World's Beautiful Women : Collection

Madonna (born Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone; August 16, 1958) is an American recording artist, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, and raised in Rochester Hills, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977, for a career in modern dance. After performing as a member of the pop musical groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album, Madonna, in 1983 on Sire Records.
A series of hit singles from her next studio albums, Like a Virgin (1984) and True Blue (1986), established her as a pop icon. She pushed the boundaries of lyrical content in mainstream popular music and imagery in her music videos, which became a fixture on MTV. Her recognition was augmented by the film Desperately Seeking Susan (1985) which was widely seen as a Madonna vehicle, despite her not playing the lead. Expanding on the use of religious imagery with Like a Prayer (1989), Madonna received critical appreciation for her diverse musical productions, while at the same time religious conservatives and the Vatican criticized her. In 1992, Madonna founded the Maverick corporation as a joint venture with Time Warner. The same year, she expanded the use of sexually explicit material in her work, beginning with the release of the studio album Erotica, followed by the publishing of the coffee table book Sex, and starring in the erotic thriller Body of Evidence, all of which received negative responses from conservatives and liberals alike.
In 1996, Madonna played the starring role in the film Evita, for which she won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. Madonna's seventh studio album, Ray of Light (1998), became one of her most critically acclaimed, recognized for its lyrical depth. During the 2000s, Madonna released four studio albums – Music (2000), American Life (2003), Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005) and Hard Candy (2008) – all of which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. Departing from Warner Bros. Records, Madonna signed an unprecedented $120 million contract with Live Nation in 2008. Same year, she began her Sticky & Sweet Tour, which went on to become the highest grossing tour ever for a solo artist.
According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, Madonna has sold more than 200 million albums worldwide.[1] She is ranked by the Recording Industry Association of America as the best-selling female rock artist of the 20th century, and the second top-selling female artist in the United States, behind Barbra Streisand, with 64 million certified albums.[2][3] Guinness World Records listed her as the world's most successful female recording artist of all time. In 2008, Billboard magazine ranked Madonna at number two, behind only The Beatles, on the "Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists", making her the most successful solo artist in the history of the chart. She was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Considered to be one of the most influential figures in contemporary music, Madonna has been known for continually reinventing both her music and image, and for retaining a standard of autonomy within the recording industry.

Biography

1958–81: Early life and beginnings]

Madonna Louise Ciccone was born in Bay City, Michigan at 7:05 AM on August 16, 1958. Her mother, Madonna Louise (née Fortin), was of French Canadian descent, and her father, Silvio Anthony Ciccone, was a first-generation Italian American whose family originated from Pacentro in Italy; he worked as a design engineer for Chrysler and General Motors. Madonna was nicknamed "Little Nonni", to distinguish her from her mother.[4][5] The third of six children, her siblings are Martin, Anthony, Paula, Christopher, and Melanie.[6] Madonna was raised in the Detroit suburbs of Pontiac and Avon Township (now Rochester Hills). After her mother died of breast cancer at age 30 on December 1, 1963,[6] her father married the family's housekeeper, Joan Gustafson, and they had two children: Jennifer and Mario Ciccone. Madonna said of her father's second marriage: "I didn't accept my stepmother when I was growing up [...] In retrospect, I think I was really hard on her."[7] She attended St. Frederick's and St. Andrew's Elementary Schools, and then West Middle School. There she was known for her high GPA, and achieved notoriety for her "unusual" behavior – particularly a kind of an underwear fetish.[8] 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 briefs.[8]
Later, Madonna went to Rochester Adams High School, becoming a straight-A student and a member of the cheerleading squad.[6] After graduating, she received a dance scholarship to the University of Michigan.[9] She convinced her father to allow her to take ballet lessons,[10] and was persuaded by her ballet teacher to pursue a career in dance. Subsequently, she dropped out of college at the end of 1977, and relocated to New York City.[11][12] Madonna had little money at the time and lived in squalor, working as a waitress at Dunkin' Donuts and with modern dance troupes.[13] Madonna 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."[14] While performing as a dancer for the French disco artist Patrick Hernandez on his 1979 world tour,[8] Madonna became romantically involved with the musician Dan Gilroy, with whom she later formed her first rock band, the Breakfast Club, in New York.[7][15] She sang and played drums and guitar for the group, but soon left to form the band Emmy in 1980, with drummer and former boyfriend Stephen Bray. Together, they wrote and produced dance-pop songs, that brought her to the attention of DJ and record producer Mark Kamins. He was impressed by Madonna's demo recordings, so he brought her to the attention of Sire Records founder Seymour Stein

1982–85: Madonna, Like a Virgin and marriage to Sean Penn

Madonna signed a singles deal with Sire, a label belonging to Warner Bros. Records.[18] Her debut single, "Everybody", was released on April 24, 1982, and became a dance hit.[19] Her debut album, Madonna, was primarily produced by Reggie Lucas.[20] At the same time, she became involved with artist Jean-Michel Basquiat and lived with him for a time in his loft.[21] Soon after, she left the artist because of his drug use and late hours, moving in with musician John "Jellybean" Benitez to continue developing the album.[16] After its release, it peaked at number eight on the Billboard 200, and produced the top-ten singles, "Borderline" and "Lucky Star".[22][23]
Slowly, Madonna's look and manner of dress, her performances and music videos, became influential among young girls and women. Mainly created by stylist and jewellery designer Maripol, Madonna's style of dress – defined by lace tops, skirts over capri pants, fishnet stockings, jewelry bearing the Christian cross, multiple bracelets, and bleached hair – became a female fashion trend of the 1980s.[24] Madonna eventually achieved global recognition after the release of her second studio album, Like a Virgin (1984). It topped the charts in several countries and became her first number-one album on the Billboard 200.[22][25] The title track "Like a Virgin" topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for six consecutive weeks.[23] Madonna performed the song at the first MTV Video Music Awards, where she appeared on stage atop a giant wedding cake dressed in a wedding dress, adorned with her characteristic "Boy Toy" belt buckle, and veil. The performance is noted as one of the most iconic in MTV history.[26] Like a Virgin was certified diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America, and sold more than 21 million copies worldwide.[27][28] The National Association of Recording Merchandisers and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame listed the album as one of the "Definitive 200 Albums of All Time".[29]
The following year, Madonna entered mainstream films, beginning with a brief appearance as a club singer in Vision Quest, a romantic drama film. Its soundtrack contained her second U.S. number-one single, "Crazy for You".[30] She also appeared in the comedy Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), a film which introduced the song "Into the Groove", her first number-one single in the United Kingdom.[31] Although not the lead actress for the film, her profile was such that the movie widely became seen (and marketed) as a Madonna vehicle.[32] The film received a nomination for a César Award for Best Foreign Film, and The New York Times film critic Vincent Canby named it as one of the ten best films of 1985.[33] While filming the music video for the second single from Like a Virgin, titled "Material Girl", Madonna started dating actor Sean Penn and married him on her twenty-seventh birthday that year.[34]
Madonna embarked on her first concert tour in North America, titled The Virgin Tour, with the Beastie Boys as opening acts.[35] In July 1985, Penthouse and Playboy magazines published a number of nude photos of Madonna, taken in New York in 1978. Madonna had posed for the photographs as she was in need of money.[36] Because she had signed the appropriate release forms, she could not take legal action to block them.[36] The publication of the photos caused media uproar, but Madonna remained defiant and unapologetic; she was paid as little as $25 a session. The photographs were ultimately sold for up to $100,000.[36] She referenced this incident at the outdoor Live Aid charity concert and stated that she would not take her jacket off because "they [the media] might hold it against me ten years from now."

1986–91: True Blue, Like a Prayer and the Blond Ambition Tour

Madonna during the Blond Ambition World Tour
Madonna's third album, True Blue (1986), was described by Rolling Stone magazine as "sound[ing] as if it comes from the heart".[39] The album topped the charts in over 28 countries worldwide, an unprecedented achievement at the time.[22][40] True Blue spawned three number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100: "Live to Tell", "Papa Don't Preach" and "Open Your Heart", as well as other top-five singles "True Blue" and "La Isla Bonita".[23][30] That same year, Madonna starred in the critically panned film Shanghai Surprise, and made her theatrical debut in a production of David Rabe's Goose and Tom-Tom, both co-starring Penn.[41] In 1987, Madonna's second feature film Who's That Girl was released. She contributed four songs to its soundtrack, including the title track and the U.S. number-two single, "Causing a Commotion".[23] By fall 1987, she embarked on the Who's That Girl World Tour. It was complimented for Madonna's innovative dresses.[42] Later that year, she released a remix album of past hits, You Can Dance. Madonna's marriage to Penn ended, and they filed divorce papers in December 1987, which was finalized in January 1989.[43] Of her marriage to Penn, Madonna said, "I was completely obsessed with my career and not ready to be generous in any shape or form."[34]
In early 1989, Madonna signed an endorsement deal with soft drink manufacturer Pepsi. She debuted her song "Like a Prayer" in a Pepsi commercial, and also made a music video for it. The video featured many Catholic symbols such as stigmata, burning crosses, and a dream about making love to a saint, leading the Vatican to condemn the video. Since the commercial and music video were nearly identical, Pepsi was unable to convince the public that their commercial was unrelated to the video. They revoked the commercial and cancelled their sponsorship contract with Madonna. However, she was allowed to retain her fee for the contract.[6] Madonna's fourth studio album, Like a Prayer, was co-written and co-produced by Patrick Leonard and Stephen Bray.[44] Rolling Stone hailed it as "...as close to art as pop music gets".[45] Like a Prayer peaked at number one on the Billboard 200 and sold thirteen million copies worldwide, with four million copies sold in the U.S. alone.[22][46] Six singles were released from the album, including her seventh U.S. number-one single "Like a Prayer", as well as "Express Yourself" and "Cherish", both of which peaked at number-two.[23][30] By the end of the 1980s, Madonna had become the most successful female artist of the decade, with three number-one albums and seven number-one singles, surpassed only by Michael Jackson.

1992–96: Maverick, Sex, Erotica, Bedtime Stories and Evita

Madonna at the Madrid premiere of Evita
In 1992, Madonna founded her own entertainment company, Maverick, consisting of a record company (Maverick Records), a film production company (Maverick Films), and also music publishing, television, merchandising and book-publishing divisions. The deal was a joint venture with Time Warner as part of $60 million worth of recordings and businesses. It gave Madonna twenty percent royalty from the music proceedings, equal at that time to Michael Jackson's.[19] The first release from the venture was Madonna's book, titled Sex. It consisted of sexually provocative and explicit images, photographed by Steven Meisel. The book caused strong reaction from the media and the general public, but sold 1.5 million copies, at $50 each, in a matter of days.[64][65] At the same time she released her fifth studio album, Erotica, which debuted at number two on the Billboard 200.[22][65] Its title track peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100.[30] Erotica also produced five further singles, namely "Deeper and Deeper," "Bad Girl," "Fever," "Rain" and "Bye Bye Baby.

1997–2002: Ray of Light, Music and Drowned World Tour

Madonna performing on the Drowned World Tour
After Lourdes' birth, Madonna became involved in Eastern mysticism and Kabbalah. Her seventh studio album Ray of Light reflected this change in her perception and image.[82] The album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200.[22] Ray of Light became one of Madonna's most critically acclaimed album and was listed as one of the Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".[83] Slant Magazine described the album as "one of the great pop masterpieces of the '90s".[84] Ray of Light was honored with four Grammy Awards and six MTV Video Music Awards.[57][85][86] The album's first single, "Frozen", became Madonna's first ever single to debut at number one in the UK, while in the U.S., it became her sixth number-two singles and set another record for Madonna as the artist with most number-two hits.[30][87] However, the song was adjudicated to be plagiarised from Belgian songwriter Salvatore Acquaviva's 1993 song "Ma Vie Fout L'camp", and hence it was banned in Belgium.[88] The second single, "Ray of Light", debuted at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 and was used by Microsoft in its advertising campaign to introduce Windows XP.[89] Madonna ended her relationship with Leon in December 1998, with Madonna citing that they were "better off as best friends."[90] Following year, Madonna was signed to play a violin teacher in the film Music of the Heart but left the project, citing "creative differences" with director Wes Craven.[91] Madonna followed the success of Ray of Light with the single "Beautiful Stranger", recorded for the 1999 film Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me's soundtrack. It reached number nineteen on the Hot 100 and won a Grammy Award for "Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media".[30][57]
In 2000, Madonna starred in the film The Next Best Thing. She contributed two songs to the film's soundtrack, "Time Stood Still" and the international hit "American Pie", a cover version of Don McLean's 1971 song.[92] Madonna released her eighth studio album, Music, on September 2000. The album hit number-one position in more than 20 countries worldwide, and sold four million copies in the first ten days.[85] In the U.S., Music debuted at number one and became her first number-one album in eleven years, since Like a Prayer.[93] It produced three singles; "Music", which became Madonna's twelfth number-one on the Hot 100, as well as "Don't Tell Me" and "What It Feels Like for a Girl".[30] The music video of "What It Feels Like for a Girl" depicted Madonna committing murders and involved in car accidents, hence was banned by MTV and VH1.[94] Around the same time, Madonna became involved in a relationship with Guy Ritchie, whom she had met in 1999 through mutual friends Sting and his wife, Trudie Styler. On August 11, 2000, she gave birth to their son, Rocco Ritchie.[95] Later that year, Madonna and Ritchie married in Scotland

2003–06: American Life, Confessions on a Dance Floor and adoption case

Madonna performing at the Live 8 benefit concert
In 2003, Madonna collaborated with fashion photographer Steven Klein, for an exhibition installation named X-STaTIC Pro=CeSS. It included photography from a photoshoot in W magazine, and seven video segments. The installation ran from March to May, in New York's Deitch Projects gallery. It then traveled the world in an edited form.[101] Madonna released her ninth studio album called American Life which was based on the American society, and received mixed reviews.[102] The title song peaked at number thirty-seven on the Hot 100.[30] Having sold four million copies worldwide, American Life became the lowest selling album of her career.[103] Later that year, Madonna performed the song "Hollywood" with Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Missy Elliott, at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards. Madonna kissed Spears and Aguilera during the performance, resulting in a tabloid frenzy.[104][105] In fall 2003, Madonna provided guest vocals on Spears' single "Me Against the Music".[106] During the Christmas 2003, Madonna released Remixed & Revisited, an EP that included remixed versions of songs from American Life, and "Your Honesty", a previously unreleased track from the Bedtime Stories recording sessions.[107] Madonna also signed a contract with Callaway Arts & Entertainment as the author of five books, and published the first one titled The English Roses. The story was about four English schoolgirls and their envy and jealousy of each other. After its release, The English Roses peaked at the top of The New York Times Best Seller list.[108]
The next year, Madonna and Maverick sued Warner Music Group and its former parent company, Time Warner, claiming that mismanagement of resources, and poor bookkeeping had cost the company millions of dollars. In return, Warner filed a countersuit, alleging that Maverick had lost tens of millions of dollars on its own.[109][110] The dispute was resolved when the Maverick shares, owned by Madonna and Ronnie Dashev, were purchased. The company became an owmed subsidiary of Warner Music, but Madonna was still signed to Warner under a separate recording contract.[109] Later that year, Madonna embarked on the Re-Invention World Tour in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. It became the highest-grossing tour of 2004, earning $125 million.[111] She made a documentary about the tour named I'm Going to Tell You a Secret.[112] Rolling Stone ranked her number thirty-six, on their list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time".[113] Madonna performed a cover version of the John Lennon song "Imagine", in the televised concert titled Tsunami Aid.[114] She also performed at the Live 8 benefit concert in London.[115] Her tenth studio album, Confessions on a Dance Floor, was released in 2005 and debuted at number one in all major music markets.[116] Keith Caulfield from Billboard commented that the album is a "welcome return to form for the Queen of Pop."[117] The album won a Grammy Award for "Best Electronic/Dance Album".[57] The first single from the album, "Hung Up", went on to reach number-one in a record breaking forty-five countries, earning a place in the Guinness Book of World Records.[118] "Sorry", the second single, became Madonna's twelfth number-one single in the UK.[31]
In 2006, the clothing line M by Madonna, under H&M, was launched internationally.[119] That same year, Madonna embarked on the Confessions Tour, which had a global audience of 1.2 million, and grossed over $194.7 million, becoming the highest grossing tour ever for a female artist at that time.[120] The use of religious symbols, such as the crucifix and Crown of Thorns, in the performance of "Live to Tell", caused the Russian Orthodox Church and the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia, to urge all their members to boycott her concert.[121] The Vatican, as well as bishops from Düsseldorf, protested against the concert.[122] Madonna responded: "My performance is neither anti-Christian, sacrilegious or blasphemous. Rather, it is my plea to the audience to encourage mankind to help one another and to see the world as a unified whole."[123] While on the tour, Madonna traveled to Malawi to help and fund an orphanage, as part of the Raising Malawi initiative.[124] On October 10, 2006, she filed adoption papers for a boy named David Banda Mwale, from the orphanage. He was later renamed, David Banda Mwale Ciccone Ritchie.[125] The adoption raised strong public reaction, because Malawian law requires would-be parents to reside in Malawi for one year before adopting, which Madonna did not do.[126] She refuted the allegations on The Oprah Winfrey Show, saying that there were no written adoption laws in Malawi that regulated foreign adoption and that Banda had been suffering from pneumonia after surviving malaria and tuberculosis, when she had met him.[127] Banda's biological father, Yohane commented, "These so-called human rights activists are harassing me every day, threatening me that I am not aware of what I am doing. [...] They want me to support their court case, a thing I cannot do for I know what I agreed with Madonna and her husband."[128] The adoption was finalized on May 28, 2008

2007–present: Live Nation, Hard Candy and the Sticky & Sweet Tour

Madonna and Nathan Rissman at the premiere of I Am Because We Are
In 2007, Madonna released the download-only song "Hey You", for the Live Earth series of concerts. The song was available as free download the first week of its release. She also performed it at the London Live Earth concert.[130] Same year, Madonna announced her departure from Warner Bros. Records, and a new $120 million, ten-year contract with Live Nation. She became the founding recording artist for the new music division, Live Nation Artists.[131] The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced Madonna as one of the five inductees of 2008.[132] The induction ceremony took place on March 10, 2008.[133] Madonna produced and wrote I Am Because We Are, a documentary on the problems faced by Malawians. The documentary was directed by her former gardener Nathan Rissman.[134] She also directed her first film titled Filth and Wisdom. The Times said she had "done herself proud" while The Daily Telegraph described the film as "not an entirely unpromising first effort [but] Madonna would do well to hang on to her day job."[135][136]
Madonna released her eleventh studio album, Hard Candy, in 2008. Rolling Stone complimented it as an "impressive taste of her upcoming tour."[137] The album debuted at number one in 37 countries worldwide, including the Billboard 200.[138][139] The album received generally positive reviews worldwide, though some critics panned it as "an attempt to harness the urban market".[140][141] Its lead single, "4 Minutes", reached number-three on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was Madonna's thirty-seventh Hot 100 top ten hit, thus surpassing Elvis Presley, as the artist with the most top-ten hits.[142] In the UK, she retained her record for the most number-one singles for a female artist, "4 Minutes" being her thirteenth.[143] To further promote the album, Madonna embarked on the Sticky & Sweet Tour, which was her first major venture with Live Nation. It became the highest-grossing tour ever by a solo artist with gross of U.S. $280 million, surpassing the previous record held by her Confessions Tour.[144] The tour was extended to the next year, adding new European dates.[145] The total gross by the end of the whole tour was US $408 million.[144]
Life with My Sister Madonna, a book by Madonna's brother Christopher Ciccone, was released and debuted at number two on the New York Times Bestseller list.[146] It was not authorized by Madonna, and led to a rift between them.[147] She filed for divorce from Ritchie, which was finalized in December.[148][149] Madonna was honored with the Gold International Artist of the Year, at the Recording Industry Association of Japan Gold Disc Awards, for Hard Candy.[150] She decided to adopt again from Malawi. The country's High Court, initially approved the adoption of Chifundo "Mercy" James.[151] However, the adoption was rejected since Madonna was not a resident of Malawi.[152] Madonna re-appealed, and on June 12, 2009, the Supreme Court of Malawi granted Madonna, the rights to adopt Mercy James.[153] Fall 2009, Madonna released Celebration, her third greatest hits album, and the closing release with Warner. It contained the new songs "Celebration" and "Revolver", plus 34 hits spanning her career.[154] Celebration was Madonna's eleventh number-one album in the UK Albums Chart, tying her with Elvis Presley as the solo act with most number-one albums in the British chart history.[155] She appeared at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards on September 13, 2009, to pay tribute to deceased pop star Michael Jackson, with a speech.[156]
Madonna performed "Like a Prayer" on the Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief concert in 2010.[157] Same year, she released her third live album, Sticky & Sweet Tour. It was her first release under Live Nation, but was distributed by Warner Bros.[158] Madonna announced plans of directing her second film titled W.E., co-written it with Alek Keshishian, a biopic about the affair between King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson.[159] She later clarified that the film is about a woman's journey and that the duchess as her spiritual guide, but was not going to be about the duchess' life

Discography

Madonna (1983)
Like a Virgin (1984)
True Blue (1986)
Like a Prayer (1989)
Erotica (1992)
Bedtime Stories (1994)
Ray of Light (1998)
Music (2000)
American Life (2003)
Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005)
Hard Candy (2008)

Some Other Pictures














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