everybody It is no coincidence that Madonna will be able to charm not only clubgoers. To test the waters, he gave the go-ahead for the release of a 12-inch maxi-single. If his success even remotely resembles success Everybody, then Madonna's debut album will be given the green light.

Aware of what was at stake, Madonna met with Warner and insisted that Kamins be replaced by a more experienced producer. One of these was Reggie Lucas. Madonna wanted to get him. Wasting no time, Madonna's new producer wrote a hit for her. The second single “Burning Up” also reached 3rd place in the dance hits charts, repeating the success Everybody, and Rosenblatt was given the go-ahead to release the album.

1982-1985: Worldwide success. Like A Virgin

Madonna's appearance, style of dressing, and images in music videos had a great influence on girls in the early 1980s. The singer's next album, controversial Like a Virgin(“Like a Maiden”), became her first album to reach the top of the US album chart. His commercial success followed the release of the single of the same name, which for a long time became business card Madonna, holding on to first place on the charts Billboard 6 weeks. The album sold 19 million copies worldwide, 10 million in the US alone, earning a diamond certification and becoming Madonna's most successful studio album in her homeland to date. The singer performed the title track at the first awards ceremony MTV Video Music Awards in a wedding dress and the famous belt, with the inscription Boy Toy. Like A Virgin is on the list of 200 Greatest Albums of All Time by the National Record Distributors Association and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the United States.

In 1985, Madonna took part in the filming of several films, starting with a small role as a club singer in the film Vision Quest. The film's soundtrack contains its second US number 1 single, Crazy For You. A little later, Madonna appeared in the film Desperate Search for Susan. The film introduced the song to the world Into The Groove, the first UK No. 1 single. Madonna went on her first tour of the United States, called The Virgin Tour together with The Beastie Boys. During the filming of the song video Material Girl Madonna began to develop a relationship with actor Sean Penn. The title of the song (“Material Girl”) stuck with the singer herself for a long time. In July of this year, Penthouse and Playboy magazines published several black and white photographs of the singer nude, taken in the late 1970s. Madonna, in accordance with the law, won the right not to publish these materials. Later, in the midst of criticism towards the performer at a charity concert Live Aid, Madonna spoke negatively about the media, and said that she would not take off her jacket, since in a few years it could be used against her.

1985-1991: True Blue, Like a Prayer and Blond Ambition Tour

The album itself made Madonna a global superstar, rising to the top of the charts in 28 countries for the first time in history, which allowed the Guinness Book of Records to call this absolutely unprecedented. To date, the album has sold approximately 26 million copies, making it the singer's best-selling studio album. In the same year, Madonna starred in the film “Shanghai Surprise”, and also appeared on the theater stage for the first time in the play “Goose and Tomtom”, both together with Sean Penn.

In 1987, Madonna starred in the film Who's That Girl, contributing four songs to its soundtrack, including the title track of the same name, as well as the song Causing a Commotion. The latter reached number two on the US charts. The same year the singer went on tour Who's That Girl("Who's that girl"). The tour was praised for the singer's innovative outfits. At the end of 1987, a collection of remixes was released You Can Dance. To date, it is one of the most successful remix albums in music history. In 1988, in the city of Pacentro, a 4-meter statue of the Madonna was erected. The city government erected the statue to commemorate the fact that the singer's ancestors lived in this city. The singer's marriage to Sean Penn also ended this year. After filing divorce papers in December 1989, the couple separated on New Year's Day 1990 and were officially divorced the following January.

At the beginning of 1989, Madonna signed a contract with Pepsi. New song Like a Prayer made her debut in the company's advertising. The song's video contained many Catholic symbols, such as the stigmata and a burning cross. The ambiguous relationship between Madonna's heroine and a black priest shocked the Vatican elite. Due to the similarity of the Pepsi advertising video and the song video itself, the company could not justify itself in the eyes of the public and was inappropriate. The sponsorship contract with Madonna was terminated, but the singer proved herself to be a talented businesswoman and received her due amount of five million dollars. The scandal that erupted, however, benefited Madonna, the song Like A Prayer for 11 years she became the most successful singer in her career. The single sold 5 million copies. The album of the same name was released at the end of 1989. It was written in collaboration with Patrick Leonard and Stefan Bray. Magazine Rolling Stone described the album as "... as close to art as pop music can get." The album touched on religious and philosophical motives, for the first time in her career, the singer talked about her relationship with her deceased mother in a song Promise to Try. A duet with Prince was also recorded Love Song. Rising to number one on the chart Billboard 200, the album sold 4 million copies in the United States and 7 million in the rest of the world.

In 1990, Madonna again shocked the public when a video for her new song Justify My Love, shot by fashion photographer Jean Baptiste Mondino, was banned from television due to its overly erotic nature.

The Immaculate Collection

1992-1994: Company Maverick, book "Sex"

In 1992, Madonna founded her own company working in the entertainment industry - Maverick. Company Maverick engaged in film production Maverick Films), release of music albums ( Maverick Records), as well as the release of books. It was a joint venture with Time Warner. The first product of the joint venture was the book Sex, containing illustrated sexual fantasies of Madonna. The book caused a very mixed reaction in society, but nevertheless, 1.5 million copies were sold at $50 each. At the same time the company Maverick Records releases Madonna's fifth studio album - Erotica, which reached number two on the US charts, as well as number three on Billboard Hot 100 chart. Despite the fact that it was the singer's best album at that time, it was lukewarmly received by critics.

1994-1999: Albums Bedtime Stories, Ray of Light

Reviews in the press about Madonna’s far from ambiguous and shocking work were far from the most friendly, so on to the next record Bedtime Stories Madonna has changed her style again. Title track Bedtime Story was written for Madonna by singer Björk. After this, Madonna starred in the film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Evita, where she performed all the songs herself. Already after the release of the film, changes in the singer began to be noticeable - her vocals improved and the singer adopted a calmer external style. Apparently during these years the singer delved into Judaism and the study of Kabbalah. The singer's new full-length work Ray of Light, recorded together with an English electronic musician, became her most successful album since Like a Prayer.

2000-2008: Queen of Pop

Madonna performs in Philadelphia as part of her world tour Confessions Tour(July 2006).

2009-2011: Fashion designer, director, entrepreneur

On November 6, Madonna took part in an advertising photo shoot for the spring-summer 2010 collection of the fashion house Dolce & Gabbana. Steven Klein was appointed responsible for the filming. According to designers, Madonna's participation in advertising new collection, is the fulfillment of their dreams. Together with her daughter Lourdes, the singer developed a line of youth clothing for Ralph Lauren - Material Girl.

Besides everything, during the tour Sticky & Sweet Tour a collection of concert recordings of the same name and a video version of the tour were released, and later a third collection was released best songs Madonnas Celebration. She also became the director and screenwriter of the film “Us.” We Believe in Love", which was released in December 2011, and the world premiere took place on September 1, 2011 at the Venice Film Festival.

Madonna also opened a network of her own fitness clubs, named after her album Hard Candy, the first center opened in Mexico City, and the second opened in Moscow in 2011.

After the earthquake in Haiti, the singer donated $250,000 to the victims' fund.

2012-present: Album MDNA

Personal life

Her first “adult” romance with actor Sean Penn led to marriage in 1985. However, the frantic interest of the press and television in their marriage, explained by the attention to Madonna, and not to Sean Penn, whom newspapers began to call only “Mr. Madonna,” became unbearable for the singer’s husband. Their rivalry for the attention of the public and the press began, leading to a marital squabble on public display. After four years life together They've divorced. Madonna's romance with actor Warren Beatty, a known red tape and womanizer, also came to nothing.

At some point there was talk that she had become close to comedian actress Sandra Bernhard. Madonna said: “I’m not a lesbian, but it felt beneath my dignity to talk about it. I thought that even if I really was a lesbian, so what? What problems? This is no one’s business!” Also, model Jenny Shimizu claims that she had lesbian relationships with Madonna.

About her personal sports trainer and aspiring actor Carlos Leon, the 30-year-old father of her daughter Lourdes, Madonna said that she did not see any need to marry him, since she was “absolutely happy with the current state of affairs.”

In September 2000, she gave birth to a son from her second husband, English director Guy Ritchie. Madonna first met Ritchie in the summer of 1998 at the Wiltshire estate of Sting's wife Trudie Styler, who, along with Peter Martin and Stephen Marks, was an investor in the film. Richie later admitted that he came to the reception precisely because he wanted to meet Madonna. Madonna said with a smile: “It looked like he already had something on his mind!” (Madonna agreed to record the soundtrack for Ritchie's film at her Maverick studio, so it's possible he just wanted to resolve business issues.)

In early 1999, Madonna and Guy began appearing in public together. And at the same time, reports appeared in the press that Madonna wanted to have another child. Guy finally broke up with Rebecca Green, who said their relationship had "come to a natural conclusion" but added: "Madonna knew about it and had a hand in our breakup. I can’t say when we broke up completely, but it was a pretty difficult time - not for me, for her (Madonna). I wasn't very kind."

After 7 years of marriage, Madonna and Guy Ritchie decided to separate. This happened on October 15, 2008.

Discography

Studio albums

• MDNA (2012)

Collections

• The Complete Studio Albums (1983-2008) ()

Remix albums

Soundtracks

• Vision Quest(February, 15 );
• Who's That Girl(June 24 );
• The Next Best Thing(February 22 );

Filmography

Today Madonna Louise Ciccone is one of the richest and influential women world show business. In 2018, her fortune was estimated at $580 million.

Childhood and family

Madonna became the third child and first daughter in a family that later had two more sons and a daughter. As the first daughter, in accordance with Italian traditions, she received her mother's name.

When Madonna Jr. turned 5, her mother died of breast cancer. The 30-year-old woman was carrying her sixth child, and chemotherapy meant an inevitable miscarriage. Being a religious woman, she could not do this. The child was born, and a few months later the mother died. The father remarried the family's maid, Joan Gustafson. This is how the girl got a half-brother, Mario, and a sister, Jennifer.

Madonna grew up in a devout Catholic family in the suburbs of Detroit. As the singer admits, she was not everyone’s favorite in childhood; everyone considered her a “hello” girl.

“They treated me cruelly, but I did not allow them to wipe their feet on me and only emphasized my foreignness.

But at the age of 14, her good-girl reputation was ruined: she showed up to a school talent competition in a bikini, and her body was painted with fluorescent paints. After a cheeky dance to “Baba O’Riely” The group Whose father became furious and put Madonna under house arrest, and at school they remembered this performance for a long time, calling her a “whore.” The girl herself, being on stage, finally felt like who she was. And the concept of “virgin/whore” has been a leitmotif through her work ever since.

The mother of the future celebrity loved to dance. Her daughter followed in her footsteps and convinced her father to sign her up for ballet lessons. Later, in high school, she competed on the cheerleading team. After graduating from school as an external student, Madonna received choreographic education at the University of Michigan. One of the teachers convinced her not to waste time studying, but to build a career as a dancer. So in 1958, Madonna dropped out of college and moved to New York with a couple of dozen dollars in her pocket.

She struggled to make ends meet, lived in poverty, worked at Dunkin' Donuts and collaborated with a number of dance groups. Now Madonna recalls that period of her life as the most desperate:

– When I arrived in New York, it was the first time I flew on an airplane, the first time I even called a taxi - everything was for the first time. And I arrived with 35 dollars in my pocket. This was my most courageous act in my life.

First steps to success

That same year, for a fee of one hundred dollars, she starred in the film Specific Victim, playing a sex slave. Years later, Madonna tried to buy the rights to the film in order to destroy all reminders of this shame, but she never succeeded.

Madonna in the movie Specific Victim

In 1981, Madonna broke up with Gilroy and began singing in the Emmy group with drummer and Stephen Bray. At the same time, the girl signed a contract with Gotham Records, but the collaboration was short-lived - the aspiring singer’s manager did not share her views on creativity. Soon, with Bray's support, she recorded a demo tape of four "street" tunes ("Ain't No Big Deal", "Stay", "Burning Up" and "Everybody"), which she distributed independently.

Madonna's demo recording impressed DJ and producer Mark Kamins, who played at the Danceteria club, where Madonna often visited. Kamins introduced the rising star to Sire Records founder Seymour Stein. The result was a contract for the release of the debut single “Everybody”. Kamins and Bray began to fight for the right to be called Madonna's agent, while both were her lovers. The choice was not easy, but in the end the singer settled on Mark.

"Everybody", Madonna's very first video

Before recording and releasing her debut album, Madonna's producers decided to test the waters and understand whether the singer's success was accidental or not. A second maxi-single was written for this purpose. If it becomes a hit, then they will give the go-ahead to record the album, the producers said. A more experienced producer, Reggie Lucas, was selected to replace Cumings. In collaboration with him, Madonna recorded the single “Burning Up” with the composition “Physical Attraction” on side B. A video was released for the first song, which was included in MTV rotation.

Madonna's first music video was simply a choreographed number on the dance floor. But "Burning Up", replete with inviting angles of an uninhibited blonde writhing in languid ecstasy, was a real breakthrough in the music industry. Before Madonna, no singer had dared to exploit sexual themes so openly in music videos. This is the absolute norm in the pop industry today.

Madonna – Burning Up

Madonna's debut album was called "Madonna" and hit the shelves music stores in July 1983. It included 8 compositions in the synthetic disco genre. The album started on the Billboard 200 chart at position 190. The record took a year to reach number eight. Reviews from critics were mixed. Many music experts accused Madonna of being overly sexy and deliberately “girlish” and gave her her “minute of fame” for at most six months. But Ciccone just chuckled, declaring that she knows perfectly well what image her work has created, but this does not mean that this is the only thing she has to offer: “I keep everything under control and am waiting for people to understand it and be confused.”

Worldwide success

Madonna performed the lead single “Like a Virgin” at the very first MTV Video Music Awards. The singer appeared on stage in a wedding dress and a belt with the inscription “Boy Toy”, and during the performance she rolled on the floor, showing the audience stockings with garters and white panties. For the time, the performance was shockingly sexy. Many years later, eyewitnesses recalled: “It was this moment that became a powerful impetus for the release of female power. This is one of the most significant musical numbers of the 20th century."

Madonna – Like a Virgin (MTV VMA 1984)

In the wake of her first success in 1985, Madonna starred in two films. She got her first role in the film “Visual Search”, where Madonna, in a cameo role as a singer in a club, performed the track “Crazy For You”. Next, the singer appears in the film “Desperate Search for Susan,” which introduced “Into The Groove” to the world and revealed Ciccone as an actress. Many film critics believe that Suzanne is the only successful role in Madonna’s filmography.

That same year, Madonna embarked on her first American tour, “The Virgin Tour,” with the Beastie Boys. Later, a video for the song “Material Girl” is recorded, and Madonna begins a relationship with actor Sean Penn. At the same time, Penthouse and Playboy magazines showed on their pages black and white photographs nude singer, which were taken back in 1979. Madonna sued for the rights to ban the publication of photographs.

Madonna released her third studio album, True Blue, in 1986. It was described by Rolling Stone as "sounding from the heart." The disc contained the ballad “Live to Tell,” which the singer wrote for the film “Point Blank,” where her husband Sean Penn starred. And the name is a direct reference to Penn; Madonna gave him the nickname true blue, which means “devoted.”

The album made Madonna a global star and topped the charts in 28 countries. The Guinness Book of Records called this disc absolutely unprecedented. At the same time, the singer took part in the filming of the film “Shanghai Surprise” and played for the first time in the theatrical production “Goose and Tomtom” along with Sean Penn.

Queen of shocking

Madonna – Papa Don't Preach

In 1987, Madonna appeared on the set of Who's That Girl and recorded four songs for its soundtrack, including "Causing a Commotion."

In 1988, in the city of Pacentro, where the singer’s ancestors lived, a four-meter tall statue of Madonna was erected.

Madonna – Like a Prayer

In 1989, an album of the same name to the scandalous video was released, which the singer dedicated to the memory of her deceased mother and all members of her family. The lyrics touched on Madonna's childhood and personality development, the impact of her mother's death on her worldview, relationship with her father and, of course, female sexuality - this is the song "Express Yourself", for which the video was directed by David Fincher.

1990 was marked by the release of a video for the song “Justify My Love,” co-written with Lenny Kravitz. MTV management banned the broadcast of the video on the channel due to its erotic content, references to homosexuality and sadomasochism. The decision was supported by a number of music channels in other countries. Madonna found a way out - she was the first in the music industry to release a video on the market in the “video single” format.

Madonna – Justify My Love

Next year is another scandal. It turns out documentary Truth or Dare, filmed during the Blond Ambition World Tour, during which Toronto police intended to arrest Madonna for simulating masturbation on stage.

In 1992, Madonna founded her own company, Maverick, which was engaged in entertainment, in particular, producing films, releasing music discs and books. First of all, the company released a book by Madonna entitled “Sex” with revelations and sexual fantasies of the singer, who appears in the text under the name Dita. Along with the book, the single "Erotica" was sold, accompanied by a photograph of Madonna holding a whip. Despite the mixed reaction from society, the book became a bestseller. In the first week, more than 500 thousand people purchased a copy of Sex, and a total of 1.5 million books were sold.

The book's release was part of a deliberate campaign to promote the fifth album, Erotica, which was entirely dedicated to sex. However, the PR campaign also had reverse side: The disc was a commercial success, but listeners perceived it more as an addition to the book, so “Erotika” did not make it to the top of the charts.

On March 31, 1994, Madonna came into the studio of The Tonight Show with David Letterman. During the broadcast, she said the word “fuck” 14 times, handed the presenter her panties and offered to sniff them, and when he refused, she said: “Money has made you weak-willed.” In short, in the entire history of the program, this episode was recognized as the most censored.

Passion for Kabbalah

Shortly before this, Madonna played the main role in the musical “Evita,” dedicated to the biography of the Argentine singer and subsequently the wife of dictator Juan Peron, Eva Duarte. Filming took place in South America, and the woman’s partner on the set was Antonio Banderas. During preparation for filming, Madonna took vocal lessons, which, by the way, is clearly visible in the album “Ray of Light” released a year later, recognized as the most successful since “Like a Prayer”.

The record symbolized the singer's spiritual rebirth, which was influenced by many factors - from the birth of her daughter (after filming Evita, Madonna became pregnant and soon gave birth to a daughter, Lourdes, from dancer Carlos Leon) to an affair with screenwriter Andy Bird. Madonna's songs were no longer about delights intimate life, but called to pay attention to ecological disaster, talked about the universe and metaphysical categories. The 39-year-old woman gave up provocative outfits and began wearing a sari and covering her face with a veil.

The public favorably accepted the new image, and in 1999 Madonna received three Grammys at once. Before this, there was only one similar figurine in her collection - received in 1991 in the category “best video clip”. Overall, the album was able to compete even with boy bands and young singers like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera that had flooded the music market.

Pop queen of the world

Madonna – What It Feels Like For A Girl

At the same time, her attempts to realize herself in big cinema failed. In 2000, Ciccone starred in romantic comedy"Best Friend" with Rupert Everett. Reviews for her acting work were devastating. A year later, the film “Swept Away,” directed by Guy Ritchie, Madonna’s husband at the time, received five Golden Raspberry anti-awards, including the most offensive nomination “worst female role", "worst film" and "worst director". Since then, Richie has sworn off starring his wife in his films, and the singer only agreed to small roles, for example, in “Die Another Day” with Pierce Brosnan and Halle Berry.

But 2003 brought Madonna her first failures in the musical field. The disc “American Life”, in which the singer touched on a number of pressing political issues and opened up emotional abscesses, no longer wanting to tolerate being treated as a “mercantile wench.” The album was not a failure from a commercial point of view, but was still inferior to the previous ones.

The tenth studio album “Confessions on a Dance Floor” (2005) rehabilitated Madonna in her own eyes. It is worth noting that the first song “Hung Up” became Madonna’s main hit throughout her career.

Madonna – Hung Up

On March 26, 2012, Madonna's twelfth album, MDNA, was released. This album topped all the UK and US charts on its first day. But everything turned out to be not so rosy. Critics called the album very dark, linking this with the singer's painful breakup with Jesus Luz. The video for the second album, single Girl Gone Wild, is censored due to explicit scenes. The album, devoid of a promotional tour in support, becomes the worst-selling album in the singer's career, breaking the American Life anti-record of 2003.

The singer goes on the MDNA Tour, which starts on May 31 and becomes the most successful tour of 2012. Concerts are causing public outcry in the US over the use of imitation weapons on stage. Billboard names Madonna as the record holder for the music industry's earnings - $34.6 million for the year. In 2013, Madonna received 3 Billboard Music Awards. In August 2013, Forbes magazine named the singer the top celebrity earner of the year with earnings of $125 million.

madonna ft. Nicki Minaj – Bitch, I'm Madonna!

In December 2014, 13 demo versions of compositions that were recorded during work on the thirteenth album were leaked onto the Internet. studio album Madonnas. Furious at what happened, the artist recorded several threatening messages addressed to the pirates. A few days after the leak, on December 20, Madonna officially announced her thirteenth album, called Rebel Heart. The album was released on March 10, 2015.

Fashion designer and entrepreneur

Among other things, Madonna opened a chain of fitness clubs called “Hard Candy” - in honor of her 11th album.

Madonna's personal life

During her life, she often started relationships with non-public men and was never embarrassed by the large age difference.

One night, Penn broke into her house, tied her to a chair, and beat her for several hours. By cunning, the girl got out of the house and got to the police station. Penn denied everything, although the policemen, horrified by the pop idol disfigured by bruises and bruises, had no doubts. However, the case did not go to court - Madonna asked not to open a criminal case against ex-spouse. “He always had problems controlling his anger,” she later said.

Madonna spent the next few months recovering from the psychological trauma. In 1990, the singer began an affair with Warren Beatty, whom she met on the set of “Dick Tracy,” and in 1991 she remembered a short affair with model Tony Ward, who starred in her explicit video for “Justify My Love.”

Madonna's friend, actress Elizabeth Taylor, convinced her to marry Carlos so that the girl would have a father. However, this time Carlos himself began to lose interest in the relationship. Being a proud man with an ardent temperament, he was furious at the publicity of his beloved. All attention was focused on her, while he remained in the shadows with the prefix “Mr. Madonna.”

When Lourdes was one year old, the paparazzi caught Carlos in the company of another woman. How a real man, he did not talk about the details of the breakup and rejected all the multimillion-dollar offers from journalists who inquired about the ins and outs of their romance. He did not disappear from the lives of Madonna and Lourdes, and always tried to carry out free time with daughter.

The singer then had a short relationship with screenwriter Andy Bird, which ended in 1998 after he carelessly told reporters: “Well, we have a passionate relationship, but we need to work on it.” After the breakup, she realized that she was pregnant. The woman immediately refused an abortion. A dilemma arose: to tell Byrd about the pregnancy or not. But fate decided it itself - a miscarriage occurred.

That same year, at Sting's party, Madonna met British director Guy Ritchie. In a matter of days they became close. The director was 10 years younger than the artist and had just brilliantly presented his debut film Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels to the public. As it turned out later, Richie was aware that Madonna would be at the party, and went there with one purpose - to meet her.

At the same time, he always treated the singer not as a star, but as an ordinary person. “He called me Madge and made me wash his car,” she recalled. Their romance developed rapidly. In 1999, Richie, having accidentally met Madonna's ex-lover, Bird, in the park, hit him in the face with all his might.

In 2000, Madonna and Guy Ritchie got married, and soon she gave birth to a son, Rocco. In 2005, they adopted a black boy from Malawi, who was named David Banda Malawe and double surname Ciccone-Ricci. Later, already divorced, she adopted three more girls: first little Chifundo in 2006, then, in 2012, twins Stella and Esther.

Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone(English: Madonna Louise Ciccone, born August 16, 1958, Bay City, Michigan, USA) - singer, actress, director, songwriter, music producer and entrepreneur. On this page you will find full biography Madonna, her success story and the main stages of her ascent to musical Olympus.

I am interested in learning more about famous and successful people in order to understand what helped them achieve such heights in life. For this, I created where you can get acquainted with the biographies of outstanding people of our time who have succeeded in life.

But now there are only men in this section. This is probably not entirely fair; there are many amazing examples among women whose experience can be taken into account. Therefore, let's urgently correct this injustice!

They say that good things do not last forever, and sooner or later they come to an end. These are the words of people who have achieved nothing in life. / Madonna

It is very difficult to write something new about a person known throughout the world. The popularity of our today's heroine is really off the charts.

It’s hard to remain a modest “gray mouse” if you are the most commercially successful singer who has set a record for the sales of her records - more than 250 million album copies and 100 million singles. “The Queen of Pop” is what her fans call her.

In this article we will go through known facts her biography and see how a simple girl from a large family managed to achieve amazing success.

A person's dreams can be judged by what he achieves in adulthood. At 59 years old, Madonna looks 100% and can boast of more than one achievement. The girl from the Great Lakes State, as Michigan is fondly called by Americans, has truly achieved a lot.

Madonna's name is included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, along with such stars as Louis Armstrong, ABBA, Queen

At the same time, as rightly noted in the singer’s official biography in the online version of the Hall of Fame, her achievements are not limited to the field of music, “and in terms of celebrity she is comparable to Marilyn Monroe.”

By the way, Madonna is very close to this image, to which she brings her own unique charm. See for yourself - on her website www.madonna.com the singer will greet you exactly like that - beautiful, bright and inviting, as befits a real “style icon”. However, Madonna herself considers physical beauty, although beautiful, to be ephemeral, and values ​​it more than “the self-confidence that comes with achieving goals.”

By the way, a very apt statement that I experienced myself. Be sure to take it into your arsenal.

The fact is that when you have confidence in your own abilities, then you are not afraid of any new goals or obstacles. This is especially important for achieving financial success.

After all, when we earn money, we always risk something. People often avoid risks because they lack confidence in themselves.