Maddona [Wallpapers]

Madonna Biography (1958)

Pop singer. Born August 16, 1958 in Rochester, Michigan. She trained as a dancer at University of Michigan before moving to New York City, where she began her professional career as a back-up singer to a number of New York groups. She hired Michael Jackson's manager prior to releasing Madonna (1983), an album which included five US hit singles. Subsequent albums have included Like a Virgin (1984), True Blue (1986), Ray of of Light (1998), Music (2000), American Life (2003), and Confessions on a Dancefloor (2005).

Madonna has also acted in films, including Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), Shanghai Surprise (1986) and Body of Evidence (1993). In 1996 she starred in the critically acclaimed film adaptation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Evita (1996). She won a Golden Globe for her performance and her song, "You Must Love Me," earned an Academy Award.

Her defiant and raunchy stage appearances became an important role model for teenagers in the 1980s and 1990s, and her international success has been secured by clever promotion and image-making. This was reinforced in several media in the early 1990s, with the publication of a controversial collection of erotic photographs of herself in Sex (1992), alongside an album, Erotica.

Madonna made her London West End stage debut in 2002 in Up for Grabs. In a new departure, her first children's book, The English Roses, was published in 2003. She was inducted into the inaugural UK Music Hall of Fame in 2004.

Madonna was married to actor Sean Penn from 1984 to 1988. In 1996, she gave birth to Lourdes Maria (Lola) Ciccone Leon, whom she had with her lover and personal trainer, Carlos Leon. She married British director Guy Ritchie in 2000; they have a son, Rocco John Ritchie. In October 2006, during a trip to an orphanage in Malawi, Madonna adopted a baby boy named David Banda.

CHRONOLOGY 1958 She was born in Bay City, Michigan. (August 16) 1964 Her mother died of breast cancer. 1977 She moved to New York City. 1979 She became part of the Patrick Hernandez Revue. 1980 She formed the band Emmy with Stephen Bray. 1982 She was signed by Sire Records 1983 MADONNA - album 1984 LIKE A VIRGIN - album; VISION QUEST - film 1985 She married Sean Penn.; DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN - film 1986 TRUE BLUE - album; SHANGHAI SURPRISE - film 1987 WHO'S THAT GIRL - album& film; YOU CAN DANCE - album 1989 She and Sean Penn divorced.; LIKE A PRAYER - album; BLOODHOUNDS OF BROADWAY - film 1990 I'M BREATHLESS, THE IMMACULATE COLLECTION - albums; DICK TRACY - film 1991 TRUTH OR DARE - documentary 1992 She won a Grammy for Best Music Video (Long Form) for MADONNA: BLONDE AMBITION WORLD TOUR LIVE.; SEX - photographic book; EROTICA - ALBUM; SHADOWS & FOG, A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN -films She signed with Time Warner to create Maverick, her own record label. 1993 BODY OF EVIDENCE, DANGEROUS GAME - films 1994 BEDTIME STORIES - album 1995 SOMETHING TO REMEMBER - album; BLUE IN THE FACE, FOUR ROOMS - films 1996 EVITA -album & film; She won a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture for EVITA.; Her daughter, Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon, was born. (October 14); GIRL 6 - film 1998 RAY OF LIGHT; She won three Grammy Awards for RAY OF LIGHT in the categories, Dance Recording, Pop Album, and Music Video. 1999 She won a Grammy for a Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television, or Other Visual Media for "Beautiful Stranger." 2000 THE NEXT BEST THING - film; MUSIC - album; She announced in March that she is due with her second child.