Madonna

American singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, and businesswoman, often referred to as the "Queen of Pop." Madonna has sold more than 300 million records worldwide and is recognized as the best-selling female recording artist of all time by Guinness World Records, having sold 64.5 million albums. Her number one hit singles include "Like a Virgin," "Into the Groove," "Papa Don't Preach," "Like a Prayer," "Vogue," "Frozen," "Music" and "Hung Up." She won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for Evita (1996) while most of her other films have been panned by critics. Her other ventures include fashion design, writing children's books, and filmmaking. An acclaimed businesswoman, she founded entertainment company Maverick in 1992 as a joint venture with Time Warner. Madonna and her five siblings were raised in a Catholic family, her father having Italian ancestry and her mother of French-Canadian background. When she was six, her mother died from breast cancer. In 1966, her father married the family's housekeeper, and they had two children. Madonna started a resentment toward him that lasted for decades, along with her well-known rebellious attitude. Yet at high school she became a straight-A student and a member of the cheerleading squad. She received a dance scholarship to the University of Michigan, dropping out in 1978. She relocated to New York City where she worked at Dunkin' Donuts and with modern dance troupes. Her debut single "Everybody" was released in October 1982, followed by "Burning Up" in March 1983; both becoming big club hits in the United States. Her self-titled debut album, Madonna, was released in July 1983 and peaked at number eight on the Billboard 200 six months later, in 1984. Her second album, 1984's "Like a Virgin" shot her into superstardom. Madonna met Sean Penn in February 1985 and they were together from the first as a couple, being married on her birthday in 1985. The marriage lasted 27 months, finally breaking up in December 1987. By mid-1988 she was spending all her time with Sandra Bernhard, with whom she later confirmed an affair. By 1991, her friend, Cuban Ingrid Casares, was a companion for some years. She published a book entitled "Sex," released in October 1992. Sales were brisk (1.5 million copies sold in several days) as it contained nude pictures of her along with S&M imagery. In 1978 she had posed for nude pictures which were not released until Playboy and Penthouse published them in July 1985. In September 1993, Madonna embarked on The Girlie Show World Tour, in which she dressed as a whip-cracking dominatrix surrounded by topless dancers. In March 1994, she appeared on TV as a guest on the Late Show with David Letterman, using profanity that required censorship and handing Letterman a pair of her underwear and asking him to smell it. Later that year she toned down her provocative image with the ballad "I'll Remember" and her sixth studio album, Bedtime Stories. Madonna met personal trainer Carlos Leon on 8 September 1995 and they had a baby together, Lourdes, on 14 October 1996. They separated in May 1997, remaining on friendly terms. By 2000, Madonna was once more with child, the result of her love affair with British director Guy Ritchie. Going into labor three weeks early, she was rushed into Cedars-Sinai Hospital with abdominal pains and losing blood. Doctors acted quickly with an emergency Caesarian section; she had a detached placenta, cutting off the baby's oxygen supply. Rocco Ritchie, 5 lbs 9 oz, was born on 11 August 2000, 5:52 AM PDT, Los Angeles, CA (News Online). Ritchie was by her side the entire time. The couple married on 22 December 2000 at Skibo Castle in Scotland. Her new husband, Guy Ritchie, was born 10 September 1968, Hatfield Herts. After locking lips with Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera at the MTV Video Music Awards on 28 August 2003, Madonna started another role - that of children’s book author. "The English Roses" was launched in London on 14 September 2003. Since 1998 Madonna had been studying Kabbalah and Jewish mysticism, and in June 2004 announced that she had taken the name of Esther after the Old Testament Queen who saved the Jews from annihilation. In a fall from a horse on her birthday, 16 August 2005, the entertainer sustained three cracked ribs as well as a broken collarbone and a broken bone in her hand. She and her husband Guy Ritchie arrived in Malawi in early October 2006 to adopt a 13-month old boy named David, a motherless child placed in an orphanage by his father. The adoption process did not go as smoothly as the star had hoped. After human rights advocates protested, claiming that her celebrity status and wealth got in the way of following proper procedures to prevent child exploitation, the Malawi government granted Madonna an “interim order” granting temporary custody. Her “Confessions on A Dance Floor” won a 2007 Grammy for Best Electronic/Dance Album. Her adoption of David Banda, a two-year-old from Mali, became official on 28 May 2008. She announced plans to divorce Guy Ritchie on 15 October 2008 and these were finalised in December that year. Wanting another child, Madonna decided to adopt a young girl from Malawi. On 12 June 2009 the high court of that country granted the request, and the three-year-old girl, named Mercy Chifundo James, was flown to London on June 20th. In February 2017, Madonna adopted four-year old twin sisters from Malawi named Esther and Stella. Link to Wikipedia biography Link to Astrodienst discussion forum