Madonna

Madonna Louise Ciccone was born in Bay City, Michigan on August 16, 1958. Her mother died when she was only 5. The death of her mother has been well noted especially in song throughout her career. Before her rise to fame with the hit "Holiday" in 1982, Madonna performed in a few bands including The Breakfast Club and Emmy, with her then boyfriend Stephan Bray, the two would go onto collaborate numerous times. The rest of the 1980s saw a huge aray of hits from the Queen of pop, including Into the groove, Crazy for you, Live to tell and Like a prayer, among others. She also dated actor Sean Penn, which Madge described as "abusive" in one of her songs on Like a prayer. The 90s saw a slight decline in sales and a rise in criticism. Erotica and Bedtime Stories brought much heated argument (both positive and negative) but both have since been warmly accepted. In 1996, Madonna gave birth to her first child Lourdes, a daughter. Soon after, Ray of light followed in 1998 and gave Madonna one of her most critical acclaimed albums in her career. Her string of success would continue into her next album Music in 2000. During the year, Madonna had her second child, a son, Rocco with current husband, Guy Ritchie, whom the two met in 1999. Music was another smash hit for Madonna, but troubled times were soon to follow. American life was released in 2003 to mostly negative reviews by critics. Sales and reviews were so bad, that it somewhat tarnished her career in America, although the album and its singles were relatively more successful outside of the United States. Madonna returned in 2005 with her dance album Confessions on a dance floor. The album became one of her most highly praised albums in years, and spawned two big hits Hung up and Sorry, with the former becoming one of her biggest singles of her entire career. Throughout the years, Madonna has been a virbrant, often wild, woman of admiration and quite often, criticism.