Madonna
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Biography
Madonna is one of the most successful music artists in the twentieth century. She is not just a singer but also a songwriter, musician, dancer, actress, producer of records and films, and author. She is best-known for her breathtaking music videos that have made many of her songs memorable and made her the Queen of Pop.
Madonna Louise Ciccone was born on August 16, 1958 in Bay City, Michigan. Her father, Silvio P. Ciccone is an engineer of Italian American descent. Her mother, Madonna Louise Fortin is a French Canadian and died of cancer when Madonna was just six.
As a child, Madonna was an all rounder. She was good at studies as well as sports, was a member of the cheerleading squad, and took piano and ballet lessons. After graduating from Rochester Adams High School in 1976, she received a dance scholarship to the University of Michigan. However, she left college in the second year and headed to New York City with just $35 to pursue a career in dancing.
In New York, Madonna struggled to make ends meet. She joined the Alvin Ailey dance troupe but it wasn't doing much for her. In 1979, she joined the Patrick Hernandez Revue and toured with them in Paris where she met Dan Gilroy. He became her boyfriend and they formed a pop/dance group, Breakfast Club. Madonna initially played drums in the band, but soon became the lead singer. In 1980, she left the band to form the band Emmy with Stephen Bray, her former drummer boyfriend. They worked on some dance/disco-oriented songs. The demo tape of these songs got Madonna her first break and she signed a contract with Sire Records in 1980.
Madonna's first release Everybody was a big dance hit. This was followed by other dance hits Burning Up and Physical Attraction.
In 1983, Madonna released her debut album, Madonna. It included the America Top 20 chart hit Holiday. The album was a hit in the dance clubs.
In 1984, Madonna released her second album Like A Virgin. The title track and the album hit the top of the pop charts and were successful worldwide making Madonna an international music star. She went on to produce many hits with sexy and controversial videos. These include the hit songs Material Girl (1985) Papa Don't Preach (1986) about women getting pregnant out of wedlock, Like A Prayer (1989) the video for which featured burning crosses in the background, and Vogue (1990) from the film Dick Tracy.
In 1985, Madonna ventured into acting and appeared as a nightclub singer in Vision Quest and in the lead role of Desperately Seeking Susan. The soundtracks from the films became hits. She also got positive reviews for her role as Susan.
Madonna next tried theatre and performed in Goose and Tom-Tom, where she met and married actor Sean Penn in 1985. However, they got divorced after less than four years. In 1992, Madonna released the X-rated erotic book Sex. She followed this up with her album Erotica with an overtly sexual video of the title song. Needless to say, the song as well as the album was a mega hit.
In 1992, Madonna founded the record company Maverick.
In 1996, Madonna starred as Eva Peron in the musical Evita. She won a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy for her remarkable performance. It was a new Madonna that her fans got to see and to top it, she became a mother with the birth of her daughter, Lourdes.
In 1998, Madonna came back with a more mature album Ray of Light with tinges of techno in it. It included hits Ray of Light and Frozen.
In December 2000, Madonna married British director Guy Ritchie and they have a son born on August 11, 2000. But it didn't stop her from making hits like Music and What It Feels Like for a Girl from her eighth album Music (2000), the theme song for the James Bond film Die Another Day (2002), and Hung Up, Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!, and Sorry from her tenth album Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005).
Madonna has got the right formula for success and even after more than 20 years, you can still hope to see more of her.
Links
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World4Madonna.com Celebrity Site of the Day on 3/23/06
AskMen.com: Madonna
Mad-Eyes.net
Celebrity Wonder: Madonna
Amazing Celebrites - Madonna
Madonna Fan
Madonnafansite.com
Madonna News
Pure Madonna Celebrity Site of the Day on 3/21/07
MadonnaFrance
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