Madonna Col Bambino, Palazzo Medici Riccardi, Filippo Lippi

Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, and visual presentation. She has pushed the boundaries of artistic expression in mainstream music, while continuing to maintain control over every aspect of her career. Her works, which incorporate social, political, sexual, and religious themes, have generated both controversy and critical acclaim. A prominent cultural figure crossing both the 20th and 21st centuries, Madonna remains one of the most "well-documented figures of the modern age", with a broad amount of scholarly reviews and literature works on her, as well as an academic mini subdiscipline devoted to her named Madonna studies.

At 20 years old, Madonna moved to New York City in 1978 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing as a drummer, guitarist, and vocalist in the rock bands Breakfast Club and Emmy, she rose to solo stardom with her debut studio album, '' Madonna'' (1983). She followed it with a series of successful albums, including all-time bestsellers '' Like a Virgin'' (1984), '' True Blue'' (1986) and ''The Immaculate Collection'' (1990) as well as universally acclaimed Grammy Award winning albums ''Ray of Light'' (1998) and ''Confessions on a Dance Floor'' (2005). Madonna has amassed many chart-topping singles throughout her career, including " Like a Virgin", "La Isla Bonita", " Like a Prayer", "Vogue", " Take a Bow", " Frozen", "Music", "Hung Up", and " 4 Minutes".

Madonna's popularity was enhanced by roles in films such as ''Desperately Seeking Susan'' (1985), '' Dick Tracy'' (1990), ''A League of Their Own'' (1992), and '' Evita'' (1996). While ''Evita'' won her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress, many of her other films were not as well received. As a businesswoman, Madonna founded the company Maverick in 1992. It included Maverick Records, one of the most successful artist-run labels in history. Her other ventures include fashion brands, written works, health clubs, and filmmaking. She contributes to various charities, having founded the Ray of Light Foundation in 1998 and Raising Malawi in 2006.

With sales of over 300 million records worldwide, Madonna is the best-selling female recording artist of all time. She is the most successful solo artist in the history of the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and has achieved the most number-one singles by a woman in Australia, Canada, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Madonna has been awarded with seven Grammy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, five Billboard Music Awards, and twenty MTV Video Music Awards. With a revenue of over U.S. $1.5 billion from her concert tickets, she remains the highest-grossing female touring artist worldwide. ''Forbes'' has named Madonna the annual top-earning female musician a record 11 times across four decades (1980s–2010s). She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008, her first year of eligibility. Madonna was ranked as the greatest woman in music by VH1, and as the greatest music video artist ever by MTV and '' Billboard''. ''Rolling Stone'' also listed her among its greatest artists and greatest songwriters of all time.

Life and career

1958–1978: Early life

Madonna Louise Ciccone was born on August 16, 1958, in Bay City, Michigan, to Catholic parents Madonna Louise ( née Fortin) and Silvio Anthony "Tony" Ciccone. Her father's parents were Italian emigrants from Pacentro while her mother was of French-Canadian descent. Tony Ciccone worked as an engineer designer for Chrysler and General Motors. Since Madonna had the same name as her mother, family members called her "Little Nonnie". Her mother died of breast cancer on December 1, 1963. She later adopted Veronica as a confirmation name when getting confirmed in the Catholic Church in 1966. Madonna was raised in the Detroit suburbs of Pontiac and Avon Township (now Rochester Hills), alongside her two older brothers, Anthony and Martin, and three younger siblings, Paula, Christopher, and Melanie. In 1966, Tony married the family's housekeeper Joan Gustafson. They had two children, Jennifer and Mario. Madonna resented her father for getting remarried and began rebelling against him, which strained their relationship for many years afterward.

Madonna attended St. Frederick's and St. Andrew's Catholic Elementary Schools, and West Middle School. She was known for her high grade point average and achieved notoriety for her unconventional behavior. Madonna would perform cartwheels and handstands in the hallways between classes, dangle by her knees from the monkey bars during recess, and pull up her skirt during class—all so that the boys could see her underwear. She later admitted to seeing herself in her youth as a "lonely girl who was searching for something. I wasn't rebellious in a certain way. I cared about being good at something. I didn't shave my underarms and I didn't wear make-up like normal girls do. But I studied and I got good grades... I wanted to be somebody."

Madonna's father put her in classical piano lessons, but she later convinced him to allow her to take ballet lessons. Christopher Flynn, her ballet teacher, persuaded her to pursue a career in dance. Madonna later attended Rochester Adams High School and became a straight-A student as well as a member of its cheerleading squad. After graduating, she received a dance scholarship to the University of Michigan and studied over the summer at the American Dance Festival in Durham, North Carolina.

In 1978, Madonna dropped out of college and relocated to New York City. She said of her move to New York, "It was the first time I'd ever taken a plane, the first time I'd ever gotten a taxi cab. I came here with $35 in my pocket. It was the bravest thing I'd ever done." Madonna soon found an apartment in the Alphabet City neighborhood of the East Village and had little money while working at Dunkin' Donuts and with modern dance troupes, taking classes at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and eventually performing with Pearl Lang Dance Theater. She also studied dance under the tutelage of Martha Graham, the noted American dancer and choreographer. Madonna started to work as a backup dancer for other established artists. One night, while returning from a rehearsal, a pair of men held her at knifepoint and forced her to perform fellatio. She later found the incident to be "a taste of my weakness, it showed me that I still could not save myself in spite of all the strong-girl show. I could never forget it."

1979–1983: Career beginnings, rock bands, and ''Madonna''

In 1979, Madonna became romantically involved with musician Dan Gilroy. Shortly after meeting him, she successfully auditioned to perform in Paris with French disco artist Patrick Hernandez as his backup singer and dancer. During her three months with Hernandez's troupe, she also traveled to Tunisia before returning to New York in August 1979. Madonna moved into an abandoned synagogue where Gilroy lived and rehearsed in Corona, Queens. Together they formed her first band, the Breakfast Club, for which Madonna sang and played drums and guitar. While with the band, Madonna briefly worked as a coat-check girl at the Russian Tea Room, and she made her acting debut in the low-budget indie film ''A Certain Sacrifice'', which was not released until 1985. In 1980, Madonna left the Breakfast Club with drummer Stephen Bray, who was her boyfriend in Michigan, and they formed the band Emmy and the Emmys. They rekindled their romance and moved into the Music Building in Manhattan. The two began writing songs together and they recorded a four-song demo tape in November 1980, but soon after, Madonna decided to promote herself as a solo artist.

In March 1981, Camille Barbone, who ran Gotham Records in the Music Building, signed Madonna to a contract with Gotham and worked as her manager until February 1982. Madonna frequented nightclubs to get disc jockeys to play her demo. DJ Mark Kamins at Danceteria took an interest in her music and they began dating. Kamins arranged a meeting with Madonna and Seymour Stein, the president of Sire Records, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Records. Madonna signed a deal for a total of three singles, with an option for an album.

Kamins produced her debut single, " Everybody", which was released in October 1982. In December 1982, Madonna performed the song live for the first time at Danceteria. She made her first television appearance performing "Everybody" on ''Dancin' On Air'' in January 1983. In February 1983, she promoted the single with nightclub performances in the United Kingdom. Her second single, " Burning Up", was released in March 1983. Both singles reached number three on '' Billboard'' magazine's Hot Dance Club Songs chart. During this period, Madonna was in a relationship with artist Jean-Michel Basquiat and living at his loft in SoHo. Basquiat introduced her to art curator Diego Cortez, who had managed some punk bands and co-founded the Mudd Club. Madonna invited Cortez to be her manager, but he declined.

Following the success of the singles, Warner hired Reggie Lucas