COUNTRY OF BIRTH

United States

INDUSTRY

Entertainment

TOP ACHIEVEMENTS

Madonna is an American singer, songwriter, actress and entrepreneur who has achieved unprecedented levels of power for a female figure in the entertainment industry. One of the most inspirational and influential women in popular culture, she has remained in charge of every aspect of her image and her career, including as writer and producer of most of her own music. With total sales of over 330 million albums and singles worldwide, Madonna is recognized as the best-selling female recording artist of all time by Guinness World Records.

EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION

Madonna Louise Ciccone was born in 1958 to a large Italian American family in Bay City, Michigan. When she was just five years old, her mother died of breast cancer – a loss which Madonna herself has acknowledged in many interviews as having fueled her determination, versatility, and resilience. She became a high achiever at school and a talented, disciplined dancer. In 1976 Madonna won a full scholarship to the University of Michigan dance program and a year later she was awarded a six-week scholarship with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York City. She dropped out of university in 1978 and moved to New York to pursue a career in performing arts.

EARLY CAREER

Madonna performed as a drummer, guitarist, and vocalist in several rock bands in New York before signing a record deal with Sire Records in 1982 and rapidly rising to solo stardom with her debut studio album, Madonna, in 1983. By 1991 she had scored 21 top ten hits in the United States and sold 70 million albums internationally, generating $1.2 billion in sales.

ACHIEVEMENTS

In total, she has made 14 studio albums and 17 films. With a revenue of $1.5 billion from her 11 world tours, she is also the highest-grossing solo touring artist of all time. As a businesswoman, in 1990 Madonna became the first female entrepreneur ever to appear on a Forbes cover, while in 1992 she took control of Maverick, a subsidiary of Time Warner created in a $60 million deal between the two entertainment giants. Her other ventures have included fashion brands, children's books, health clubs, filmmaking, and charitable foundations.

RECOGNITION

Madonna has won seven Grammy Awards, twenty MTV Video Music Awards and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her starring role in the film musical Evita in 1996. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008.

ADDITIONAL FACTS

• She was married to actor Sean Penn from 1985 to 1989, and British film director Guy Ritchie from 2000 to 2008.
• She has six children – two are biological and four adopted from Malawi.
• Her first children’s book, The English Roses, debuted at the top of The New York Times Best Seller list and became the fastest-selling children’s picture book of all time.
• Madonna also remains the only woman in history with two solo concerts each attended by over 100,000 people.