Madonna
Biography
Madonna (born Madonna Louise Ciccone; August 16, 1958) is an American recording artist, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983. She followed it with a series of albums in which she found immense popularity by pushing the boundaries of lyrical content in mainstream popular music and imagery in her music videos, which became a fixture on MTV. Throughout her career, many of her songs have hit number one on the record charts, including "Like a Virgin", "Papa Don't Preach", "Like a Prayer", "Vogue", "Frozen", "Music", "Hung Up", and "4 Minutes". Critics have praised Madonna for her diverse musical productions while at the same time serving as a lightning rod for religious controversy.
Her career was further enhanced by film appearances that began in 1979, despite mixed commentary. She won critical acclaim and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for her role in Evita (1996), but has received harsh feedback for other film roles. Madonna's other ventures include being a fashion designer, children's book author, film director and producer. She has been acclaimed as a businesswoman, and in 2007, she signed an unprecedented US $120 million contract with Live Nation.
Madonna has sold more than 300 million records worldwide and is recognized as the world's top-selling female recording artist of all time by the Guinness World Records. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), she is the best-selling female rock artist of the 20th century and the second top-selling female artist in the United States, behind Barbra Streisand, with 64 million certified albums. In 2008, Billboard magazine ranked Madonna at number two, behind only The Beatles, on the Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists, making her the most successful solo artist in the history of the Billboard chart. She was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the same year. Considered to be one of the "25 Most Powerful Women of the Past Century" by Time for being an influential figure in contemporary music, Madonna is known for continuously reinventing both her music and image, and for retaining a standard of autonomy within the recording industry.
On May 4, 2024, with a free concert which was live streamed at the Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in front of 1.6 million people, Madonna broke the record for the most attended stand-alone concert by any artist, and the all-time highest attended concert by a female artist.
Acting (130 movies)
Four Rooms
1995
Madonna: Truth or Dare
1991
Body of Evidence
1993
Melodies and Rythms of Foreign Pop Music
1976
The Next Best Thing
2000
Madonna X Vanity Fair – The Enlightenment
2023
Blue in the Face
1995
A League of Their Own
1992
Madonna: Sticky & Sweet Tour
2010
Britney Spears: In the Zone
2003
Desperately Seeking Susan
1985
Evita
1996
Swept Away
2002
Madonna: Drowned World Tour 2001
2001
Arthur and the Invisibles
2006
Who's That Girl
1987
Madonna: Blond Ambition World Tour Live
1990
Madonna: The Girlie Show - Live Down Under
1993
Live 8
2005
Rodman: For Better or Worse
2019
Die Another Day
2002
I'm Going to Tell You a Secret
2005
Madame X Presents: Madame Xtra Q&A
2021
Live Aid
1985
Madonna at the BBC
2021
Fathers and Songs: Music for Father's Day
2013
The Righteous Babes
1998
Madonna: The Confessions Tour
2006
Dangerous Game
1993
Bloodhounds of Broadway
1989
Madonna: Who's That Girl - Live in Japan
1987
Shanghai Surprise
1986
Madonna: The Virgin Tour Live
1985
Madonna: Ciao, Italia! - Live from Italy
1988
Madonna: Re-Invention World Tour
2004
The True Story of Madonna
2022
Lady Gaga: On the Edge
2012
Madonna - The Real Story
1991
Madonna: Live at Paris Olympia
2012
A Certain Sacrifice
1985
Demokratie unter Druck – Europa vor der Wahl
2019
Madonna: MDNA World Tour
2013
Arianne Phillips: Dressing the Part
2021
Miley Cyrus: MTV Unplugged
2014
Inside the Golden Statue
1998
Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero
2023
There's Only One Madonna
2001
Kylie Minogue V The Bee Gees
2022
Off the Menu: The Last Days of Chasen's
1998
Madonna: The Immaculate Collection
1990
Jean-Michel Basquiat, artiste absolu
2022
Beastie Boys Story
2020
Dick Tracy: Behind the Badge, Behind the Scenes
1990
Shadows and Fog
1991
The A-Z of Eurovision
2020
Sex
1992
In France with Madonna
2022
MTV's 10th Anniversary Special
1991
Who Killed Michael Stewart?
1986
The Greatest Night in Pop
2024
Britney Spears: Greatest Hits - My Prerogative
2004
A New Madonna: The Making of 'Evita'
1996
Avicii: True Stories
2017
Kids Are Punny
1998
I Am Because We Are
2008
Madonna: The Celebration Tour in Rio
2024
Star
2001
Madonna: Move to the Music
2021
Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution
2024
The Egg
1974
Junket Whore
1998
The Women Concert for Change
2013
Madonna: Rebel Heart Tour
2016
365 Day Project
2007
Strike a Pose
2016
Madonna: The Girlie Show Live in Japan 1993
1993
Torrance Rises
1999
Basquiat: Rage to Riches
2017
The Undefeated
2011
Britney: For the Record
2008
Madonna: The Video Collection 93:99
1999
Vision Quest
1985
Dick Tracy
1990
Madonna: Blond Ambition - Japan Tour 90
1990
Secret Project Revolution
2013
Madonna: Celebration - The Video Collection
2009
Girl 6
1996
Are All Men Pedophiles?
2013
Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer
2013
Madonna: Blond Ambition World Tour 90 from Barcelona
1990
Madonna: The Ultimate Collection
2000
Madonna: World of Madame X
2019
The Material Boy
2015
Matangi / Maya / M.I.A.
2018
The Universe of Keith Haring
2008
Madonna: Tears of a Clown
2016
Madonna and the Breakfast Club
2019
Electric Blue 27
1988
Madonna: The Name of the Game
1993
Madonna: Something To Remember (The Unreleased Videos)
2006
Directing (3 movies)
| Title | Year | Job |
|---|---|---|
| Madonna: The Immaculate Collection | 1990 | Writer |
| Madonna: Truth or Dare | 1991 | Executive Producer |
| MTV's 10th Anniversary Special | 1991 | Executive Producer |
| Sex | 1992 | Executive Producer |
| Agent Cody Banks | 2003 | Executive Producer |
| Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London | 2004 | Executive Producer |
| 30 Days Until I'm Famous | 2004 | Executive Producer |
| I'm Going to Tell You a Secret | 2005 | Executive Producer |
| Filth and Wisdom | 2008 | Screenplay |
| Filth and Wisdom | 2008 | Executive Producer |
| I Am Because We Are | 2008 | Writer |
| I Am Because We Are | 2008 | Executive Producer |
| W.E. | 2011 | Writer |
| W.E. | 2011 | Producer |
| Madonna: Madame X | 2021 | Writer |
| Madonna: Madame X | 2021 | Producer |
| Madonna: The Celebration Tour in Rio | 2024 | Writer |
| Funeral Rites | 2025 | Writer |