Madonna: The pop icon is celebrating her 60th birthday
The most successful singer in the world will turn 60 on August 16th: Madonna! But who is behind the fictional character who inspires millions of fans worldwide? With countless number-one hits, 13 studio albums and more than 300 million records sold, she ranks fourth among the Beatles, Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson among the most commercially successful artists in the history of music. For more than 30 years, she has been responsible for the most scandalous moments in the music industry and, according to Time magazine, is one of the 25 most powerful women of the last century.
Madonna, born under the bourgeois name Madonna Louise Ciccone in Michigan, had a moving childhood at an early age. After her mother died unexpectedly of breast cancer when she was only five years old, her father initially took care of the seven children alone before marrying the housekeeper. Madonna visited Catholic schools and at times even a convent school, the Catholic faith played an intense role in her family and shaped her lasting.
With only $ 30 to New York
After high school, Madonna began a dance education at the University of Michigan before moving to New York without a degree and only $ 30 to try as a singer and dancer. At that time, the now millionaire world star with odd jobs kept afloat, jobbed as a waitress, learned by the way drums and playing the guitar and wrote first songs. Meanwhile, the young artist danced in nightclubs to her demo tapes and made contacts in the record industry.
When she met the director of a record label through a DJ, Madonna was enthusiastic about Madonna's demo tapes and offered her a record deal in 1982. Already her debut album "Madonna" sold millions of copies in 1983, thus the pop icon succeeded in the international breakthrough with only 24 years.
No scandal without Madonna
Shortly after the great success of their first album, the second album "Like a Virgin" was released and Madonna wrote music history at the first MTV Video Music Awards in September 1984. During the performance of the title song of the same name, she wore a white wedding dress, lasciviously strapped into suspenders on the stage and faked movements as in sex. An outcry went through the US, parent associations were shocked - but the young fans were thrilled. Madonna was already an icon.
While the 27-year-old was able to record huge musical successes worldwide, the American also found her first great love privately. On the set of a video shoot, she met actor Sean Penn (57, "Mystic River"). The two married in August 1985. The 1986 following album "True Blue", which Madonna dedicated to her husband, sold a sensational 25 million copies and became number one in 28 countries.
In addition to her successful career as a musician, Madonna also tried again and again as an actress. But movies like "Shanghai Surprise" and "Who's That Girl" flopped at the box office. When the marriage to Sean Penn was divorced in 1989, she released her fourth studio album "Like a Prayer" shortly thereafter. In it, she processed the difficult separation, but also the complicated relationship with her family and the Catholic Church. With the music video for the single "Like a Prayer" Madonna again caused a worldwide scandal. She danced in front of burning crosses - symbols of the Ku Klux Klan - took up themes such as racism and kissed a statue of Martin von Porres that has come to life, worshiped as a saint in the Catholic Church. Then she lost an advertising campaign with Pepsi and the Vatican was horrified.
"Like a Virgin"
But Madonna was completely unimpressed by this and instead came back to the headlines with her legendary performance of "Like a Virgin" on her "Blond Ambition World Tour". On stage, she wore a conical bra with golden cones by designer Jean Paul Gaultier (66), simulating how she satisfies herself during her provocative performance. While imprisoned in Canada, the Vatican called for a boycott of the concert. No stage show has ever again so strongly influenced Madonna's image.
Anyone who thought back then that the exceptional artist had reached the pinnacle of all scandals long ago was wrong. Their music video for "Justify My Love" contained such permissive scenes with a model that it was banned by many TV channels. At the Cannes Film Festival in 1991 Madonna opened her kimono on the red carpet and bared herself in lingerie. And when she fumbled badly in 1994 on the talk show by David Letterman (71), smoking again went through America.Her fifth album "Erotica", which had a strong BDSM and fetish symbolism, completed her image transformation into an erotic star.
In 1992, Madonna presented herself completely naked in sexual poses in the erotic image band "SEX". The circulation of 1.5 million books was sold out within a week. Ten years later, Madonna published her first children's book "The English Roses", which was also so successful that four more children's books followed. Madonna donated the entire proceeds to children's charities.
A Golden Globe for "Evita"
After years of efforts to gain a foothold in Hollywood, Madonna was given the lead role in the musical film "Evita" in 1996 and won the Golden Globe a year later with her impressive performance. In addition to this success Madonna was the first mother when she gave birth in October 1996, her daughter Lourdes, which had emerged from a brief affair with her fitness trainer Carlos Leon.
While Madonna won four Grammys in 1999 with her new album "Ray of Light" after she had been ignored in the nominations before, the singer also found a new love privately. In London she met the British director Guy Ritchie (49, "Sherlock Holmes"), whom she married a short time later. In August 2000 the common son Rocco was born. Madonna developed from the scandalous singer to an enthusiastic mother, gave educational advice and joined the Jewish Kabbalah.
But already in 2003 the pop star made it into the headlines again with his new studio album "American Life". When Madonna publicly spoke out against the Iraq war and then US President George W. Bush (72), the conservative radio stations boycotted their songs, which had a lasting impact on their chart positions. Shortly after this scandal Madonna released the first duet of her career - the single "Me Against The Music" with Britney Spears (36). The unforgettable live kiss with Spears and Christina Aguilera (37) at the 2003 Video Music Awards brought Madonna back to the public eye.
When her "Confessions Tour" started in 2006, the scandalous Madonna was back in her element. The stage program spoke for itself: BDSM allusions, a crucifixion scene and herself as a singing Madonna with crown of thorns brought her innumerable complaints worldwide, but a performance ban was not enforced. Instead, it became the most successful tour in her career.
A loving mother
Privately, Madonna has always been involved in child relief projects around the world. In 2006, when she adopted the 13-month-old David Banda from Malawi, the singer consistently struggled with negative headlines despite the affectionate gesture. She was accused of disregarding the adoption laws of Malawi and having 'bought' the child only through her Starbonus. Only after she publicly and emotionally expressed this in the talk show of Oprah Winfrey (64), the critics fell silent. A year later, Madonna traveled to Malawi again, visited charitable institutions and adopted in 2009, the four-year Mercy. In February 2017, the singer posted a photo on her Instagram page that also shows Malawi-originating twins Estere and Stella, the Madonna had also recently adopted.
After her marriage to Guy Richie was divorced in 2008 after eight years, Madonna made headlines through affairs with younger men. At the end of 2008 she had a short liaison with the 28 years younger model Jesus Luz. In an interview with the "Kölnischen Rundschau" in 2009, Madonna contradicted her reputation by saying, "Everyone thinks I'm crazy about sex, but in truth I'd rather read a book."
Madonna has been one of the most photographed and talked about women in the world for more than 30 years. Countless scandals, millions of records sold, 13 successful studio albums and several records make the singer from a small town in Michigan the most successful artist in chart history. Now the Queen of Pop is 60 years old. On her Instagram profile, she has been happily showing herself in the circle of her family lately and is working self-sacrificially for aid organizations in Malawi. The scandalous pop icon with a big heart seems to have found her place. In the midst of their children.
