biography

The belly button-baring, platinum-blonde, pointy bra wearing, material girl Madonna has taken on a new role. She has become the sedate, subdued, and spiritually-centered woman: a hardworking and privacy-guarding mom devoted to raising her kid, managing her empire, and selecting her artistic projects very carefully. Once Madonna used publicity to sell herself and her music. Now she is more selective thanks to the birth of her daughter Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon. Motherhood has subdued the "material girl".

Madonna is best known for her pop music with such title tracks as "Like a Virgin," "Material Girl," and "Like a Prayer." Differing from her previous releases, Madonna's newest release Ray of Light (1998), is a moody, introspective (yet danceable!) album she created with the express intent of affecting people "in a quieter way." The once shocking stage persona has sought to portray herself as a true artist.

Madonna's stage persona was so brass that she has been dubbed a mass-media phenomenon, actress, singer and musician. You can even add dancer to this list, for dancing is where Madonna had her beginning. Madonna's dancing earned her a scholarship to the University of Michigan. Impatient for stardom, Madonna left the University after two years to make her name in the city of New York. Legend has it that she set down in Times Square with only thirty-five dollars and abundant ambition to her name. After only getting a disappointing number of bit jobs as a dancer, Madonna decided singing was where her fame lay. Teaching herself to sing, play the guitar and the piano and how to write music, Madonna hasn't looked back.

Madonna is said to have had star quality as a child. She was born August 16, 1958 in Bay City, Mich. to an engineering father and housewife mother, Madonna was the oldest of eight children (Martin, Anthony, Christopher, Paula, Melanie, Mario & Jennifer). Madonna was born Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone but for years was known by her stage name Madonna.

It wasn't until her record "Like a Virgin" hit number one that Madonna became a true star. Since then she has delved into acting and received a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy for her leading role in the 1996 film Evita. Her acting career got of to a slow start but picked up speed when she co-starred with her then husband Shaun Penn in the 1986 David Rabe's Goose and Tom-Tom productions. Though her marriage lasted a scant four years, Madonna's acting career hasn't looked back.

Madonna has created and re-invented words like vogue, boy toy, ambition, and material, but Madonna's personal life is anything but stable. Married once to now director Shaun Penn, she has been involved with individuals such as her former companion Carlos Leon (who is the father of her daughter), and is now rumored to be dating Guy Ritchie (director). The bright spot of her personal life is her daughter Lola.

Now the owner/manager of her own studio "Maverick" with labels such as Alanis Morissette her business interests have also soared. No longer a poor dancer who worked at Time Square's Dunkin' Donuts, Madonna is a successful business woman, singer, actress, musician, and mother.