Madonna

Template:Infobox musical artist 2 Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone (born August 16, 1958) is an American pop singer, dancer, actress, songwriter and an author. Noted for her innovative music videos, elaborately mounted stage performances, and often controversial use of sexual and religious themes and imagery in her work, Madonna has gained worldwide fame and notoriety throughout her career.

Madonna emerged from the New York City club scene to become one of the most successful recording artists of the 1980s and 1990s. Her early work consisted mainly of dance pop music, which was often dismissed by critics despite its popularity. As her style evolved and matured, she earned respect and acclaim, culminating in her winning five Grammy Awards. Her renown as a recording artist and performer led to a variety of acting roles and a film career, which has remained secondary to her music career. In 1992, Madonna also co-founded Maverick Records, which was sold to Warner Music Group in 2004.

In 2000, The Guinness Book of Records credited Madonna as the most successful female recording artist of all time, with estimated worldwide sales of 120 million albums. Her record label, Warner Bros., reported in 2005 that she had achieved international sales in excess of 200 million albums. She is also the recipient of numerous awards for her music and videos and frequently referred to as 'the Queen of Pop' as well as one of the greatest pop icons.

Biography

Early life

Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone was born in Bay City, Michigan. She is the third of six children born to Silvio "Tony" P. Ciccone, a Chrysler engineer of Italian American extraction, whose parents originated from Pacentro, in the region of Abruzzo, Italy, and Madonna Louise Fortin, a French Canadian. She was raised in a Catholic family in the Detroit suburbs of Pontiac and Rochester Hills. Madonna's mother died of breast cancer at the age of thirty on December 1, 1963, and Madonna has frequently discussed the impact her mother's death had on her life and career, calling it "one of the hardest things I've faced in my life." Her father later married the family housekeeper, Joan Gustafson, and had two children with her.

Tony Ciccone required his children to take music lessons, however, after a few months of piano lessons, Madonna convinced him to allow her to take ballet classes instead. Madonna's ballet teacher was a man named Christopher Flynn. In addition to mentoring Madonna in dance, Flynn provided Madonna with her first exposure to gay discotheques, a scene that would later have an impact on her music and style. She attended Rochester Adams High School, where she was a straight-A student, excelled at sports and was a member of the cheerleading squad. After graduating from high school in 1976, she received a dance scholarship to the University of Michigan, In 1977, with Flynn's encouragement, Madonna left college at the end of her second year and moved to New York City to pursue a dance career. Looking back at her arrival in New York, Madonna has said: "When I came to New York it was the first time I'd ever taken a plane, the first time I'd ever gotten a taxi-cab, the first time for everything. And I came here with 35 dollars in my pocket. It was the bravest thing I'd ever done."

Madonna experienced financial difficulties, and for some time lived in squalor and worked a series of low-paying jobs, including a stint at Dunkin' Donuts. She also worked as a nude model on occasion. She studied with Martha Graham and Pearl Lang and later performed with several modern dance companies, including Alvin Ailey and the Walter Nicks dancers. While performing as a dancer for the French disco artist, Patrick Hernandez, on his 1979 world tour, Madonna met and became romantically involved with the musician Dan Gilroy, with whom she later formed her first rock band, the Breakfast Club, in New York. In addition to providing vocals, she played drums and guitar, before forming the band Emmy in 1980 with drummer and former boyfriend Stephen Bray. She and Bray wrote and produced a number of solo disco and dance songs that brought her local attention in New York dance clubs. D.J. and record producer Mark Kamins was sufficiently impressed by her demo recordings to bring them to the attention of Sire Records founder Seymour Stein.

1982-1985: Beginning and rise to fame

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Madonna in her first music video for "Everybody," a low-budget video that featured Madonna and her dancers in a rather dark New York club.

In 1982, Madonna signed a singles deal with Sire Records in the United States that paid her $5,000 per song. Her first release "Everybody," a self written song produced by Mark Kamins, became a dance hit in the U.S. on the Billboard Hot Dance/Club Chart, but failed to make an impact on the Billboard Hot 100. It also gained airplay on U.S. R&B radio stations, leading many to assume that Madonna was a black artist. The double-sided 12" vinyl single featuring "Burning Up" and "Physical Attraction" followed in late 1982, and was also a success on the U.S. dance charts. These results convinced Sire Records executives to finance a full-length album.

Her debut album Madonna (1983), a collection of dance songs, was primarily produced by Reggie Lucas, but early in the recording process both realized that they could not work well together. After initial production on the album was completed Madonna took the finished but unsatisfactory album to her then-boyfriend John "Jellybean" Benitez, who remixed and rearranged it. It reached number eight on the U.S. albums chart and contained five successful singles, including her first world-wide hit, "Holiday", and has been certified 5x platinum with world sales in excess of eight million copies.

Her follow up album Like a Virgin (1984) was an international success and became her first number one album on the U.S. albums chart. Buoyed by the success of its title track, which reached number one across the world, including a six week stay at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart, the album has sold nineteen million copies worldwide and produced four top-five singles in the U.S. and the UK.

Madonna's image, which evolved from a combination of punk culture with an urban ambiance, to a more overtly sexual persona, along with her increasingly elaborate music videos, made her a regular fixture on the fledgling MTV network.

Her performance at the first MTV Video Music Awards, during which she writhed on the stage wearing a combination bustier/wedding gown, lacy stockings and garters and her then-trademark "Boy Toy" belt, was the first of several public displays that boosted Madonna's fan base as much as they incensed some critics, who felt that her provocative style attempted to disguise an absence of talent.

"Like a Virgin" (1984), directed by Mary Lambert, was shot in Venice, Italy and featured Madonna dancing on a gondola and in a wedding dress.

In 1985, Madonna entered mainstream films, beginning with a brief appearance as a club singer in the film Vision Quest. The soundtrack to the film contained her second number one pop hit, the Grammy-nominated ballad "Crazy for You." Later that year she appeared in the commercially and critically successful film Desperately Seeking Susan, with her comedic performance winning her positive reviews. The film introduced the dance song "Into the Groove" which was released as a B-side to her single "Angel", peaking at number five in the U.S. In Europe, "Into the Groove" became a major hit and her first U.K. number one.

She embarked on her first concert tour in the U.S. titled The Virgin Tour. News reports from the tour highlighted the advent of the "Madonna wannabe" — hordes of teenage girls around the country dressing in spandex, miniskirts, torn t-shirts, and lacy bras, with armfuls of black rubber bangles, teased, bow-tied hair and a stressed mole above the lip to emulate Madonna.

In July 1985, Penthouse and Playboy magazines published a number of black and white nude photos of Madonna taken in the late 1970s. The publications caused a swell of publicity and public discussion of Madonna, who remained unapologetic and defiant. Speaking to a global audience at the Live Aid charity concert at the height of the controversy, Madonna made a critical reference to the media, vowed that for her performance she would not give her critics the satisfaction of taking off her jacket, despite the sweltering heat.

1986-1991: Artistic development

The music video for "True Blue" (1986), directed by James Foley, featured a 1950s theme.

1986's True Blue presented a more musically and thematically mature album than its predecessors, prompting Rolling Stone to declare, "singing better than ever, Madonna stakes her claim as the pop poet of lower-middle-class America." The album included the beautiful and soulful ballad "Live To Tell" that she wrote for the film At Close Range, which starred her then-husband Sean Penn. The album was also the first one that credited her as producer. She collaborated with composer Patrick Leonard who would become a long time collaborator and friend, with whom she would pen some of her best songs. True Blue reached number one in twenty-eight countries and sold over twenty million copies worldwide, becoming her most successful studio album internationally, and produced five successful singles, including three number ones in the U.S.

The music videos for the album True Blue displayed Madonna's continued interest in pushing boundaries of the video medium to a cinematic level, including elaborate art direction, cinematography and film devices such as character and plot. Though Madonna had already made videos expressing her sexuality, she added religious iconography, gender archetypes and social issues to her oeuvre and these concepts would carry through her work for years to come. One notable example was the "Open Your Heart" video, her first collaboration with French photographer Jean-Baptiste Mondino.

In 1987, Madonna starred in modestly successful film Who's That Girl?, and contributed four songs to its soundtrack, including the film's "title track," which became an international hit and Madonna's sixth number one single in the United States.

In 1987, she embarked on the successful Who's That Girl World Tour, beginning her long association with backing vocalists and dancers Donna DeLory and Niki Haris and moving closer to the more elaborately-staged theater-inspired concert tour. It also marked her first run-in with the Vatican, with the Pope urging fans not to attend her performances in Italy. The Vatican later expressed outrage at the unveiling of a racy 13-foot tall statue of Madonna in the Italian town of Pacentro.

Later that year she released a remix album, You Can Dance which included one new track "Spotlight". Although the album did not reach the top ten, it was certified platinum in the U.S.

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"Like a Prayer" (1989) caused controversy as it was condemned by the Vatican for its "blasphemous" mixture of Catholic symbolism and eroticism.

Her fourth album, 1989's Like A Prayer, presented more reflective and personal lyrics and a more mature vocal style. Co-written and co-produced with Patrick Leonard and Stephen Bray, it settled her as a serious pop artist. Most of the songs were recorded with all the musicians playing in the same room, which gave the album the straightforwardness and sincerity of a live recording. She teamed up with Prince on a duet, who also lended his talent as a guitarist on two songs. Like A Prayer garnered Madonna the strongest reviews of her career and attracted a more mature audience. All Music Guide described the album as "her best and most consistent", while Rolling Stone stated that the album is "proof not only that Madonna should be taken seriously as an artist but that hers is one of the most compelling voices of the Eighties." Like A Prayer produced five singles, including the number one "Like A Prayer."

In early 1989, Madonna signed an endorsement deal with soft drink manufacturer Pepsi. Her song "Like A Prayer" would be debuted in a Pepsi commercial in which Madonna would appear. The commercial used a child's birthday party as a plot device and was not controversial in itself, however the following day the music video for the song premiered on MTV. It featured many Catholic symbols, including stigmata, and was condemned by the Vatican for its "blasphemous" mixture of Catholic symbolism and eroticism. It depicted a black man, who comes to the aid of woman being murdered, arrested for the crime and jailed, until Madonna, who has witnessed the crime, secures his release. Although the video denounced racism, Madonna was criticised for her use of symbols such as burning crosses. The public linked the commercial and the music video, although they were different, and Pepsi was subsequently bombarded with complaints and threats of boycotts. Pepsi withdrew the commercial from broadcasting, but Madonna was allowed to keep her five million dollar fee, as Pepsi had voided their contract. Sales for the album increased during the ensuing publicity, and it reached number one on the U.S. albums chart, ultimately being certified 4x platinum.

In 1990, Madonna starred as "Breathless Mahoney" in a film adaptation of the popular comic book series Dick Tracy. To accompany the launching of the film, as well as, to provide more material for her upcoming Blonde Ambition Tour, she released I'm Breathless, a novelty album, with songs inspired by the film's 1930s setting. It featured the number one dance-floor anthem "Vogue" which was an hommage to the Hollywood stars, the gershinesque "[[Something To Remember]" and three songs by Stephen Sondheim, among them, "Sooner Or Later (I Always Get My Man),". The song won an Academy Award in early 1991 for Best Original Song. The album was a success in Europe, Australia and the United States, where it was certified 2x platinum.

The black and white music video for "Vogue" (1990) recalled the look of 1930s Hollywood films.

Also that year, Madonna released her first "Greatest Hits" album, The Immaculate Collection, which included two new songs, "Justify My Love" and "Rescue Me". The music video for "Justify My Love", again directed by Mondino, showed Madonna in a Parisian hotel, in suggestive scenes with her then-lover, gay icon and indie actor Tony Ward, as well as scenes of S&M, bondage with gay and lesbian characters, and brief nudity. It was deemed too sexually explicit for MTV, and was subsequently banned from the station. Warner Bros. Records released the video as a video single - the first of its kind - and it remains one of the highest selling video singles of all time. "Justify My Love" reached number one on the U.S. singles chart.

In 1991, Madonna starred in her first documentary film, Truth Or Dare (also known as In Bed With Madonna outside of North America), which chronicled her successful 1990 Blond Ambition Tour, as well as her personal life. The following year she appeared in the baseball film A League Of Their Own, and recorded the film's theme song, "This Used To Be My Playground," which became her tenth number one single in the United States.

1992-1997: Sex controversy and Evita

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The controversial music video for "Erotica" (1992) was aired only three times on MTV due to its highly charged sexual content.

In 1992, Madonna released the erotic book Sex, photographed by long time collaborator Steven Meisel. Adult in nature, it featured strong sexual content and graphic photographs featuring Madonna depicting simulations of sexual acts and BDSM. The book caused huge publicity at the time of its release, primarily leading to bad press and negative attitudes towards Madonna. Many critics considered it another calculated controversy timed to boost sales of her new album, which the public linked together because of their generally close release dates and overt sexual content.

Erotica (1992), produced primarily with Shep Pettibone, featured sexual anthems that made no attempt to disguise Madonna's appetite for erotic fantasy and role-playing. The album peaked at number two in the U.S. and produced six singles, with its most successful being its title track "Erotica," which became the highest-debuting (number two) single in the history of the U.S. Hot 100 Airplay chart. The controversial music video that accompanied the song only aired a total of three times on MTV due to its highly charged sexual content.

Her 1993 The Girlie Show Tour was her most explicit and controversial concert tour to date and featured Madonna dressed as a whip-cracking dominatrix, surrounded by topless dancers including Luca Tomassini and Carrie Ann Inaba. The controversy caused by the tour followed Madonna when she caused uproar in Puerto Rico by rubbing the island's flag between her legs on stage, while Orthodox Jews protested against her first-ever show in Israel. Madonna would later comment that this period of her life was designed to give the world every single morsel of what they seemed to be demanding in their invasion of her private life. She hoped that once it was all out in the open, people could settle down and focus on her work.

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Credited as one of Madonna's most experimental videos, "Bedtime Story" (1995) directed by Mark Romanek featured images inspired by paintings by artist Frida Kahlo.

After the raunchy sex period, Madonna released her sixth studio album, Bedtime Stories (1994) co-produced by Nellee Hooper and Dallas Austin. Madonna at the time was inspired by R&B/Rock Singer Joi's debut album The Pendulum Vibe (1993), she was so in love with the album she recruited producer Dallas Austin to help with her project. She was also responsible for making the call that landed Joi becoming the first black model in a major Calvin Klein print ad campaign. The album features Madonna turning to a more R&B flavoured sound. It was a success in Europe, Australia and the United States, where it peaked at number three and was nominated for a Grammy Award. With its title track written by Björk, the album was giving a hint of what would come musically a few years later. It produced four singles, including "Take a Bow," co-written and produced with Babyface. The song was a success on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching number one for seven consecutive weeks. The Michael Haussman Spanish-themed video, meanwhile, would later help her win the lead role in Evita. In late 1995, Madonna released Something To Remember, a collection of her best ballads which featured three new tracks, including a cover of Marvin Gaye's classic "I Want You", which she recorded with British band Massive Attack, and the top ten hit "You'll See." The album just missed the top five on the U.S. charts, it has since been certified triple platinum.

In 1996, Madonna's most critically successful film, Evita was released. The film's soundtrack became her twelfth platinum album and produced two popular singles, "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" and "You Must Love Me," which was written specifically for the film. "You Must Love Me" won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for Best Original Song From a Motion Picture the following year. Madonna also won herself a Golden Globe award for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy.

1998-2002: Return to commercial prominence

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"Ray of Light" (1998), directed by Jonas Akerlund, featured a high-speed video, showing ordinary people performing their daily routines.

Her seventh album Ray of Light (1998), blended her personal and introspective lyrics with Eastern sounds, down-tempo, electronic instrumentation, strings by Craig Armstrong and a strong British flavour. The album reached number two on the U.S. albums chart and since its release has been certified 4x platinum. It earned Madonna the strongest reviews of her career since Like a Prayer and has been widely considered by critics to be one of Madonna's greatest artistic achievements. Amazon.com described the album as "her richest, most accomplished record yet", while Rolling Stone credited Madonna and her co-producer William Orbit for "creating the first mainstream pop album that successfully embraces techno," stating that musically Ray of Light is her "most adventurous record" yet. Ray of Light produced five singles, including the European number one "Frozen" (later the subject of a plagiarism lawsuit which Madonna lost). The album won four awards at the 1999 Grammy Awards and has been ranked number three-hundred and three on Rolling Stone's list of 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Madonna followed the success of Ray of Light with the top-ten single "Beautiful Stranger," a late 60's psyche-pop song she wrote with William Orbit and recorded for the Austin Powers: the Spy Who Shagged Me soundtrack (1999).

In 2000, Madonna released her follow-up film to Evita. The film The Next Best Thing was a disappointment at the box office and was panned by critics. Madonna contributed two songs to the film's soundtrack, including the European number one, "American Pie," a dance cover version of the 1970s Don McLean single. Music (2000), her eighth studio album, had Madonna slightly step away from the exploration of spirituality and fame to get back to the "party" spirit of dance, pop, and house music. However, she still retained the introspective poignancy of Ray of Light in songs such as Paradise (not for me), and introduced guitars for a more folky note, notably in Don't Tell Me or ballads as Gone. Music debuted at number one on the U.S. albums chart and became her first number one album release since Like a Prayer (1989). Mainly co-written and produced with French techno musician Mirwais Ahmadzai, the album produced three singles, including the worldwide number one "Music." The album's third single "What It Feels Like for a Girl" featured a controversial music video, directed by Madonna's husband Guy Ritchie and was banned by MTV and VH1 after just one airing due to its graphic violence.

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The music video for "Don't Tell Me" (2000) featured a Western theme, including cowboys and line dancing.

In 2001, Madonna embarked on the Drowned World Tour, her first tour in eight years. The concert tour was successful and was the subject of a television special in the U.S. and was released on DVD in November 2001 to coincide with the release of her second greatest hits album, GHV2. Unlike her previous compilation, GHV2 did not include any new songs, although clubs did receive multiple mega mixes for promotional play only. In 2002, she wrote and performed the theme song to the James Bond film Die Another Day, and had a cameo in the film as a fencing instructor. The song reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was nominated for both a Golden Globe for Best Original Song (and a Golden Raspberry for Worst Song).

2003-2006: Commercial ups and downs

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The original video for American Life (2003) was widely seen as controversial and was revoked on the day of its release due to its graphic images and antiwar message.

Madonna's ninth studio album American Life (2003), in which her lyrics were themed on the aspects of the American dream, fame, fortune and society, polarized music critics with both extremely positive and extremely negative reviews. Arguably her most daring and musically extreme album, American Life presented a darker and more serious side of the singer. Once again she teamed up with Mirwais with string arrangement contributed by French musician, Michel Colombier who had already collaborated on Music, a gospel choir and prominent acoustic guitars. The music video for the first single "American Life" caused controversy in the U.S. as it contained visceral scenes depicting war, explosions and blood. The day before the video was to air on European television, Madonna pulled it and released instead an edited and much more tamed version, which showed her singing in front of flags from around the world. The song failed to perform well on the U.S. singles charts, peaking at thirty-seven. Having sold just 4 million copies, 'American Life' is the lowest selling album of her 21-year career. However, peaking at number one on the U.S. albums chart and becoming her second consecutive album to do so. American Life produced three more singles, which all failed to chart in the U.S., although they became modest hits around the world.

Later that year Madonna performed a re-mixed version of her song Hollywood which was arranged by Stuart Price aka. "Thin White Duke" (whom she later would work with again for her Confessions album) with Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Missy Elliot at the MTV Video Music Awards. The performance caused controversy as Madonna kissed both Spears and Aguilera during the performance, and resulted in tabloid press frenzy. That fall, Madonna provided guest vocals on Spears' single "Me Against the Music", which became a dance hit in the U.S. In an effort to boost sales of American Life, Madonna released Remixed & Revisited, a remix EP that included remixes and some interesting rock versions of songs from American Life as well as Your Honesty, a previously unreleased song from the Bedtime Stories era. The EP did not perform well on the charts and peaked outside the top 100 on the U.S. albums chart. A lesser known aspect of the American Life era is that Madonna worked with fashion photographer, Steven Klein, in what was to become a photo and video installation entitled X-tatic Proccess that would tour in major art galleries around the world. These images were to be used for her Re-Invention Tour. Template:Sample box start variation 2 Template:Multi-listen start Template:Multi-listen item Template:Multi-listen item Template:Multi-listen item Template:Multi-listen end Template:Sample box end

In 2004, she embarked on The Re-Invention Tour, which featured fifty-six dates in the U.S. and Europe and became the highest-grossing tour of 2004, earning $125 million. Also in 2004, Madonna was involved in a brief legal battle with Warner Music Group, with whom she co-owned record label Maverick. The legal dispute ended with Warner Music Group buying Madonna's shares in the record label. In January 2005, Madonna performed a cover version of the John Lennon song Imagine on the televised U.S. aid concert "Tsunami Aid: A Concert of Hope", which raised money the tsunami victims in Asia. In 2005, Madonna released her second documentary to TV, titled I'm Going To Tell You A Secret, which had been filmed during her 2004 Re-Invention world tour and directed by Jonas Akerlund.

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Madonna's retro inspired "Hung Up" music video.

Madonna's tenth album Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005), was built as a continuous mix of dance songs, with musical elements borrowed from the '70s as well as her own repertoire. Produced by Stuart Price, it reached number one in forty-one countries setting a new record previously held by The Beatles and has sold more than 8 million copies since it's November 2005 release. The album received the most positive reviews since 1998's Ray of Light and was considered a return to form after the negative reception to American Life. It has produced two successful singles, Hung Up, which featured a sample of the ABBA song "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" and "Sorry". "Hung Up" became Madonna's first single to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 since American Life in 2003, and tied her with Elvis Presley with the most top ten songs on the U.S. singles chart. Worldwide, it surpassed "Music" to become the most successful single of her career. The follow-up single, "Sorry," became Madonna's twelfth number one in the UK. A third single, "Get Together", was released in June 2006 and became her thirty-sixth number one dance hit in the U.S. (the most for any artist in Billboard history).

In May 2006, Madonna embarked on the Confessions Tour. She caused controversy immediately after launching the tour with her "Live to Tell" number, which she sings hanging on a giant disco-lit cross. The tour is scheduled to run from May through September and will make confirmed stops in North America, Europe and Asia. It is expected to become the highest grossing world tour of all-time for a female recording artist, as it is expected to earn more than $200 million due to high ticket prices and sales.

In June 2006, it was announced that Madonna and her tour dancers, would be the new face of H&M fashion line. A specially-made "Madonna tracksuit" was also announced as being prepared for the retail chain. Photos for the campaign were shot by photographer, Rankin, in Hollywood. Also expected is a "new" Madonna track to be sold exclusively in the stores as well. H&M have clothing chains all over the world.

On June 20, 2006, Madonna released her 2005 documentary, I'm Going To Tell You A Secret, on DVD, which was packaged along with her first live album.

Acting and film career

See also: List of Madonna films

In 1979, Madonna starred in A Certain Sacrifice, a low-budget film she starred in before she achieved widespread popularity as a successful recording artist. Its release in 1985 coincided in with the success of her second album Like a Virgin, and did not please Madonna who tried to prevent its release. A representative from Madonna offered to buy the rights of the film for $5000, which director Stephen Jon Lewicki refused. That same year Madonna appeared in two separate films. She made a cameo as a club singer in the film Vision Quest and garnered commercial and critical success in her first starring role in Susan Seidelman's film, Desperately Seeking Susan, which told the story of a housewife who is fascinated with a woman she only knows about by reading messages to and from her in the personals section of a New York City tabloid. It was a commercial success and grossed $27 million in the United States alone. She appeared as Gloria Tatlock in the adventure drama film Shanghai Surprise (1986) with her ex-husband Sean Penn. The film did nothing to further her acting career, was dismissed by moviegoers, and received poor reviews by critics, with many criticizing her acting, calling it wooden and unbelievable. Subsequent films such as Who's That Girl? (1987) and Bloodhounds of Broadway (1989), based on short stories by Damon Runyon, failed to attract commercial and critical success. She was to appear in Francis Ford Coppola's third and final chapter of the Godfather trilogy. Unfortunately, the director decided to alter the role, make it younger and gave it to his own daughter Sofia Coppola. But Coppola went on praising 'how good that little Italian girl was'!

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Madonna as Eva Perón in the film adaptation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Evita (1996).

In 1990, after a string of unsuccessful films, Madonna starred as Breathless Mahoney in the action film Dick Tracy, directed by Warren Beatty based on the popular Chester Gould's comic strip . She sang three Stephen Sondheim songs and played opposite histrionic Al Pacino as well as Warren Beatty. Although she received mostly positive reviews for her role, critics were quick to point out that her best reviewed roles were ones were Madonna had played someone who is not unlike herself. In 1991 Woody Allen offered her a small role in Shadows and Fog as a trapeze artist opposite John Malkovich. The film was shot in black and white and was an hommage to German Expressionist cinema, backed by the music of Kurt Weill. The following year, Penny Marshall cast her in A League of Their Own opposite Tom Hanks, Geena Davis and Rosie O'Donnel. The film, which centered on a women's baseball team during World War II, earned Madonna good reviews from critics for her lightweight and comedic performance. Following the backlash of her sexual provocative book Sex and its companion album Erotica, Madonna starred in the 1993 erotic-thriller Body of Evidence with Willem Dafoe. The film was overwhelmingly panned by critics and performed poorly at the box office, while only serving to add fuel to Madonna's growing public backlash. Later that year she starred in Dangerous Game (aka Snake Eyes) by Abel Ferrara opposite Harvey Keitel and James Russo. The film revealed her as a more than able actress and was very well received in France, where French newspaper Libération dubbed her the fucked up Marilyn of the 90's. But Dangerous Game was considered much too nihilistic and violent, and was released straight to home video in North America. In an attempt to improve her acting credentials, Madonna chose to take roles in independent films, first playing a singing telegram girl (again opposite Harvey Keitel) in Wayne Wang's Blue in the Face (1995) and as a witch in Four Rooms (1995). She also had a cameo as phone sex company owner in Spike Lee's film Girl 6 in 1996.

In 1996, Madonna starred as Eva Perón in the film adaptation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Evita. The film, which told the life story of Eva Perón, marked the first time in America that Madonna was critically praised for her acting skills, even though some critics compared the film to a long music video which required no further acting skills of Madonna than what she had already exhibited in her own videos. Madonna had campaigned for the role for nearly ten years and in December 1994 she wrote a four page, handwritten letter to director Alan Parker explaining that she would be perfect to play the role. Parker agreed and to prepare for the film Madonna took voice lessons to extend her range and researched the life of her character. In January 1997 she won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, but failed to receive a nomination at the Academy Awards.

Madonna's follow-up to Evita was yet another critically panned role as Abbie, a woman who decides to have a baby with her gay best friend, in the film The Next Best Thing (2000) directed by John Schlesinger. Some critics however were kinder: French mag Telerama pointed out that the script was much too weak, and neither she or the other two male leads, Rupert Everett and Benjamin Bratt could save the film or a director who's been running out of inspiration for some time already. Swept Away followed in 2002, which was also critically panned. The film, a remake of an Italian film bearing the same name by Lina Wertmüller in 1975, was the first big screen collaboration between Madonna and her husband Guy Ritchie. The film was mercilessly dished by everyone (It received seven Razzie Award nominations, winning five including Worst Actress for Madonna). In late 2004, she provided the voice of Princess Selenia in the animated film Arthur and the Invisibles, set for release in January 2007.

In March 2006, Madonna stated in an interview that she had given up acting because she fears her acting reputation will condemn any film she is a part of. She has also expressed her frustration with the process of film making, with the comment "I've been unlucky with some of my films because it's difficult for me to be a brushstroke in someone else's painting."

Documentaries

In 1991, Madonna released her first documentary Truth or Dare (In Bed With Madonna outside the U.S.). The film, directed by Alek Keshishian, followed Madonna on her Blond Ambition world tour in support of her successful 1989 album Like a Prayer. The film featured black and white backstage scenes and live performances filmed in color. Truth or Dare was released in theatres worldwide, and became a box office hit, grossing more than $15 million in the U.S. alone.

Her second documentary, I'm Going To Tell You A Secret (2005), followed Madonna and her family on the Re-Invention World Tour in 2004. Directed by long-time collaborator Jonas Åkerlund, it premiered commercial free on MTV in the U.S. on October 21, 2005. Like her previous effort, the film includes behind the scenes footage as well as live performances, and was released on DVD June 20, 2006 with a bonus audio CD.

Short films

In 2001, Madonna starred in BMW's short film The Hire: Star from the series The Hire as part of a marketing campaign. The film, directed by husband Guy Ritchie, featured Madonna as an arrogant rock star. Madonna starred opposite Clive Owen, Michael Beattie, and Toru Tanaka Jr.

Influences

Italian heritage, family and Catholicism

Madonna’s background as an Italian American Catholic has had great significance in her life and career. She has cited her parents and upbringing as the major influences in her life and career. Her mother's death profoundly affected her, and she later stated that had her mother lived she might not have felt such a strong need to prove herself. Madonna's father, Silvio Ciccone, more commonly referred to simply as "Tony", is a strict Italian Catholic who raised his family in an atmosphere of religious observance.

The name "Madonna" derives from the two Italian words "Ma" and "Donna", meaning “My Lady". In Italy there is a vulgar term "Madonna Mia!", which translates into "My Madonna," a rough equivalent to the English language curse of "My God!" While filming in Venice, Italy, Madonna commented on hearing this expression and being confused as to whether people were cursing or talking to her. Italian Americans are sometimes depicted as using the abbreviated version of "Madonn'".

The name "Madonna" is very Catholic as it references The Virgin Mary, who in Italy and in the Roman Catholic Church is often referred to as "Madonna". Given Madonna's rebellion against Catholic-based ideals of womanhood, some have found it ironic that she shares the same name as the ultimate symbol of the Catholic ideal of womanhood. Early in her career, many assumed that "Madonna" was a stage name that the singer had chosen for shock value.

As a teenager, Madonna rebelled against what she considered an oppressive upbringing but later admitted that Catholicism had remained a central influence. She has said that her first "idols" were nuns, and that she found them "sexy" and wanted to be a nun because they were "really pure and serene".

Madonna also credits her father with instilling in her a strong work ethic, which she attributes to his Italian background, his family's working class history in Naples, and his struggle to raise himself from poor origins. She has spoken admiringly of his efforts, noting that he is the only member of his family with a college education, and that his degree in engineering allowed him to move beyond the limitations of his upbringing. Madonna has also said that since becoming a mother, she has gained greater understanding and respect for her father as a parent.

As a teenager, lacking in self-esteem and rebelling against her Italian and Catholic background, Madonna was told by her ballet teacher and mentor, Christopher Flynn, "You have an ancient looking face. A face like an ancient Roman statue." Madonna has stated that Flynn was the first person to tell her she is beautiful, and his approval inspired her to consider her Italian heritage, and her face, as something of value.

In her music career, Madonna’s Catholic background and relationship with her parents has been most strongly reflected in her Like a Prayer album. In “Like a Prayer,” Madonna moved away from the dance pop of her previous albums and toward more personal and reflective lyrics, featured songs directly related to her parents and her Catholic upbringing. The video for the title track contained overt Catholic symbolism, such as the stigmata. "Promise To Try" told of her sadness at the faded memory of her mother and her struggle to recall her. "Oh, Father" told of a strict and distant father, who elicited fear in the singer as a child and defiance as she grew older. The video for Oh Father depicts Madonna in a confessional and her father kneeling and praying before a picture of his dead wife. The album ends with the track "Act of Contrition", which contains verses from the Catholic prayer of the same name.

Madonna has used the Catholic symbol of the crucifix throughout her career, as a fashion accessory in her early videos, in the church setting of her "Like a Prayer" video, and in the stage design of her "Confessions" tour. The rosary has also often been used in Madonna's career. In the early 1980s, she wore it around her neck as part of her performance costume. Later, in the music video for the song La Isla Bonita Madonna portrays a character who is praying the rosary.

Madonna's Italian heritage has occasionally been referenced in her work. The video to her first number one single, "Like a Virgin," was filmed in Venice, Italy, and features Madonna in iconic Venetian settings. The "Open Your Heart" video ends with Madonna dancing into the sunset with a young boy, while her elderly boss chases after her, yelling at her in Italian. In the "Papa Don't Preach" video, often described as partly autobiographical in content, her father is played by the Italian American actor, Danny Aiello, and Madonna wears a shirt with the slogan, "Italians Do It Better". The video for her Who's That Girl? Tour, titled Ciao Italia: Madonna Live from Italy, was filmed mainly in Turin, Italy. (In the Ciao Italia: Madonna Live from Italy video, Madonna performs the song Papa Don't Preach while a large portrait of the Pope appears on the screen behind her. Coincidentally, "Papa" is the Italian word for "Pope" .) In her 2005 documentary I'm Going To Tell You a Secret, she jokingly states that she has "big, fat, Italian thighs." In film, she achieved a rare good reviews for her portrayal of the Italian American character "Mae Mordabato" in A League of Their Own.

Much of her career has been founded on a rebellion against the Roman Catholic Church. As a result, Madonna has often offended many Catholics, including the head of the Catholic Church himself. In 1990, when Madonna toured Italy with the Blond Ambition Tour concert tour, the Pope encouraged citizens not to attend the concert , and as a result Madonna was forced to cancel two shows due to poor ticket sales. The Pope accused Madonna of blasphemy against the Catholic Church (a crime in Italy), and attempted to have Madonna banned from stepping foot on Italian soil. In response, in a 1990 press conference in Italy, Madonna declared, "I am Italian American and proud of it." In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Madonna said that the Pope's reaction hurt, "because I'm Italian, you know", but in another Rolling Stone interview the same year stated that she had ceased to practice Catholicism because the Church "completely frowns on sex... except for procreation". In the documentary Italians in America - Our Contribution, author Gay Talese relates Madonna's rebellion against the Catholic Church to her Italian ancestry. Talese claims that Madonna is descended from a region of Southern Italy with a long tradition of rebellion against the Catholic Church .

In 1988, city officials in the town of Pacentro, Italy , planned to construct a 13-foot statue of Madonna in a bustier. The statue was intended to commemorate the fact that some of Madonna's ancestors had lived in Pacentro. The mayor of the city and the Pope intervened and prevented the project from coming to fruition, citing concerns that a statue of Madonna in their city would corrupt the morals of their youth.

Musical styles and singers

In 1985, Madonna commented that the first song to ever make a strong impression on her was "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'" by Nancy Sinatra and that it summed up her take-charge attitude. As a young woman she attempted to broaden her taste in literature, art and music and during this time became interested in classical music. She noted that her favourite style was baroque, and loved Chopin because she liked his "feminine quality". Her favourite vocalists were Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra and Sam Cooke, and she also expressed admiration for B.B. King, Chaka Khan and Aretha Franklin. For their ability as performers and for their style and impact, she cited Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders and Deborah Harry of Blondie as artists who strongly inspired her.

Film stars

During her childhood, Madonna became fascinated by films and film stars, later saying "I loved Carole Lombard and Judy Holliday and Marilyn Monroe. They were all incredibly funny .... and I saw myself in them.... my girlishness, my knowingness and my innocence". Her "Material Girl" music video recreated Monroe's "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend" number from the film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and she later studied the screwball comedies of the 1930s, particularly those of Lombard, in preparation for the Who's That Girl? film. The video for "Express Yourself" placed a femme fatale character alongside an androgynous figure in male attire, that was compared to Marlene Dietrich. The video for "Vogue" recreated the style of Hollywood glamour photographers, in particular Horst P. Horst, and imitated the poses of Marlene Dietrich, Carole Lombard and Rita Hayworth, while the lyrics referenced many of the stars who had inspired her. Among those mentioned was Bette Davis, described by Madonna in a Rolling Stone interview, as an idol, along with Louise Brooks and Dita Parlo.

Personal life

Relationships and family

While filming the music video for her single "Material Girl," Madonna began dating actor Sean Penn, who was well known for his role in the popular film Fast Times at Ridgemont High. The two were married later that year on Madonna's twenty-seventh birthday; the marriage lasted less than four years, reportedly caused by Penn's aggressive behaviour and Madonna's secret relationship with John F. Kennedy, Jr. Of her marriage to Penn, Madonna told Tatler, "I was completely obssessed with my career and not ready to be generous in any shape or form."

After the divorce from Penn was made official in 1989, Madonna began a relationship with actor Warren Beatty, whom she had met on the set of the film Dick Tracy. The relationship did not last long and she was soon dating Tony Ward, a young model and porn star, who had previously starred in her music video for "Cherish" (1989). In 1992, Madonna briefly dated rapper Vanilla Ice, who appeared in her erotic book Sex. Madonna also dated Dennis Rodman during the mid nineties. In 1994, while walking in Central Park Madonna met Carlos Leon, who became her personal trainer and lover. On October 14, 1996 she gave birth to the couple’s child, a daughter, Lourdes Maria (Lola) Ciccone Leon. After dating for nearly three years, Madonna and Leon ended their relationship, reportedly due to Leon's inability to cope with Madonna's fame.

On December 22, 2000, Madonna married British director Guy Ritchie, whom she had met through mutual friends Sting and his wife Trudie Styler. Madonna gave birth to a son, Rocco, on August 11, 2000. She currently resides in an English estate in Los Angeles, CA with Ritchie and her children.

Madonna, who refers to herself simply as "Mrs. Ritchie" on her personal letterhead, has undergone a transformation from Material Girl to family woman, as she told Tatler:

"I don't need to drive around in flashy cars and I don't need to show off. I'm perfectly happy to go for walks every day for a month at my house in the countryside. That doesn't mean I can't have expensive tastes, like nice sheets on my bed, or enjoy architecture and pictures. But I do know what makes a healthy balance in life....a good marriage is a contest of generosity....Everyone needs to be stopped in their tracks by parenthood and marriage, otherwise you are just selfish satellites spinning in space."

Gay community

Main article: Madonna and the gay community

Madonna has long been a gay icon. Many of her performances have incorporated aspects of "gay culture," perhaps the most famous example being her hit song "Vogue." In the 1980s, a time before most celebrities felt comfortable lending their support to AIDS charities, Madonna was one of the first major artists to speak out about the need for money for AIDS research. In 2003 Madonna received much publicity for her onstage kiss with Spears and Aguilera at the MTV Video Music Awards. The Advocate, the largest LGBT magazine in the United States, once declared Madonna "the greatest gay icon of all time."

Kabbalah Centre

Since the late-1990s, Madonna has become a devotee of the disputed Kabbalah Centre and a disciple of its controversial head Rabbi Philip Berg and his wife Karen. Madonna and husband Guy Ritchie attend Kabbalah classes and have been reported to have adopted a number of aspects of the movement and associated with Judaism. The media has reported that Madonna has taken on the Biblical name of Esther, has donated millions of dollars to the Kabbalah Centre in London, New York and Los Angeles; no longer performs on Friday nights because it's the time when the Jewish Sabbath begins; wears a red string; and has visited Israel with members of the Kabbalah Centre to celebrate some of the Jewish holidays. She also studies personally with her own private-tutor, rabbi Eitan Yardeni, whose wife Sarah Yardeni runs Madonna's favorite charitable project, "Spirituality for Kids," a subsidiary of the Kabbalah Centre. Madonna reportedly donated 21 million dollars towards a new Kabbalah school for children.

Controversy erupted again well before the release of her most recent album Confessions on a Dance Floor. Many Israeli rabbis condemned Madonna and the forthcoming song "Isaac" (tenth on its track listing) because they believed the song to be a tribute to Rabbi Isaac Luria, also known as Yitzhak Luria (1534-1572), one of the greatest Kabbalists of all time, and claimed that Jewish law forbids using a holy rabbi's name for profit. (Whether Jewish law actually forbids this, or the rabbis were simply uncomfortable with Madonna's song, is disputed). In interviews, Madonna had called this song: "The Binding of Isaac" and rumors spread that it was based on the major episode in the life of the Hebrew patriarch Isaac. Despite continued accusations that the song is about Isaac Luria, Madonna has repeatedly denied such accusations, claiming she could not think of a title for the song and, therefore, named it after Yitzhak (Isaac) Sinwani. In the song, Madonna sings with Sinwani, an Israeli singer, who is chanting a Yemenite Jewish song. Said Madonna: "The album isn't even out, so how could Jewish scholars in Israel know what my song is about? I don't know enough about Isaac Luria to write a song, though I've learned a bit in my studies."

Madonna has openly defended her Kabbalah studies by stating, for example:

I wouldn't say studying Kabbalah for eight years goes under the category or falls under the category of being a fad or a trend. Now there might be people who are interested in it because they think it's trendy, but I can assure you that studying Kabbalah is actually a very challenging thing to do. It requires a lot of work, a lot of reading, a lot of time, a lot of commitment and a lot of discipline.

Furthermore, Madonna said in a BBC interview that she believes Christianity is intolerant of questioning, whereas Kabbalah is not.

Political views

Madonna openly opposes United States President George W. Bush, and she endorsed Wesley Clark's Democratic nomination for the 2004 United States presidential election in an impassioned letter to her fans, saying at the time that "the future I wish for my children is at risk." She also urged fans to see Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11.

In 2004 the following statement was attributed to Madonna:

Unfortunately our current government cannot see the big picture. They think too small. They suffer from the "what's in it for me?" syndrome. The simple truth is that the current administration has squandered incredible opportunities to bring the world together, to promote peace in regions that have only known war, to encourage health in places that are ravaged with disease, to make us more secure by living up to our principles at home and abroad. The simple truth is that the policies of our current administration do not reflect what is great about America.

See also

• Madonna and the gay community
• Madonna on Letterman
• Madonna at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards
• List of best-selling music artists
• List of best selling music artists in U.S.
• List of number-one hits (United States)
• List of number-one albums (United States)
• List of best-selling albums in the United States
• List of best-selling albums worldwide
• UK Best selling singles artists of all time
• List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)
• List of number-one dance hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart
• List of artists who reached number one in Ireland
• List of artists who reached number one on the Australian singles chart

External links

• Madonna.com Official website
• IconMadonna.com Official fanclub
• Myspace.com Madonna's official myspace
• IMDb Madonna's IMDb entry