VARIOUS: PROFILE - A look back at Madonna's life and career ahead of her 50th Birthday

Record ID: 275598

  • Title: VARIOUS: PROFILE - A look back at Madonna's life and career ahead of her 50th Birthday
  • Date: 14th August 2008
  • Summary: DORNOCH, SCOTLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (FILE - DECEMBER 21-22, 2008) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF MEDIA AND POLICE WAITING OUTSIDE SKIBO CASTLE FOR MADONNA'S WEDDING TO GUY RITCHIE (4 SHOTS) VARIOUS OF MADONNA AND GUY RITCHIE LEAVING CASTLE (3 SHOTS)
  • Embargoed: 29th August 2008 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: People
  • Reuters ID: LVA7RBL3Q7KDP9PYHCID8C8R4V8R
  • Story Text: The Queen of Pop as popular as ever as she approaches her 50th birthday on Saturday (August 16).
    Iconic singer, songwriter, record producer, and movie maker and actress Madonna will celebrate her 50th birthday on Saturday (August 16).
    Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone was born in Bay City, Michigan on August 16, 1958, the third of eight children in a devout Italian-Catholic family.
    The pop Diva, who began her career as a modern dancer, had her first big breakthrough in 1984 when she signed a record deal and made her first two big hits 'Like a Virgin' and 'Holiday'. Those two songs along with many of her early singles, including 'Material Girl', and 'Into the Groove' have become synonymous with iconic 80's music hits.
    In 1985 she married Hollywood wild boy Sean Penn, the couple later divorcing in 1989 after a turbulent marriage.
    At the time of her marriage she landed one of her most memorable screen roles in 'Desperately Seeking Susan.' It was the first of several roles - having so far appeared in over 20 films, Madonna had a checkered acting career, with some .
    But it was her performance as the wife of Argentine President Juan Peron, Eva Peron, that earned her critical recognition as a leading lady.
    Madonna reportedly begged director Alan Parker to give her the biographical role in his musical 'Evita' and the part won her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture in 1996.
    Moving behind the camera, the Material Girl also tried her hand at producing several films and this year she made her directorial debut with the comedy 'Filth and Widsom'.
    At a party hosted by ex-Police frontman Sting she met British 'Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels' director Guy Ritchie and they married in December 2000. Her son, Rocco Ritchie, was born in August 2000. Last month Ritchie broke his silence over rumours that the marriage was on the rocks, telling People magazine it was "fine".
    As well as her music and acting, controversy has also has kept Madonna in the limelight over the years.
    In 1989, the video for "Like A Prayer" (her third transatlantic chart-topper), with its links between religion and eroticism, was condemned by the Vatican and caused Pepsi-Cola to cancel a sponsorship deal with the star. The resulting publicity helped the album of the same title to become a global bestseller.
    In her 1990 'Blonde Ambition' tour, she famously wore a Jean Paul Gaultier conical bra and covered the stage in religious imagery. The Vatican called it "one of the most satanic shows in the history of humanity."
    Then in 1992, her erotic 'Sex' book, in which she posed nude in a string of provocative poses, caused outrage for it's risqué content. The book was panned critic and readers alike - as it became an international bestseller.
    At the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards Madonna french-kissed new generation pop sensations Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera as they performed her classic song 'Like A Virgin'.
    Most recently Madonna sparked controversy with her adoption of Malawian boy, David Banda, who she took home to England as a baby from an orphanage in the impoverished southern African nation. In May this year a Malawian court formally approved the adoption of David Banda. The decision invited criticism accusing the government of skirting laws that prohibit non-residents from adopting children in Malawi, which has been badly hit by the AIDS epidemic.
    The Recording Industry Association of America has described her as the best-selling female rock artist of the twentieth century and the second top-selling female artist in the United States with 63 million certified albums.
    Certainly industry pundits don't see her star power waning anytime soon.
    "There is no reason her career can't go into her 60's. When you think of Madonna when she emerged in the early 80's with 'Holiday' nobody would have believed in 25 years time she would still be having number 1 hits.
    So it's no less remarkable that in ten years ti e she'll still be doing the same thing," said 'Music Week' editor Paul Williams.
    Guinness World Records list her as the world's most successful female recording artist of all time and the top-earning female singer with an estimated net worth of over 400 million U.S. dollars, having sold over 200 million records worldwide.
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