Madonna

Madonna Louise Ciccone, popularly known as Madonna was born on August 1958 in Bay City, Michigan and moved to New York in the late 1970’s in the pursuit of a career in modern dance. Nothing seems to be stopping her and her performance, even now at her late 50’s. The 1980’s was the decade Madonna’s career bloomed. She was first in pop/dance music groups called the Breakfast Club and Emmy. She had her demo tapes passed to Sire Records (a Warner Bros. Records Affiliate) in1982, and was later on signed by the label, releasing a self-titled album in the next year. Her next albums then became commercially successful, with both the albums “Ray of Light” in 1998 and “Confessions on a Dance Floor” in 2005 earning Grammy Awards. She has sold more than 300 million records worldwide.

Both a singer-songwriter and entrepreneur, her songs “Like a Virgin”, “Into the Groove”, “Papa Don’t Preach”, “Like a Prayer”, “Vogue” and “Frozen”, among many others, she wrote and produced herself. She found the entertainment company Maverick, including the label Maverick Records in 1992 with Time Warner as a joint venture. She also signed a $120 US million dollar 360 deal with Live Nation in 2007.

Sometimes referred to as the Queen of Pop, she was regarded as one of the most prominent cultural icons in the pop culture industry for decades. She has gained popularity for always changing her music and image, almost always pushing the boundaries on both, gaining praise on her diversity and innovation with her productions even bagging the “Best-selling Female Recording Artist of All time” title by the Guinness World Records. She was also dubbed the “Best-selling Female Rock Artist of the 20th Century” and she second “Best-Selling Female Artist in the United States” by the Recording Association of America. Only falling behind The Beatles, Billboard put her in the 2nd top spot on the “Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists” and also declared her the “Top-Touring Female Artist of All Time”. She is one of the founding members of the UK Music Hall of Fame and was included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame during her first year. She has also ventured into the movie industry, starting off with 2 low-budget films, “A Certain Sacrifice” and “Vision Quest” in 1985, but her acting career was bombarded with criticisms and low box-office worth. Her most notable screen roles would be in “Desperately Seeking Susan” in 1985 and “Evita” in 1996, for which she won a Golden Globe Award for “Best Actress in Motion Picture Musical or Comedy”. Because of all this, she was also chosen as one of the “25 Most Powerful Women of the Past Century” by Time.