m-store

what's new

body of work

m-gallery

guestbook

m-links

home

BORN: August 16, 1958, Bay City, MI

At age 5

At age 9

At age 12

From the very beginning Madonna was destined to be a star...."what else could I do with a name like Madonna it was either become a nun or a star."

At a very early age, Madonna began her journey to stardo taking ballet lessons. Madonna won a scholarship in high school to study dance at the University of Michigan. She left in the late 1970s and moved to New York City where she studied and danced with Alvin Ailey and Pearl Lang, acted in underground films (Certain Sacrifice), and performed with rock bands (The Breakfast Club and Emmy and the Emmies). Her albums Madonna (1983) and Like a Virgin (1984) sold over a million copies each and included several hit singles. Her movie performances, except for Desperately Seeking Susan (1985) and Evita (1996), were less well-received. Known for her provocative stage and video performances, a somewhat ambiguous symbol of a new feminism in her combination of vulgarity and shrewdness, she was arguably the best-known woman in the world at the height of her popularity.

In 1992, her book Sex was published, featuring provocative photographs of her and others accompanied with text of her erotic musings. Much of the controversy stirred by this publication carried over into the casting of her in the feature film version of the musical Evita (1996) critics believed her morally unfit for the role of the beloved Argentinian Eva Peron. But she performed the role earnestly and effectively, demonstrating her versatility once again and winning a Golden Globe for Best Actress.

Madonna became a proud single mother in 1997, and got in touch with her spiritual side on the Ray of Light (1998) release, a musical and thematic departure from her earlier works.

In early 2000, she starred in The Next Best Thing, as a yoga instructor who becomes pregnant after a drunken one-night-stand with her homosexual best friend, played by Madonna's real-life close friend Rupert Everett. The soundtrack featured Madonna's remake of the Don McLean's classic anthem, "American Pie." Currently, fans are awaiting her latest studio work Music set to be release in September 2000. The first single and video Music is set to be released in early August 2000.

Madonna was married to actor Sean Penn from 1985 to 1989. She has a daughter, Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon, by former companion Carlos Leon. In March 2000, Madonna-who divides her time between London, New York and Los Angeles-announced that she is pregnant with her second child, due in September 2000. The father is her current boyfriend, British film director Guy Ritchie, best known for the 1998 hit Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

See "body of work" for a complete list of Madonna's music, video and film work.