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Madonna - Biography |
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Arguably the most enduring female
performer on the international pop scene from the mid 80s to the early 00s
-- and one of the few artists to maintain a presence in the
youth-dominated charts well into her forties -- Madonna Ciccone (known
simply by her first name) has successfully managed to keep media attention
on herself by continually updating her sound to fit emerging musical
trends, and by regularly bumping against the conservative moral standards
of the American mainstream. The extravagant lifestyle of her adult years,
however, contrasts sharply with her childhood in the suburbs of Detroit:
the middle of six siblings born to a mixed
Italian-American/French-Canadian family, Madonna was given a strict
Catholic upbringing by her father, who was forced to raised his large
family on his own after his wife succumbed to breast cancer in 1963. In
addition to their Catholic studies, Sylvio "Tony" Ciccone also expected
his children take music lessons, but after a months of piano studies he
made an exception and allowed his eldest daughter to pursue her interest
in ballet.
Madonna's father eventually remarried, aggravating the already strained
relationship that existed between himself and his daughter. The
independent, ambitious personality that made her restrictive home life
more difficult to endure served her well in high school, where high grades
-- as well as her sports and cheerleading activities -- ultimately
qualified her for a scholarship. Upon graduating in 1976 she enrolled as a
ballet student at the University of Michigan, but after only three
semesters she dropped out in favor of moving to New York City to get her
dance career underway. Success was far from instantaneous, and Madonna
spent the next several years working menial jobs (and occasionally as a
nude model) while she continued her dance training.
After working with various modern dance ensembles during the late 1970s,
Madonna joined a tour with French singer Patrick Hernandez, primarily
known for his 1978 song Born To Be Alive. It was at this time that she
became involved with musician Dan Gilroy, who would later include her in
the line-up to his band The Breakfast Club as a drummer and vocalist. By
1980 she had moved on to Emmy, a new project that also involved Breakfast
Club bandmate Stephen Bray, but soon afterwards the the pair split off to
create more club-oriented music, their demo recordings quickly earning a
following within the New York disco scene and attracting the interest of
local producer Mark Kamins. It was Kamins who subsequently connected the
singer with Sire Records, producing her debut solo single Everybody for
the label in 1982 and setting her pop career in motion. Both the single
and its follow-up Burning Up (1983) did well enough in the dance charts to
convince Sire to release a full album, and in 1983 her eponymous release
positioned Madonna in the top 10 in several different countries including
the US, the UK, France and Australia.
Three more singles from Madonna's debut -- Holiday, Borderline and Lucky
Star -- were issued over the following year, each climbing higher than its
successor, with Holiday peaking at #16 and Lucky Star reaching #4 in its
ninth week. Her second album Like a Virgin (produced by Chic mastermind
Nile Rodgers) was issued in November of 1984 and successfully maintained
her presence in the upper reaches of the charts around the world with
singles such as Material Girl, Angel, Into the Groove and of course the
album's title track (her first mainstream #1 in the States). The album
also gave Madonna her first significant bit of controversy: instigated in
general by her raunchy performances and the sexual content of her lyrics,
but focused in particular on Virgin's fourth single Dress You Up. It was
this song that was included amongst the "Filthy Fifteen", a list assembled
by a group of Washington wives calling themselves the Parent's Music
Resource Center (PMRC) as a means to support their demand that the music
industry adopt a system of ratings and censorship according to their
personal moral standards.
In 1985 Madonna released her second #1 single Crazy For You, included as
part of the soundtrack for the wrestling flick Vision Quest. The film also
featured a brief appearance by the singer, foreshadowing her more
prominent role later in the year opposite Rosanna Arquette in Susan
Seidelman's Desperately Seeking Susan; Susan also made use of her track
Into the Groove, previously released as the flipside of the Angel single
and giving the record an added boost in sales. It was for this role that
she would earn her most positive criticial notices -- something that would
remain elusive throughout her subsequent acting career. Madonna's enormous
commercial success continued to grow in response to her third effort True
Blue (1986), which spent 5 weeks at the top of the US album charts and
launched three more #1 singles (Live to Tell, Papa Don't Preach, Open Your
Heart) and two more top 5 singles (La Isla Bonita and the title track). It
also continued the tradition of controversy established with Like a Virgin
-- this time centering around her paen to teenage pregnancy Papa Don't
Preach.
The next step in Madonna's film career was a leading role alongside
then-husband Sean Penn in Shanghai Surprise (1986), a spectacular critical
and commercial flop. The dissolution of their marriage four years later
would command far more enthusiastic media attention. The singer continued
her acting work with a leading role in Who's That Girl (1987), loosely
adapted from the 1938 Katharine Hepburn comedy Bringing Up Baby. Although
the film did not fare particularly well at the box office, the title song
earned it's star yet another #1 single, while also lending it's name to a
successful international tour. The Italian leg of the tour marked the
first public attack on the singer by the Vatican, who opposed her use of
Catholic symbolism in openly sexual contexts and aggressively discouraged
attenance to her concerts; this adversarial relationship was only worsened
by her next album Like a Prayer (1989), which took the sex/religion
associations even further. Papal condemnation did little to diminish
sales, however (accomplishing the opposite, in all likelihood), and yet
another #1 album and single were added to the iniquitous performer's
credits.
Despite her status as one of the most successful pop stars in the world,
Madonna's acting endeavors continued to receive poor reviews. Her next
movie project, the gangster comedy Bloodhounds Of Broadway (1989), was
another commercial and critical disappointment, while her contribution to
the financially lucrative comic adaptation Dick Tracy (1990) was still
given a lukewarm reception. As usual, her soundtrack contributions fared
much better: the latter film's associated release I'm Breathless spending
several weeks in the top 5, and it's lead single Vogue (not from the
movie) returning her to the top of the single charts. This was followed by
the multi-platinum "greatest hits" compilation The Immaculate Collection
(1990), whose new track Justify My Love earned her both another #1 and a
fresh burst of controversy (in response to its overtly sexual/S&M-themed
video).
A temporary reversal in the singer's dismal movie fortunes began in 1991
with the tour documentary Truth or Dare, which provided a candid look
behind the scenes of her 1990 Blond Ambition Tour. Although panned by many
critics, it earned itself respectable returns at the box office
(attracting fans who wanted to watch her make fun of Kevin Costner). This
was followed in the summer of 1992 by a prominent role in the successful
baseball film A League of Their Own, also featuring Tom Hanks and Geena
Davis. That same year saw the publication of Sex, a softcore photo
collection that was a clear bid to maintain (and amplifye) Madonna's
reputation for controversy. The book served as a companion piece to her
6th full-length release Erotica, the title track of which was turned into
a somewhat explicit video (although a milder version was also created for
the US market); a world tour named The Girlie Show was subsequently
launched in 1993, continuing the prominent use of nudity and overt
sexuality that had been presented in the book and video. Her role in the
erotic thriller Body of Evidence (1993) also continued this theme, but
achieved little more than adding another entry to her list of unsuccessful
movie projects. To cap off her "era of infamy" Madonna appeared on The
Late Show with David Letterman in March of 1994, making a point of using
the word "fuck" as much as possible during her interview, and setting a
new record for censoring on network television as a result.
For her sixth studio release Bedtime Stories (1994) the singer backed away
somewhat from the confontation of sexual attitudes that had preoccupied
her previous projects and enlisted producers Nellee Hooper and Dallas
Austin (separately) to create songs with a more mainstream R&B sound.
Untypically, only two of the album's four singles managed to reach the top
40 (the Bjork-co-written title track being her first not to do so since
1983's Burning Up), but the second single Take a Bow still managed to
spend several weeks at the top of the US charts. A second "best of"
collection titled Something to Remember (1995) arrived next, once again
including several new songs -- amongst which was included a cover version
of Marvin Gaye's I Want You, recorded in collaboration with Hooper and the
British electronic ensemble Massive Attack. A role in the Allison
Anders-directed segment of Four Rooms and a cameo in Paul Auster's Blue in
the Face were added to her film credits that same year.
1996 witnessed a rare occurrence for the ambitious performer: a movie
project that received as enthusiastic a response to her acting as to her
soundtrack contributions. For the starring role in Alan Parker's film
adaptation of the musical Evita, Madonna received a Golden Globe in the
category of Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy, while both an Oscar and a
Golden Globe for Best Original Song was awarded to You Must Love Me
(composed for the film by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber). Her next solo
release Ray of Light (1998) also marked a particularly successful point in
her career, exploring the popular techno styles of the day with the
assistance of electronic producer/performer William Orbit. The album would
earn Madonna some of her strongest reviews, as well as returning her high
into the album and singles charts in the US, the UK, Australia, Europe and
Japan.
After earning another worldwide hit single for Beautiful Stranger (1999)
-- a track recorded for the Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
soundtrack -- Madonna continued the upward swing of her musical fortunes
with her eighth studio release Music (2000), both the album and the title
song quickly finding their way to the top of the charts in more than a
dozen different countries. Her film career did not fare nearly as well,
however, and her next project The Next Best Thing (2000) returned the
performer to the familiar territory of bad reviews and poor box office. A
similar fate also greeted her next film Swept Away (2002), directed by new
husband Guy Ritchie. The uncomplimentary reviews continued for her brief
role in the James Bond film Die Another Day -- although, as usual, her
contribution to the soundtrack (the title song) still proved to be
commercially viable, climbing to the top of the dance charts and reaching
the #8 position as a mainstream single despite poor critical response.
In 2003 Madonna released American Life, an album whose sombre mood was in
distinct contrast to the mostly upbeat, dance party tone of it's
predecessor, while still retaining a similarly ambitious musical content
(both albums featuring production input from French electronica composer
Mirwais Ahmadzaď). The record managed to jump to the top of the mainstream
charts during it's first week, but quickly slid out of the top 40 in
subsequent weeks, ending up as one of the least financially successful
releases in her catalog. This poor outcome was blamed on a backlash
against American Life's anti-war message, arriving as it did only a month
after the US invasion of Iraq. This explanation would seem to be supported
by the much warmer reception the record received in countries opposed to
the invasion -- particularly France, where it remained at #1 and sold in
larger quantities. Regardless of her unpopular political views, the
Re-Invention world tour launched in 2004 demonstrated that Madonna still
commanded an enormous following by earning the highest returns of any tour
that year. It was during this period that Madonna initiated yet another
facet to her carrer: that of an author of children's books. Her first two
books The English Roses and Mr. Peabody's Apples arrived in 2003, followed
by Yakov and the Seven Thieves and The Adventures of Abdi in 2004, and
Lotsa de Casha in 2005. This new creative avenue was given a consistently
positive critical reception, as well as repeatedly placing her on
best-seller lists around the world.
A return to less serious fare for her next effort Confessions on a Dance
Floor (2005) brought a corresponding return to chart success and platinum
sales. Apparently unable to resist inviting a little more controversy into
her life, for the concert tour in support of the album the singer created
a routine that featured her hanging from a disco-mirror covered cross
while wearing a crown of thorns during her performace of the song Live to
Tell. The Christian religious community's response was predictable. I'm
Going to Tell You a Secret, a live document of the earlier 2004 tour, was
issued in 2006. |
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Madonna - Personal Quotes |
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"When I'm hungry, I eat. When
I'm thirsty, I drink. When I feel like saying something, I say it."
"Children always understand. They have open minds. They have
built-in shit detectors."
"I think that everyone should get married at least once, so you can
see what a silly, outdated institution it is."
"A lot of people are afraid to say what they want. That's why they
don't get what they want." (From her book "Sex")
(To David Letterman) "Listen, all you do is talk about my sex life
on your show, so now you don't want to talk about my sex life when
I'm on your show?!"
"Can I just say that I find it really irritating that everyone beats
up on Britney Spears? I want to do nothing but support her and
praise her and wish her the best. I mean, she's 18 years old! It's
just shocking. I was so gawky and geeky and awkward and unsure of
myself." - Elle, February 2001
"I sometimes think I was born to live up to my name. How could I be
anything else but what I am having been named Madonna? I would
either have ended up a nun or this."
"I feel just as hungry today as I did the day I left home."
"Better to live one year as a tiger, then a hundred as sheep."
"I am my own experiment. I am my own work of art."
"I live for meeting with men in suits. I love them because I know
they had a really boring week and I walk in there with my orange
velvet leggings and drop popcorn in my cleavage and then fish it out
and eat it. I like that. I know I'm entertaining them, and I know
that they know."
"I'm like a cockroach - you just can't get rid of me!"
"People who have nothing better to do than talk about my hair color
have no lives."
"I'm a gay man trapped in a woman's body!"
"Not only do we suffer from racism and sexism, but we also suffer
from ageism. Once you reach a certain age you're not allowed to be
adventurous, you're not allowed to be sexual, I mean is there a
rule? Are you supposed to just die when you're 40?"
"Without the heart, there can be no understanding between the hand
and the mind."
"I'm tough, ambitious and I know exactly what I want... if that
makes me a bitch - okay!"
"Fame can be very disruptive. It can be like a drug. It gives you
the feeling that you're happy, it gives you the feeling of
self-importance, it gives you the feeling of fullfilment... but it
can distract you from what is really important."
"There is nothing rebellious about today's sounds, and music needs
to be rebellious!"
"My ambition may be American, and I may have married a Brit, but my
heart belongs to France." (on winning a French NRJ Career Award,
January 2004)
I wouldn't live in Chicago cause it's too conservative, aside for
the fact that Oprah Winfrey lives there. (from her documentary, "In
Bed with Madonna_qv" )
I know I'm not the greatest singer or dancer, but that doesn't
interest me, I'm interested in being provocative and pushing
people's buttons.
I have two beautiful children and a brilliant, gorgeous husband. I
have my work and my faith...If that's boring to some people, I can't
tell you how much I don't care.
"I think that Kabbahlah is very punk rock."
"A lot of people thought that I was a black artist before they saw
my videos, because a lot of my music is more R&B oriented, and I
think that I'm a white artist doing R&B music, getting played on pop
stations. And I think that the kind of records I make are really
changing peoples ideas of splitting up and categorizing artists and
I think that's opening ways for Black and white artists as well."
(August 1984)
"Videos might have a limited audience in one sense. But on the other
hand you could be reaching a lot of people that would never be able
to come see you live. So I think they're definitely an advantage.
Kids today worship the television, so I think it's a great way to
reach them. When you perform on stage you're acting. That's a
performance. If someone sticks a camera on you what's the
difference?" (August 1984)
"I would like to ultimately achieve. I already told Dick Clark once
on "Bandstand" (1952). So I repeat it again and annoy everyone who
was annoyed before when I said it. I want to conquer the world"
(September 1984).
"Everybody in our family studied a musical instrument. My father was
really big on that. Somehow I only took a year or two of piano
lessons and I convinced my father to let me take dancing lessons."
(June 1989)
"When I first came to New York I was a dancer, and a French record
label offered me a recording contract and I had to go to Paris to do
it. So I went there and that's how I really got into the music
business. But I didn't like what I was doing when I got there, so I
left, and I never did a record there. (May 1984)
"So then I'm playing drums and were getting gigs in certain downtown
clubs like CBGB and the Mud Club, and Max's Kansas City. And I'm
starting to write music for the band too, like some songs but they
already had two singers in the band, so they would never let me get
up and sing a song because what's the point? One day I finally
convinced them. I'll just play guitar and sing one song. Please,
please, please. And they finally said OK. So then I got up to sing
one song and the other guy went back to play the drums. And like I
got a standing ovation." (December 1985)
"I befriended one DJ in particular and he worked at a club called
Danceteria, which was one of my favorite clubs. And we talked a lot
about music. I knew a lot about singers, and I knew a lot about
different groups and stuff like that. And he said: `How come you
know so much about this.' And I said: `I'm really interested in
music.' And he said: `Well, in what way?' And I said: `I'm a
singer'. He said: `No kidding'. And I said: `Yeah, and I just happen
to have this tape right here'. I mean I was carrying this tape with
me everywhere, at every club, waiting for the moment to pop it on
somebody. So I said: `Would you play it?'. And he said `Well I can't
play it in the middle of the night. I haven't heard it. What if it's
terrible? What if everyone stops dancing?' And I said `Alright well
you listen to it, take it home with you tonight, and listen to it.
And I'll come back here tomorrow, and if you like it then you play
it again. So that was a Friday night, so he went home. On Saturday
night I met him again, and I came back before the club opened and he
said he really loved it. So he played it. He played two songs. One
of them was `Everybody'." (December 1985)
"I like them. I know I am not supposed to. Every time someone says
something bad about them, I say, 'Hey, wait a minute, I was a Spice
Girl once!'" - on the Spice Girls.
"Even if I feel like shit they still love me!"
"You have to be patient... I'm not!"
"I hate people who hate women. Actually I hate people who hate!"
"I do think that the birth of my daughter was sort of a rebirth for
me. It made me look at life in a completely new way. And that made
me appreciate life in a way I don't think I ever had before."
"When I was growing up I was religious in a passionate adolescent
way. Jesus Christ was like a movie star, my favorite idol of all."
"I feel really protective of her. Don't even ask me why. there's
something about her. Even though she's terribly successful, for some
reason I think of her as an underdog." - on Britney Spears
"I see her as my little sister. She asks me for career advice. For
the most part, I try to make her understand this isn't real life and
she can't take everything people say seriously. I can understand
some of the stuff she's going through. I help her with that." - on
her relationship with Britney Spears.
"I don't want people to dress like me anymore. Now, I want them to
think like me. Dress like Britney Spears and think like me, and
everything will be fine".
"I've learned from studying Kabbalah that if your happiness is based
on people approving of everything you do, you're doomed to fail...
Kabbalah helped me stand up and take responsibility for everything
to do with me."
"I can be arrogant sometimes, but I never mean it intentionally. I
can be really snotty to people but that's not anything new really. I
always acted like a star long before I was one. If people don't see
my sense of humor then I come off as being expensive, but I always
endear myself to people when I find their weaknesses and they
acknowledge it. It's the people who try to hide everything and try
to make you think they're so cool that I can't stand."
[About her famous appearance in 1994 on "Late Show with David
Letterman" (1993)] "That was a time in my life when I was extremely
angry. The press was constantly beating up on me, and I felt like I
was a victim. So I lashed out at people and that Letterman was one
of them. I am not particularly proud of it".
"I skip the huge breakfast. Once you eat it, I don't know how you
can get up and move around...I go out and shoot some pheasants."
"TV is trash. I was raised without it, I didn't miss anything. TV is
poison. No-one even talks about it around here. We don't have
magazines or newspapers in the house either."
You can't go to London and not start drinking Guinness. And I have
been known to eat fried fish and French fries. When in Rome - right?
"I was just frigging devastated, it was a real sad day. I don't get
how people can have all these facts and still turn away from them.
9/11 was too ambiguous. You couldn't prove how the government was
somehow in on the deal. You could say, 'Oh that's just Michael
Moore'. New Orleans was undeniable irresponsibility."
"If you take everything I do at face value, you're going to be
horrified. Or intimidated. Or insulted. Or bored."
"It is a struggle to balance my career with my children. I'm always
going, 'Oh God, I'm a crap mother.' I want to get home and put my
kids to bed. And then sometimes, if I'm spending a lot of time with
my children, I think, 'Oh God, I just want to be an artist.'"
(5-2006)
About her daughter Lourdes: "Sometimes she doesn't want me to come
to certain things because she knows everyone is going to pay
attention to me and then they'll treat her differently. I took her
to school on the first day last year, and all these kids were
buzzing around. She came home that day and she was really irritated
and kind of bummed out, like people were playing this contest --
what would it be like to be Madonna's daughter?" (5-2006)
On the adoption of her son, David: "My husband and I began the
adoption process many months prior to our trip to Malawi. I did not
wish to disclose my intentions to the world prior to the adoption
happening as this is a private family matter. After learning that
there were over one million orphans in Malawi, it was my wish to
open up our home and help one child escape an extreme life of
hardship, poverty and in many cases death, as well as expand out
family. Nevertheless, we have gone about the adoption procedure
according to the law like anyone else who adopts a child. Reports to
the contrary are totally inaccurate. The procedure includes an l8
month evaluation period after which time we hope to make this
adoption permanent. This was not a decision or commitment that my
family or I take lightly. I am overwhelmed and inspired by my trip
to Malawi and hope that it helps bring attention to how much more
the world needs to do to help the children of Africa. My heartfelt
thanks for all the good wishes I have received and I hope the press
will allow my family some room for us to experience the joy we feel
to have David home." (October 17,2006)
"My kids don't watch TV. We have televisions but they're not hooked
up to anything but movies. TV is trash. I was raised without it. We
don't have magazines or newspapers in the house either." (February
22, 2007)
"My daughter has a problem picking things up in her room. So if you
leave your clothes on the floor, we put them in a trash bag. She has
to earn them back by being tidy. I'm a disciplinarian. Guy's the
spoiler." (February 22, 2007)
"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 in my pocket. It was the
bravest thing I'd ever done." |
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Madonna - Discography |
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TBA 2007
Confessions on a Dance Floor 2005
American Life 2003
Music 2000
Ray of Light 1998
Early Years 1995
Something To Remember 1995
Bedtime Stories 1994
Erotica 1992
Like a Prayer 1989
You Can Dance 1987
True Blue 1986
Like A Virgin 1984
Madonna 1983 |
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Madonna - Filmography |
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Arthur et les Minimoys (2006)
(voice: English version) .... Princess Selenia
... aka Arthur and the Invisibles (Philippines: English title) (USA)
... aka Arthur and the Minimoys (Hong Kong: English title)
... aka Arthur et les Minimoys (France)
"Will & Grace" .... Liz (1 episode, 2003)
- Dolls and Dolls (2003) TV Episode .... Liz
Die Another Day (2002) (uncredited) .... Verity
... aka D.A.D. (USA: promotional abbreviation)
Swept Away (2002) .... Amber Leighton
... aka Travolti dal destino (Italy)
Star (2001/I) (uncredited) .... Star
... aka The Hire: Star (USA: series title)
The Next Best Thing (2000) .... Abbie Reynolds
Evita (1996) .... Eva Perón
Girl 6 (1996) .... Boss #3
Four Rooms (1995) .... Elspeth (segment "The Missing Ingredient")
Blue in the Face (1995) .... Singing Telegram
... aka Brooklyn Boogie (UK)
Dangerous Game (1993) .... Sarah Jennings
... aka Snake Eyes (UK) (USA: working title)
Body of Evidence (1993) .... Rebecca Carlson
... aka Body of Evidence (Canada: English title)
... aka Deadly Evidence
A League of Their Own (1992) .... Mae Mordabito
"Saturday Night Live" .... Liz Rosenberg (1 episode, 1992)
... aka NBC's Saturday Night (USA: first season title)
... aka SNL (USA: informal title)
... aka SNL 25 (USA: alternative title)
... aka Saturday Night (USA: second season title)
... aka Saturday Night Live '80 (USA: sixth season title)
- Roseanne & Tom Arnold/Red Hot Chili Peppers (1992) TV Episode
(uncredited) .... Liz Rosenberg
Shadows and Fog (1992) .... Marie
Dick Tracy (1990) .... Breathless Mahoney
Bloodhounds of Broadway (1989) .... Hortense Hathaway
Who's That Girl? (1987) .... Nikki Finn
Shanghai Surprise (1986) .... Gloria Tatlock
Desperately Seeking Susan (1985) .... Susan
Vision Quest (1985) .... Singer at Club
... aka Crazy for You (Philippines: English title)
A Certain Sacrifice (1985) (as Madonna Louise Cicconi) .... Bruna |
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Madonna - Related Links |
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Wikipedia: Madonna
YouTube: Madonna
Madonna at Babemania.com
Top Celebrities Sites:
The Celebrity
Cafe |
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