Madonna facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Madonna
Madonna in 2023
Born	Madonna Louise Ciccone (1958-08-16) August 16, 1958 (age 66) Bay City, Michigan, US
Occupation	Singer songwriter actress dancer record producer director author businesswoman
Years active	1979–present
Works	Albums songs singles unreleased videos concerts films books fashion brands
Spouse(s)	Sean Penn ​ ​ (m. 1985; div. 1989)​ Guy Ritchie ​ ​ (m. 2000; div. 2008)​
Partner(s)	Carlos Leon (1995–1997)
Children	6, including Lourdes Leon
Relatives	Christopher Ciccone (brother)
Awards	Full list
Musical career
Origin	New York City, US
Genres	Pop electronica dance
Instruments	Vocals guitar
Labels	Warner Sire Maverick Interscope
Signature

Madonna Louise Ciccone (born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is one of the most famous and successful music artists of all time. Madonna has sold over 300 million records around the world. This makes her the best-selling female recording artist. She is also known as the "Queen of Pop" for her huge influence on music and culture.

Early Life and Dance

Madonna Louise Ciccone was born on August 16, 1958, in Bay City, Michigan. Her parents were Madonna Louise and Silvio Anthony "Tony" Ciccone. Her father's family came from Italy, and her mother's family was French-Canadian. Madonna's mother sadly passed away when Madonna was only five years old. She had two older brothers and three younger siblings. Later, her father remarried and had two more children.

Madonna went to Catholic elementary and middle schools. She was a very good student and earned high grades. She also had a unique personality. Madonna once said that she saw herself as a "lonely girl who was searching for something." She wanted to be good at something important.

Her father first made her take classical piano lessons. But Madonna convinced him to let her take ballet lessons instead. Her ballet teacher, Christopher Flynn, encouraged her to become a dancer. Madonna continued to be a straight-A student in high school. She also joined the cheerleading team. After high school, she received a dance scholarship to the University of Michigan. She also studied dance in North Carolina.

In 1978, Madonna decided to leave college and move to New York City. She arrived with very little money. She described it as the bravest thing she had ever done.

Madonna's Music Career

When Madonna first moved to New York, she lived in the East Village, Manhattan. She worked at Dunkin' Donuts and danced with modern dance groups.

She started her music career playing drums, guitar, and singing in rock bands like Breakfast Club. Soon, Madonna decided to become a solo artist. Her first two songs, "Everybody" (1982) and "Burning Up", became popular on the dance charts. She became a huge star with her first album, Madonna, released in 1983.

Many successful albums followed, selling millions of copies. These include Like a Virgin (1984), True Blue (1986), and The Immaculate Collection (1990). She also won Grammy Awards for albums like Ray of Light (1998) and Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005).

In 1985, Madonna went on her first concert tour, the Virgin Tour. Many fans, especially young women, started dressing like her. This was called the "Madonna wannabe" trend.

Madonna's Acting and Recent Work

Madonna has also acted in several films. Some of her well-known roles include Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), Dick Tracy (1990), and A League of Their Own (1992). She won a Golden Globe Award for her role in Evita (1996).

In January 2023, Madonna announced the Celebration Tour. This tour celebrates her greatest hits and runs from July 2023 to January 2024. She also worked with other artists on new music. In June 2023, she released the song "Popular" with The Weeknd and Playboi Carti.

In June 2023, Madonna was hospitalized for a serious bacterial infection. Because of this, she had to postpone the start of her Celebration Tour. The tour began later, in October 2023, in London. After the tour, Madonna plans to work on a movie about her life. She is also creating new music, including a sequel to her 2005 album Confessions on a Dance Floor.

Madonna as a Businesswoman

Madonna is also a successful businesswoman. In 1992, she started her own company called Maverick. This company included Maverick Records, which was a very successful record label run by an artist.

Her other businesses include fashion lines, books, health clubs, and filmmaking. Madonna also cares a lot about helping others. She supports many charities. She founded the Ray of Light Foundation in 1998 and Raising Malawi in 2006. She also speaks out for gender equality.

Madonna's Personal Life

Madonna married actor Sean Penn in 1985. They divorced in 1989.

Her oldest daughter, Lourdes Leon, was born in 1996. Lourdes's father is Carlos Leon, who was Madonna's personal trainer.

Madonna met director Guy Ritchie in 1998. Their son, Rocco John Ritchie, was born in 2000. Madonna and Guy Ritchie got married in Scotland in 2000. They divorced in 2009.

Madonna has also adopted four children from Malawi. She adopted a boy named David Banda in 2006. She later adopted Chifundo "Mercy" James. In 2017, she adopted twin sisters named Estere and Stella. Madonna moved to Lisbon, Portugal, with her adopted children in 2017.

Musical Influences

The death of Madonna's mother had a big impact on her. It taught her to be strong and independent.

Madonna was influenced by Debbie Harry (left) and Chrissie Hynde (right). She called them "strong, independent women who wrote their own music."

Madonna was influenced by many artists. These include Debbie Harry, Chrissie Hynde, Karen Carpenter, the Supremes, and Led Zeppelin. She also looked up to dancers like Martha Graham and Rudolf Nureyev. As a child, she listened to David Bowie. His show was the first rock concert she ever attended.

Musical Style and Voice

Madonna has always been very involved in her music. She writes and produces most of her own songs. She started writing songs with the band Breakfast Club in 1979. She wrote five songs on her first album all by herself.

Rolling Stone magazine has called her "an exemplary songwriter." They noted her talent for creating catchy melodies and memorable lyrics. Madonna's music is usually described as pop, electronica, and dance.

Madonna playing the guitar during her 2008 Sticky & Sweet Tour.

Madonna has a mezzo-soprano vocal range. This means her voice is in the middle range for female singers. Besides singing, she can play several instruments. She learned piano as a child. In the late 1970s, she learned to play drums and guitar. She has played guitar on all her tours and studio albums since 2000.

Awards and Achievements

Madonna is one of the wealthiest musicians in the world. Her net worth is estimated to be between $590 million and $800 million. Forbes magazine has named her the top-earning female musician many times.

She has sold over 300 million records worldwide. The Guinness World Records recognizes her as the best-selling female music artist of all time. In the United States, she is the third highest-certified female albums artist.

Madonna's concert tours have earned over $1.5 billion in ticket sales. She is the highest-grossing female touring artist of all time. She is also the only woman to have two solo concerts with over 100,000 tickets sold. Her concert in Paris in 1987 had over 130,000 people. Her concert in Rio de Janeiro in 1993 had over 120,000 people.

She has won seven Grammy Awards and twenty MTV Video Music Awards. She was the first woman to receive the MTV Video Vanguard Award in 1986.

Billboard magazine says Madonna is the most successful solo artist in the history of the Hot 100 chart. She is also the most successful dance club artist ever. She has had 50 number-one songs on the Dance Club Songs chart. This is more than any other artist on a single Billboard chart.

Madonna has also had many number-one singles in other countries. She has the most number-one singles by a female artist in Australia (11), Canada (24), Italy (23), Spain (21), and the United Kingdom (13).

Interesting Facts About Madonna

• Since Madonna had the same name as her mother, family members called her "Little Nonnie."
• The singer has said that Nancy Sinatra was one of her idols.
• Madonna is often called the "Queen of Pop" by the media.
• She was the first woman to earn over $1 billion from concert revenue.
• True Blue is Madonna's best-selling studio album, with 25 million copies sold.
• There is a special area of study about the singer called Madonna studies.
• According to Acclaimed Music, Madonna is the most acclaimed female musician of all time.

Madonna Quotes

• "No matter who you are, no matter what you did, no matter where you've come from, you can always change, become a better version of yourself."
• "I stand for freedom of expression, doing what you believe in, and going after your dreams."
• "If your joy is derived from what society thinks of you, you're always going to be disappointed."
• "I am my own experiment. I am my own work of art."
• "Better to live one year as a tiger, then a hundred as sheep."
• "We all fall to the floor at some point. It's how you pick yourself up that's the real challenge."

Discography

Filmography

Films Madonna Starred In

Films Madonna Directed

• Filth and Wisdom (2008)
• W.E. (2011)

Enterprises

• Maverick (1992–2004)
• Ray of Light Foundation (1998)
• Raising Malawi (2006)
• Hard Candy Fitness (2010–2019)
• Truth or Dare by Madonna (2011–2018)

Images for kids

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  Madonna performing at the 2001 Drowned World Tour, the highest-grossing tour of the year by a solo artist

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  Madonna performing at the 2004 Re-Invention World Tour, the highest-grossing tour of the year

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  Madonna performing on the 2009 leg of the Sticky & Sweet Tour, which was the second highest-grossing tour of all time

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  Madonna receiving the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song in 2012.

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  Madonna, joined by Cee Lo Green and a marching band, performing during the Super Bowl XLVI halftime show on February 5, 2012

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  Madonna performing at the Rebel Heart Tour in 2016

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  Madonna performing at the Madame X Tour in 2020

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  Wax figure of Madonna at Madame Tussauds museum in Hong Kong

See also

In Spanish: Madonna para niños