Madonna News and Pictures

Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone Ritchie was born on the 16^th August 1958 in Bay City Michigan. Madonna was the third of six children. When Madonna was five, her mother, Madonna Fortin died of cancer. Her father, Silvio Ciccone raised the children as strict Catholics. In 1966, Silvio Ciccone married Joan Gustafson, and they had two more children.

As a teenager, Madonna was described as “rebellious” and in 1977, Madonna packed her bags, and moved to new York City. Once in the Big Apple, Madonna trained to be a dancer, but soon joined group The Breakfast Club, playing drums. Madonna, however, was not happy with being the drummer, and wanted to sing, causing the band to split up.

In 1982, Madonna was signed to Sire Records. Her first single, Holiday, was a big hit for the 24-year-old. Later that year, she released her first album.

Not content with her music career, Madonna decided to try her hand at acting. In 1985, her first film, Desperately Seeking Susan, was a huge hit, as was her second album, Like a Virgin, which gave the name to her 1985 tour.

In August 1985, Madonna married actor Sean Penn, and they later made film Shanghai Surprise together, which was described as a “disaster”, mainly because the Penns kept changing the script to suit them. Madonna later described Sean Penn as “the coolest guy in the universe” in the sleeve of her 1986 album True Blue. The couple were constantly surrounded by fans and photographers. However, they certainly were not loved by the press, who dubbed them “the Poison Penns”.

In 1989, Madonna an Sean divorced. However, Madonna did release hugely successful album, Like a Prayer, although this was partly down to the controversial video for single Like a Prayer, where Madonna was seen with a black Jesus. This offended the Pope.

In 1990, Madonna continued to cause controversy with her provocative Blond Ambition Tour. In fact, Madonna ended up being arrested in Toronto for the stage show, although she was later cleared of all charges. 1990 also saw Madonna star in hugely successful film, Dick Tracy, alongside then boyfriend Warren Beatty, who also directed the film.

Madonna continued to mix controversy, music and bad films until 1996. On the 14^th October, Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon, her child with then boyfriend Carlos Leon, was born. Madonna nicknamed the child Lola, and spent the first few months doing nothing but caring for her daughter.

In 1998, Madonna released album Ray of Light, with lots of songs definitely written for her daughter. Lola had certainly changed Madonna, and then Madonna met her husband, who changed her even more. Madonna met Guy Ritchie at a dinner party hosted by Sting and Trudie Styler, where she sat next to him.

Madonna and Guy became very close in 1999, and on 11^th August 2000, Madonna gave birth to the couple's son, Rocco John Ritchie. Shortly after Rocco's birth, Madonna released album, Music, which although it did not say so, was clearly dedicated to Guy.

Rocco was baptised on the 21^st December 2000, and the baptism was televised around the world. It was then considered strange that Rocco should be baptised, as Madonna had recently taken up Kaballah, a belief system that plays a big role in her life.

The day after Rocco's baptism, Madonna and Guy married at Skibo Castle, Scotland. The wedding was kept under wraps, and to this day, there are still no pictures. However, friends say that Guy wore a kilt and Madonna a white gown, whilst Lola, then four, sprinkled rose petals.

The next year, Madonna embarked on her Drowned World Tour, her first since 1993's The Girlie Show. Madonna also starred in her husband's latest film, Swept Away. This was met by a bad response from critics.

In 2003, Madonna released album American Life, which was a protest about the Iraq war. Madonna continued her anti-war theme in her 2004 Re-Invention Tour, which saw footage of George Bush and Saddam Hussein lookalikes hugging and smoking together. This seemed to irritate some fans, with one angry fan saying, “She should keep politics out of it!”.

Unfazed, Madonna released album Confessions on a Dancefloor in 2005, and later that year released a documentary of her 2004 tour called I'm Going To Tell You A Secret. While the film spilt few secrets, a lot of people seemed to think that the scenes with Lola and Rocco stole the show.

In 2006, Madonna managed to offend the Pope again, by pretending to crucify herself in her Confessions Tour. This seemed to raise the question “Will Madonna ever stop causing controversy?”

Apparently not. Just a month after the tour ended, Madonna adopted 13-month-old Malawian born baby David Banda Mwale in October. The singer hit headlines after the adoption was claimed to be “illegal” and it was revealed that David' real father was still alive. Madonna defended herself by describing how well David had fitted in with the family, saying, “Lourdes and Rocco just embraced him. They never once said “What is he doing here?”.

As for Madonna, it seems she has a lot up her sleeve for 2008. She has just released her directorial debut Filth and Wisdom, which was panned by critics, and is due to release another film this year, a documentary about Malawian orphans, titled I Am Because We Are. She has just signed a deal with record company Live Nation, and has released new album Hard Candy, a collaboration with Justin Timberlake. She has also just received custody of David. On top of that, she is currently on her Sticky & Sweet Tour. It would seem that Madonna will remain the most famous woman on the planet for a while yet . . . .