Madonna Louise Ciccone, the Material Girl, has made a significant impact in the music industry, selling over 300 million records and CDs worldwide. Born in August 1958 in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York in 1978 to pursue a career in dance and music. She studied with renowned choreographer Alvin Ailey and performed with the Patrick Hernandez Revue before forming the pop/dance band Breakfast Club.
New York producer/D.J. Mark Kamins passed her demo tapes to Sire Records in early 1982, which marked the beginning of her successful music career. The 1980s were Madonna's boom decade, during which she dominated the music charts with a succession of multimillion-selling albums. Her music and fashion influence on young women was felt globally.
Madonna made her film debut in the low-budget films A Certain Sacrifice (1979) and Vision Quest (1985). However, she gained recognition with her role in Desperately Seeking Susan (1985),which became a minor cult hit. Her next films, Shanghai Surprise (1986) and Who's That Girl (1987),received mixed reviews, while Bloodhounds of Broadway (1989) was well-received.
Madonna's film career experienced a resurgence with her role in A League of Their Own (1992),a story about female baseball players during W.W.II. She then starred in the sexy whodunit Body of Evidence (1993),which drew criticism from film critics. She appeared in several minor roles before starring in Evita (1996),a screen adaptation of the Broadway musical, for which she received a Golden Globe for Best Actress.
After a hiatus from acting, Madonna returned to the screen with The Next Best Thing (2000) and Swept Away (2002),both of which received lukewarm reviews. She then appeared in the James Bond adventure Die Another Day (2002) before admitting that her acting days were over.
Madonna began a directing career in 2008 with the film Filth and Wisdom (2008). She then reunited with director Alek Keshishian to develop a script about the relationship between the Duke of Windsor and the Duchess of Windsor, which resulted in the film W.E. (2011). The film received lukewarm reviews but gathered one Oscar nomination for costumes and won the Golden Globe for Best Original Song for "Masterpiece".
