Madonna Louise Ciccone

Madonna Louise Ciccone (tʃɪˈkoʊni; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. A leading presence during the emergence of MTV in the 1980s, Madonna is known for pushing the boundaries of lyrical content in mainstream popular music, as well as visual imagery in music videos and live performances. She has also frequently reinvented both her music and image while maintaining autonomy within the recording industry. Her diverse musical productions have been acclaimed by music critics and often generated controversy in media and public. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", Madonna is widely cited as an influence by other artists. Born and raised in Michigan, Madonna moved to New York City in 1977, to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing as a drummer, guitarist and vocalist in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, Madonna signed with Sire Records in 1982 and released her eponymous debut album the next year. She followed it with a series of successful albums, including the Grammy Award winners Ray of Light (1998) and Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005). Throughout her career, Madonna has written and produced most of her songs, with many of them reaching number one on the record charts, including "Like a Virgin", "Papa Don't Preach", "Like a Prayer", "Vogue", "Take a Bow", "Frozen", "Music", "Hung Up", and "4 Minutes". Madonna's popularity was further enhanced by her roles in films such as Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), Dick Tracy (1990), A League of Their Own (1992), and Evita (1996). While the latter earned her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress, many of her other films received poor reviews. An acclaimed businesswoman, Madonna is the wealthiest woman in the music business according to Forbes. In 1992, she founded her own entertainment company Maverick, including the label Maverick Records. Her other ventures include fashion design, writing children's books, health clubs, and filmmaking. Having sold more than 300 million records worldwide, Madonna is recognized as the best-selling female recording artist of all time by Guinness World Records. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) listed her as the second highest-certified female artist in the United States, with 64.5 million album units. Madonna is the highest-grossing solo touring artist of all time, earning U.S. $1.31 billion from her concert tickets since 1990. She was ranked at number one on VH1's list of 100 Greatest Women in Music and number two (behind only the Beatles) on Billboard 's list of Greatest Hot 100 Artists of All Time. Madonna has been inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.