Louise Veronica Ciccone was born on August 16 1958. She was the third of eight children born into a large Italian family in Michigan. She took the name Madonna from her French Canadian mother whose name was Madonna Ciccone. Madonna’s mother died when she was five years old. This left her father, Sylvio Ciccone to take care of the family. He married the housekeeper and was a strict disciplinarian. Madonna was given the responsibility to take care of her younger siblings. Ironically television was banned in the house. In 1978 she ran away to New York with only 37 dollars in her pocket.

In New York she won a scholarship at the Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre, where she spent two years in classes during the day working in a restaurant in the night. It was a hard life, she was raped at knife point. Money was scarce in those days. In 1979, she became part of the Patrick Hernandez Revue, a disco outfit who had the hit "Born to Be Alive." Madonna began making overseas trips with the band; on a trip to Paris she met her future boyfriend, Dan Gilroy. Gilroy and Madonna formed the Breakfast Club, a pop/dance group. Incredibly Madonna was made drummer. She later moved on to lead singing. In 1980, she left the band and formed Emmy with her former boyfriend, drummer Stephen Bray. Madonna was determined to strike it out on her own and sent her demo tape to Mark Kamins, a New York-based DJ/producer. Sire Records offered her a contract in 1982.

Madonna's first and second singles were single, "Everybody" and "Physical Attraction." Both the songs were hits on the burgeoning club scene. Madonna's self-titled debut album was released in September of 1983. "Borderline" was Madonna’s first Top Ten hit beginning a remarkable string of 17 consecutive Top Ten hits. Meanwhile Madonna began working hard on her first starring role in a feature film, Susan Seidelman's Desperately Seeking Susan. The movie was a box-office hit. But this was a mixed blessing for her. A low budget erotic movie called "A Certain Sacrifice" that Madonna had acted in 1979 was released by the producers. In 1985 Playboy and Penthouse released nude pictures of Madonna that were clicked almost ten years ago. Madonna was briefly married to the rebellious actor Sean Penn for a while.

Madonna’s album titled "Erotica" proved to be her most controversial. Along with the album Madonna released Sex, an expensive, steel-bound soft-core pornographic book that featured hundreds of erotic photographs. Apart from herself it featured celebrities such as Isabella Rossellini, Big Daddy Kane, Naomi Campbell, and Vanilla Ice. The bad publicity ensured that Erotica sold more than 2 million copies. Madonna’s most popular songs include "Justify My Love," "Vogue," "Express Yourself," "Cherish," "Keep It Together," "Rescue Me," "This Used to Be My Playground," "Take a Bow," "American Pie" and "Beautiful Stranger."

Madonna’s tryst with Hollywood has received a mixed response. After the success of Desperately Seeking Susan she acted in mediocre movies such as Shanghai Surprise and Body of Evidence. Madonna used some heavy lobbying to land the role of Eva Peron in "Evita." It received critical acclaim and she won a Golden Globe for Best Actress (Musical or Comedy). Madonna did the soundtrack for the movie. The songs were more successful than the movie itself. Madonna owns Maverick Records, which counts artists such as Alanis Morissette and Michelle Branch in its stable.

Today Madonna has more No 1 singles than some of the greatest artists of all time, 14 albums, 16 films and more than 100m records sold. Madonna is the second richest woman in Britain after J.K. Rowling. Pepsi paid Madonna $5 million to film a commercial that never aired. Mitsubishi paid her $11 million for an ad that aired only in Japan. Madonna seems to have given up her image as Material Girl in favour of a more staid image.

Madonna married British film director Guy Ritchie. Guy Ritchie and Madonna have not been able to translate their off-screen chemistry on-screen. He directed a movie called Swept Away starring her; it failed miserably. She has two children. Today she spends her time touring and writing children’s books. Madonna and her husband Guy Ritchie are part of the Kaballah cult. She is one of their most popular ambassadors.