Biography for Madonna

Madonna

Date of Birth: 16 August 1958

place of Birth: Bay City, Michigan, USA

Birth Name: Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone

Nickname:Nonnie,Maddy,Mo,The Material Girl
Madge,Esther (Kabalah name picked up herself from "Zohar" or "Bible"),M (What she and her friends call her)

Height:5' 4½" (1.64 m)

Also known as: Madonna Ciccone, Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone

Genre(s): Pop, rock

Occupation(s): Singer, songwriter, dancer,[1] record producer, film producer, film director, fashion designer, author, actress, entrepreneur

Instrument(s): Vocals, guitar, percussion

Voice type(s): Mezzo-soprano

Years active: 1979–present

Label(s): Sire (1982–1995)
Maverick (1992–2004)
Warner Bros. (1982–2008)
Live Nation Artists (2008-)

Associated acts: Breakfast Club, Emmy

Trade Mark:

Wore cone-shaped bras during her Express Yourself and Vogue performances (Early 1990s)
For each of her albums she has a different look



Biography:

The remarkable, hyper-ambitious Material Girl who never stops re-inventing herself, Madonna has sold tens of millions of records and CDs to adoring fans worldwide. Her film career, however, is another story. Her performances have consistently drawn scathing or laughable reviews from film critics, and the films have usually had tepid, if any, success at the box office. Born Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone in August 1958 in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York in the late 1970s and studied with renowned choreographer Alvin Ailey, joined up with the Patrick Hernandez Revue, formed a pop/dance band called "Breakfast Club" and began working with then boyfriend Stephen Bray on recording several disco-oriented songs. New York producer / DJ Mark Kamins passed her demo tapes to Sire Records in early 1982 and the rest, as they say, is history. The 1980s was Madonna's boom decade, and she dominated the music charts with a succession of multi-million-selling albums, and her musical and fashion influence on young women was felt around the globe.

Madonna first appeared on screen in two low-budget films marketed to a teenage audience: A Certain Sacrifice (1985) and Vision Quest (1985). However, she scored a minor cult hit with Desperately Seeking Susan (1985) starring alongside spunky Rosanna Arquette. Madonna's next effort with then husband Sean Penn, Shanghai Surprise (1986), was savaged by critics, although the resilient star managed to somewhat improve her standing with her next two films, the offbeat Who's That Girl (1987) (although she did receive decidedly mixed reviews, they weren't as negative as those of her previous effort) and the quirky Damon Runyon-inspired Bloodhounds of Broadway (1989). The big-budget and star-filled Dick Tracy (1990) had her playing bad girl "Breathless Mahoney" flirting with Warren Beatty, but the epic failed to catch fire at the box office.

Several other minor screen roles followed, then Madonna starred as Eva Perón in Evita (1996), a fairly well received screen adaptation of the hugely successful Broadway musical. The Material Girl stayed away from the movie cameras for several years, returning to co-star in the lukewarm romantic comedy The Next Best Thing (2000), followed by the painful Swept Away (2002). If those films weren't bad enough, she was woefully miscast as a vampish fencing instructor in the James Bond adventure Die Another Day (2002).

Trivia:

Her videos "Justify My Love" and "What It Feels Like For A Girl" were banned from VH1 & MTV. "Erotica" (1992), though not banned, was only played after midnight on MTV.

Her record company Maverick Records signed a distribution deal with A Band Apart Records, a record company founded by Quentin Tarantino and Lawrence Bender. A Band Apart Records will focus on film soundtracks. [30 July 1997]

Gave birth to baby daughter named Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon (aka Lola Leon). The father is actor/fitness instructor Carlos Leon. [14 October 1996]

Studied with the Alvin Ailey dance troupe and Pearl Lang's Dance Company in Manhattan. [1978]

Unanimously condemned by the Puerto Rican House of Representatives for pulling a Puerto Rican flag between her legs in an October 26, 1993 concert.

Her song, "Vogue", is a tribute to the glamour of classic Hollywood. Celebrities mentioned in the song are Greta Garbo, Marilyn Monroe, Marlene Dietrich, Joe DiMaggio, Marlon Brando, James Dean, Grace Kelly, Jean Harlow, Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Rita Hayworth, Lauren Bacall, Katharine Hepburn, Lana Turner, and Bette Davis.

Was supposed to play the lead in Music of the Heart (1999) but dropped out two weeks before filming was set to begin.

High school cheerleader.

Her daughter Lourdes was named as a tribute to Madonna's mother, who wanted to visit Lourdes, France, where the Virgin Mary, the Madonna, appeared in 1858, but died before doing so.

Wanted to play the role of Ginger in Casino (1995), but the role was given to Sharon Stone instead.

Turned down the lead in The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989).

Turned down the role of Cristal Conners in Showgirls (1995).

Her grandparents are Michelina and Gaetano Ciccone.

Her father is Italian, her mother was French-Canadian.

Sister-in-law of Joe Henry who write for "Don't Tell Me" and "Jump" from Madonna's albums "Music"(2003) and "Confessions on a Dance Floor" (2005) respectively.

Measurements: 34C-23-33 (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine)
Was 38 years old when she gave birth to her first child. She was 42 when she had her second child and adopted her third when she was 48.

Her ex-husband Guy Ritchie is ten years younger than her.

The costumes she wore during her 1990 Blonde Ambition tour were designed by Jean-Paul Gaultier (including the controversial cone bras).

Had a two-year relationship with Warren Beatty and collaborated with him on several projects, including Dick Tracy (1990) and Madonna: Truth or Dare (1991).

She was one of the first celebrities who paid her tribute to Michael Jackson after his death.



Personal Quotes:

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.

[from her book "Sex"] A lot of people are afraid to say what they want. That's why they don't get what they want.

[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?!

[in Elle magazine, February 2001] 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.

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.
[1978] 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.

One of the hardest thing I've faced in my life was the death of my mother, and that's something I really haven't got over to this day.

I want to be like Gandhi, Martin Luther King, John Lennon and Jesus, but I want to stay alive. (Sirius Satellite Radio interview)

I am so terribly sad about Michael Jackson's death. I don't know what artist wasn't inspired by him. To be able to do what he did at such an early age was unearthly, everybody grew up in awe of him. To work with him and become friends and hang out with him was exciting for me. I used to love picking his brains about musical stuff.


Salary:

Evita (1996) $1,000,000
Body of Evidence (1993) $2,500,000 (plus percentage of gross and wardrobe)
Dick Tracy (1990) $35,000
Desperately Seeking Susan (1985) $80,000
A Certain Sacrifice (1985) $100