Madonna

Madonna is one of most recognizable and famous singers of 20th Century, rivaling Michael Jackson and Britney Spears. Her name at birth was Madonna Louise Ciccone, and she was born on August 16, 1958 in Bay City, Michigan. She always had unruly and chaotic character, so no wonder she left college without finishing it and moved to New York in hopes to become famous. Signing up to work as waitress and dance in troupes was first thing she did there. Together with her boyfriend Dan Gilroy they created Breakfast Club, new wave band. She didn’t stay there for long, and already in 1981, she was part of another band, called Emmy. Thanks to Seymour Stein she was able to release first singles – “Everybody” and “Burning Up”, both widely popular in American night clubs. Eponymous first album was released in summer of 1983, and was popular of course, but not that popular as one might expect – eight place in Billboard’s 200. Huge part of Madonna’s eventual stardom was her fashion – she really fit 80’s like no other female singer did. This, and culturally significant album “Like a Virgin” cemented her role as icon. She then proceeded to work for many decades, consistently delivering high quality music and memorable stage performances. Likewise, her private life was always a mythology – marriages with Sean Penn and Guy Richie are book-worthy material.