Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone was the third of eight children born into a large Italian family in Michigan. Her father, Sylvio Ciccone, was a design engineer for General Motors, and her mother was Madonna Ciccone. She died when Madonna was six years old. Madonna attended the University of Michigan on a dance scholarship for two years before heading to New York City to become a ballet dancer. ...show more

Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone was the third of eight children born into a large Italian family in Michigan. Her father, Sylvio Ciccone, was a design engineer for General Motors, and her mother was Madonna Ciccone. She died when Madonna was six years old. Madonna attended the University of Michigan on a dance scholarship for two years before heading to New York City to become a ballet dancer.

She danced for the Patrick Hernandez Revue before teaming with Dan Gilroy to form the band, Breakfast Club. She later formed the band, Emmy, with Stephen Bray. Their first two singles, "Everybody" and "Physical Attraction" became club hits in New York. The next single, "Holiday," became her first Top Ten hit.

Since then Madonna has had a spectacular career in show business as a singer, actress, and producer. Through her ability to evolve with the audiences, she has had more number one singles than any other female artist, eleven in all. Her song, "Rescue Me" off of THE IMMACULATE COLLECTION, became the highest-debuting single by a female artist in U.S. chart history, entering at number 15. ...show less