Here is a look at the life of Madonna, singer and actress.
Personal:
Birth date: August 16, 1958
Birth place: Bay City, Michigan
Birth name: Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone
Father: Silvio Ciccone, an engineer
Mother: Madonna (Fortin) Ciccone
Marriages: Guy Ritchie (December 22, 2000 – November 21, 2008, divorced); Sean Penn (August 16, 1985 – September 14, 1989, divorced)
Children: adopted: Mercy; adopted with Guy Ritchie: David; with Guy Ritchie: Rocco; with Carlos Leon: Lourdes
Education: Attended University of Michigan on a dance scholarship, 1976-1978
Other facts:
Has sold more than 64 million albums in the United States with 12 multi-platinum records.
Nominated for 28 Grammys with seven wins.
Timeline:
Early 1980s – Performs in New York dance clubs with bands including the Millionaires, Modern Dance and Emmy.
1982 – Signs a contract with Sire Records, an affiliate of Warner Bros. Records.
July 1983 – Self-titled debut album is released. It features such hits as “Borderline,” “Lucky Star” and “Burning Up.”
1984 – Madonna performs the song, “Like a Virgin” in a wedding dress on the first MTV Video Music Awards. The provocative performance helps propel the song to the top of the Billboard singles chart. It’s her first #1 single.
1985 – Stars in the comedy, “Desperately Seeking Susan,” and launches her first major concert tour.
1990 – MTV bans the sexually explicit video “Justify My Love.”
1988 – Makes her Broadway acting debut in the David Mamet play, “Speed-the-Plow.”
May 10, 1991 – “Truth or Dare,” a documentary about Madonna’s Blonde Ambition tour, is released.
1991 – Wins a Grammy for Best Music Video, Long Form for “Madonna – Blonde Ambition World Tour Live.”
April 1992 – Time Warner signs her to a multimedia deal that includes albums, books and videos. With the deal, Madonna launches her own record label, Maverick Records. Reportedly, the contract is worth $60 million.
1992 – The photo book, “Sex” is published and within a week, it tops the New York Times bestseller list.
1992-2004 – Head of Maverick Records.
March 1994 – Appears on “The Late Show with David Letterman.” The expletive-laced interview garners high ratings but also prompts viewers to write letters of complaint to the FCC. Rolling Stone magazine later ranks it as one of Letterman’s most iconic TV moments.
December 14, 1996 – “Evita,” starring Madonna as the title character in a movie adaptation of the Broadway musical, premieres in Los Angeles. The film goes on to win an Oscar for best original song and it earns four nominations in technical categories.
1998 – Wins three Grammys, for Best Dance Recording for “Ray of Light,” Best Pop Album for “Ray of Light ” and Best Short Form Music Video for “Ray of Light.”
1999 – Wins Grammy for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media for “Beautiful Stranger.”
August 28, 2003 – Kisses Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera at the MTV Video Music Awards.
August 16, 2005 – Falls off a horse at her home outside London, suffering three cracked ribs, a broken collarbone and a broken hand.
2006 – Wins a Grammy for Best Electronic/Dance Album for “Confessions on a Dance Floor.”
2006 – Establishes a nonprofit group called Raising Malawi, providing aid to children in Malawi.
October 2006 – Madonna and Ritchie begin the process of adopting a baby boy named David Banda from Malawi, despite laws that forbid non-residents from adopting Malawian children. Children’s rights groups attempt to block the adoption but Madonna and Ritchia are eventually allowed to adopt the child.
2007 – Wins a Grammy for Best Long Form Music video “The Confessions Tour.”
February 11, 2008 – Directorial debut “Filth and Wisdom” premieres at Berlin International Film Festival.
March 10, 2008 – Is inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
2008 – Writes and produces the documentary, “I Am Because We Are,” about AIDS in Malawi.
June 12, 2009 – Malawi’s high court overturns a lower court ruling, deciding that Madonna will be allowed to adopt a three-year-old girl from the country.
October 2009 – Announces plans to break ground on a girls’ school in Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi. Two years later, the project is abandoned.
February 5, 2012 – Performs at the halftime show for Super Bowl XLVI.
April 2013 – A Malawi government spokesman accuses Madonna of demanding VIP treatment during a goodwill visit to the country earlier in the month. In a statement, Madonna denies asking for special treatment and says that she traveled to Malawi to visit schools funded by her nonprofit, Raising Malawi.
September 17, 2013 – Announces a new project called Art for Freedom, aimed at fighting intolerance and oppression through art.
February 8, 2017 – Madonna announces via Instagram she’s adopted twin girls from Malawi.
July 11, 2017 – Opens the Mercy James Institute for Pediatric Surgery and Intensive Care. The hospital in Blantyre, Malawi is named after her adopted daughter.