ACTOR
Madonna
- Known for
- Evita (1996), Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), Swept Away (2002), Body of Evidence (1993)
191 archived facts 6 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
Madonna is an actor best known for Evita, Desperately Seeking Susan and Swept Away.
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When Madonna tried to buy a $1.2 million apartment in the famous San Remo skyscraper on Manhattan's Central Park West, the residents' committee rejected her application. The media speculated that Madonna's famous pop status would inevitably draw endless attention from devoted fans and paparazzi, a situation the residents were determined to avoid. Madonna eventually moved into a nearby apartment at One West 64th Street, adjacent to the New York Society for Ethical Culture.
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Like Jennifer Lopez, Madonna campaigned for the role of Frida Kahlo and spent years trying to get a film made. She had actually hoped to play Diego Rivera opposite Marlon Brando, but the film idea went nowhere because of his box-office troubles at the time. After Evita (1996), she and Salma Hayek both became interested in films about the artist. Hayek's film won acclaim and was greenlit.
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In March 2016, Madonna lost custody of her son Rocco Ritchie to her ex-husband Guy Ritchie. During the 2015 Christmas holiday, Rocco decided to stay in London with his father rather than return to his mother in New York. The decision sparked a custody battle over whether Rocco should be forced to live with his mother against his wishes or could stay and live with his father. In March 2016, it was decided that Rocco could live with his father and visit his mother during holidays in the US.
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In early 1962, Madonna's mother, who was pregnant with her sixth child, was diagnosed with breast cancer, an obvious consequence of working as an X-ray technician before protective aprons were made mandatory. She postponed treatment until she gave birth on 5 July 1962, but by then it was too late. A harrowing year-long battle with the disease followed. She lost her fight with cancer on 1 December 1963.
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Her mother, Madonna Louise Fortin, was born on 11 July 1933 and died on 1 December 1963 at the age of 30. She was the mother of Anthony Ciccone (1956), Martin Ciccone (1957), Madonna (1958), Paula Ciccone (1959), Christopher Ciccone (1960) and Melanie Henry (1962). After his first wife's death, Silvio Ciccone married Joan Gustafson (now Joan Ciccone), who gave birth to Jennifer (1968) and Mario (1969).
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Madonna's song "Vogue" is a tribute to the glamour of classic Hollywood. Among the celebrities named in the song are Greta Garbo, Marilyn Monroe, Marlene Dietrich, Joe DiMaggio, Marlon Brando, James Dean, Grace Kelly, Jean Harlow, Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Rita Hayworth, Lauren Bacall, Katharine Hepburn, Lana Turner and Bette Davis.
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Madonna has six children: her daughter Lourdes Leon (b. 14 October 1996) with former boyfriend Carlos Leon, her son Rocco Ritchie (b. 11 August 2000) and adopted son David Banda Mwale Ciccone Ritchie (b. 24 September 2005) with former husband Guy Ritchie, and adopted daughters Mercy James Ciccone (b. 22 January 2006) and Stella Ciccone & Estere Ciccone (b. 24 August 2012).
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She is one of the few people, along with Pia Zadora, Sylvester Stallone, Pauly Shore and Demi Moore, to have "won" Razzie Awards in consecutive years. She was named Worst Actress of 1987 for her performance in Shanghai Surprise (1986) and Worst Actress of 1988 the following year for her performance in Who's That Girl (1987). In total she has won five Razzie Awards, more than any other actress, and has been nominated for six.
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In 1984, Madonna launched a fashion trend with her distinctive look, wearing rosaries and crosses as jewelry and black rubber typewriter ribbons as bracelets. Many teenage girls copied her look, and a Madonna clothing store opened in New York. In 2001, the "Material Mom" started another major fashion trend, this time western-style clothing — cowboy hats and mud-stained jeans.
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Madonna graduated from Rochester Adams High School in Rochester, Michigan, in 1976. She won a scholarship to study modern dance and drama for three semesters at the University of Michigan. Other Rochester Adams High School graduates include her brother-in-law Joe Henry, Karen Moncrieff and David Geister.
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Over the course of her career she posed nude at least three times: briefly in A Certain Sacrifice (1979), in some nude photographs taken in the late 1970s before she became famous that were eventually published in Penthouse magazine, and in her 1992 photography and interview book "Sex", which became a worldwide bestseller.
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On The Oprah Winfrey Show (25 October 2006), Madonna stated that David's adoption would not be official until a year later. A child services worker had to check whether David was being properly fed and properly cared for. A year later, Madonna might or might not become David's adoptive mother.
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On 12 October 2006, a judge in Malawi approved the official application confirming Madonna's claims that she had adopted a one-year-old boy named David. David was born on 24 September 2005. Judge Andrew Nyirenda issued an interim order allowing the singer and her husband Guy Ritchie to take custody of David at a high court in Lilongwe.
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Madonna is the only person to have "won" the Razzie Awards for Worst Actress, Worst Supporting Actress and Worst Screen Couple in the same year. She "won" Worst Supporting Actress for Die Another Day (2002). She shared the Worst Screen Couple award with Adriano Giannini for Swept Away (2002). And she tied with Britney Spears, for Crossroads (2002), for Worst Actress for Swept Away (2002).
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Orion Pictures was the distributor of Desperately Seeking Susan (1984), Madonna's best-known film, in which she starred as Susan Thomas, and there was also a place called Orion Lake northwest of Rochester. Rochester, Michigan, is the area where Madonna went to high school. In this case, however, two different pronunciations are used for the spelling Orion: "Or-ee-on" for the lake and "O'ryan" for the film distribution company.
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She is 14 years older than Cristiane Regina da Silva, the mother of her former boyfriend Jesus Luz. According to the NY Post, Madonna is the same age as Luz's grandmother. (Luz's mother and grandmother apparently gave birth as teenagers.) The mother of another former boyfriend, Brahim Zaibat, Patricia Vidal, is eight years younger than Madonna.
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Early in her career, Madonna claimed her birth date was 1960. This worked for a while, but by mid-1985 most media outlets had learned she was actually born in 1958 and reported her age accordingly. The discrepancy nonetheless persisted for some time; as late as May 1991, Good Morning America (1975) gave Madonna's age as 30 when she was in fact 33.
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October 6, 1982: "Everybody," the first single released, was one of the songs that landed Madonna her deal with Sire Records. Written by Madonna, the track was included on her four-song demo tape and eventually made its way onto her 1983 debut album. The 12" vinyl single premiered in clubs in the fall of 1982 to a strong reception, and when it first appeared on Billboard's Dance/Disco Top 80 chart, the magazine's "Dance Trax" columnist Brian Chin reviewed it. He wrote: "The production by DJ Mark Kamins, the young New York duo (?) Madonna has issued a 12-inch advertisement on Sire called 'Everybody'; the spare, bright cut, favorably previewed in clubs and on radio, has a soothing quality at home-listening levels, but somehow comes across much harder in the club." The accompanying video was a low-budget affair and featured Madonna performing the track with dancers Christopher Ciccone (her brother) and Erika Belle. "Everybody" rose to No. 3 on the chart and launched Madonna's unique dominance of Billboard's dance charts over the following 20 years. The single unfortunately failed to chart on the US Billboard Top 100, in Canada, Europe, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Japan. The single was not released in Australia. The 12" vinyl included the 12" Version and the Dub Version.
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Musician Elvis Presley died at age 42 on Madonna's 19th birthday, August 16, 1977. It is also worth noting that 42 is the exit number for Adams Road off Michigan's M-59 route, which leads to Madonna's high school in the Rochester Hills area of Michigan, and that Madonna graduated a year before Elvis's death.
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Madonna's romantic partners include truck driver Russell Long, minister Nick Twomey (in high school), dance instructor Christopher Flynn, salon owner Mark Dolengowski (in college), drummer Bob Riley, journalist Steve Neumann, bodyguard Jim Albright, party organizer Peter Shue, nightclub owner Chris Paciello, artist Andy Bird and model Aboubakar Soumahoro. According to biographer Barbara Victor, Madonna's relationship with Christopher Flynn was in fact consummated despite Flynn's homosexuality.
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Madonna has had romantic connections with Wyn Cooper, Stephen Bray, Norris Burroughs, Patrick Hernandez, Dan Gilroy, Daniel Moyne, Michael Gira, Mark Kamins, Ken Compton, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Jellybean Benitez, Simon Fields, John Kennedy Jr., Esai Morales, Jeffrey Hornaday, Warren Beatty, Tony Ward, Jose Canseco, Vanilla Ice, John Enos III, Nick Scotti, Tupac Shakur, Dennis Rodman, Johnny Zander, Tim Willocks, Alex Rodriguez, Jesus Luz, Adam Senn, Brahim Zaibat, Timor Steffens and Kevin Sampaio.
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9 March 1983: The second single from the "Madonna" album, the double A-side 12" single "Burning Up / Physical Attraction", followed up "Everybody" and rose quickly on the Disco chart. The heavily rocking A-side climbed and matched its predecessor's success, reaching No. 3. Steve Barron, then known for directing the video for Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean", directed the music video for "Burning Up". The clip was never widely seen, as "Burning Up" failed to break out beyond dance clubs. It was Madonna's first single in Australia, where it reached No. 13 on the Australian AMR chart. The single failed to chart on the US Billboard Hot 100 or in Europe, Germany, France and Japan. The single was not released in the United Kingdom. The single featured "Burning Up (12" Version)" and "Physical Attraction (Album Version)".
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