Madonna it would be hard to find many people who haven’t heard of her.
With a groundbreaking career that has spanned multiple decades, the singer has become a cultural legend.
In fact, Madonna has transformed the music industry, helping to make it what it is today.
She also turned her attention to business endeavors, becoming the face of multiple brands.
Madonna’s advocacy for women and the LGBTQ community has also become a big part of her life.
Throughout it all, Madonna has continued to push boundaries in the music industry.
It’s hard to imagine a time when Madonna wasn’t well Madonna.
However, she began her life as Madonna Louise Ciccone in a large family in Michigan.
Here is the stunning transformation of Madonna.
Madonna grew up in a big family she was the third of six children (viaBiography).
As she toldMSNBC Newsin 1987, coming from a large family gave her drive and ambition.
She explained she always wanted to “go somewhere and be somebody.”
You want to be treated special."
This traumatizing event became something that would define the singer for her entire life.
In an emotional interview forTime, Madonna recalled her mother’s illness.
“I remember feeling stronger than she was,” she revealed.
I think that made me grow up fast."
Then, her father remarried.
“I felt in many ways that my stepmother stole him from me.
I felt deserted,” she toldRolling Stone.
And so, Madonna developed a thick skin and a fierce independence.
“I just didn’t fit in,” she recalled.
I felt like a country bumpkin.
And I was resentful."
As a friend of Madonna’s told theIndependent, Madonna was noticeably different as a teen.
“She was a cheerleader, so that put her into the jock category,” he said.
Still, it seems that feeling out of place in high school has haunted Madonna throughout her life.
To become a dancer.
She took classes with Martha Graham and lived on friends' sofas.
In an essay forHarper’s Bazaar, Madonna explained why she made the move.
She wanted to become “a REAL artist.
To be able to express myself in a city of nonconformists.
To revel and shimmy and shake in a world and be surrounded by daring people.”
Her goal, as she toldOprah, was to dance professionally.
“I was going to be happy if I made it onto Broadway,” she shared.
She had no idea what was around the corner.
And I’d say, ‘Oh, really?’
I mean, I never had any training.
I never wanted to be a singer."
Madonna soon teamed up with Camille Barbone, a music producer who eventually became her manager.
As Barbone told theIndependent, “She was living in a hovel in a dangerous part of town.
I wanted to give her a safe haven, because in a lot of ways she seemed wounded.”
She soon became like Madonna’s surrogate mother she even called her “the Kid.”
Barbone was the first person in the industry who took her seriously.
“I brought her credibility,” she continued.
“Word got around that someone was investing money in her, someone with a studio and contacts.”
After a failed demo, Madonna moved on from Barbone.
In 1982, she recorded her first single and the rest is history.
Her next album, “Like a Virgin,” brought Madonna a lot closer to world domination.
As she toldThe Guardian, it was a shock to the system.
Eventually, Madonna got used to her fame but at the beginning it was definitely a huge transition.
“She’s extremely focused and mature and had a work ethic.
It was a good lesson to me: what to do with absolute, creative power.”
AsClassic Poppointed out, Madonna appeared in dozens of films throughout her career.
Her first major leading role came with the 1985 film “Desperately Seeking Susan.”
Not only did the film win Madonna some positive reviews, it also became a life-changing project.
“Making this movie … was such a challenge and such a learning experience,” she toldRoger Ebert.
“It was two years of my life, and it was so fulfilling to me as an artist.
“I came to the LGBTQ community and put my arms around them.
While everyone else was running away from them, I was running towards them.”
Madonna’s love for the queer community has never faltered.
In 2019, she was awarded the Advocate for Change honor at the GLAAD Media Awards.
Throughout the marriage, Madonna felt that the world was against them.
“We fought that … You have to be really, really strong and immune.
Very sure of yourself.”
In some ways, Madonna found that the public attention is what ruined the marriage.
It’s like a runaway train afterward,” she explained.
In 2000, Madonna married director Guy Ritchie.
However, the pair divorced in 2008, andCBSreported that the pair had struggled to balance work and family.
In 2017, Madonna told The Sun about what she learned from the marriage.
“I began to search for meaning and a real sense of purpose in life.”
That’s when Madonna discovered Kabbalah, which according to theBritish Libraryis “the heart of Jewish mysticism.”
The word directly translates to mean “the inner wisdom, the essence of God.”
Delving into this practice marked a turning point for Madonna.
And for once, questions and debate were encouraged.
This was my kind of place."
In an interview withOprah, Madonna explained what Kabbalah meant for her.
“It’s a belief system that gives you tools to deal with life,” she shared.
“If things were going great, I was happy,” she recalled.
“If someone said something negative about me in the newspapers, I got depressed.”
After discovering Kabbalah, Madonna was no longer defined by these things.
Madonna became a dedicated mother
Madonna had her first child,Lourdes Leon, in 1996.
Lourdes was the daughter of Madonna’s boyfriend at the time, actor Carlos Leon.
Then in 2000, Madonna gave birth to Rocco Ritchie, with her then-husband Guy Ritchie.
Becoming a mother of an ever-growing family has been, understandably, completely life changing for the singer.
When asked about the possibility of adopting more children, Madonna said, “Never say never.”
In 2019, she released “Madame X,” her 14th studio album.
For this album, Madonna took on a new alter ego.
“She’s a secret agent.
She travels the world.
AsMadonnaexplained to Mojo (via DrownedMadonna), the album wasn’t exactly planned.
So it just kind of happened,” she explained.
Because of her move to Portugal, Madonna infused the album with Latin influences.
As she toldNME, “I didn’t make a Latin record intentionally.
It just sort of happened because I was living there.”
The press, she feels, became more and more ageist over time.
“Do not age because to age is a sin,” she shared.
“You will be criticized.
You will be vilified and you will definitely not be played on the radio.”
And as Madonna pointed out toNME, it “wouldn’t happen if she was a man.”
