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Madonna (born
Madonna Louise Ciccone on August 16, 1958) is an American recording artist, actress and entrepreneur. Born in
Bay City, Michigan, and raised in
Rochester Hills, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977, for a career in modern dance. After performing as a member of the pop musical groups
Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her self-titled debut album
Madonna in 1983 on
Sire Records.
A series of hit singles from her studio albums
Like a Virgin (1984) and
True Blue (1986) gained her global recognition, establishing her as a
pop icon for pushing the boundaries of lyrical content in mainstream
popular music and imagery in her music videos, which became a fixture on
MTV. Her recognition was augmented by the film
Desperately Seeking Susan (1985) which widely became seen as a Madonna
vehicle, despite her not playing the lead. Expanding on the use of religious imagery with
Like a Prayer (1989), Madonna received positive critical reception for her diverse musical productions, while at the same time receiving criticism from religious conservatives and the
Vatican. In 1992, Madonna founded the
Maverick corporation, a joint venture between herself and
Time Warner. The same year, she expanded the use of sexually explicit material in her work, beginning the release of the studio album
Erotica, followed by the publishing of the coffee table book
Sex, and starring in the
erotic thriller Body of Evidence, all of which received negative responses from conservatives and liberals alike.
