No I am not talking about Lady Gaga or Britney Spears. Maybe it is a generational thing but I feel that there would be no Britney Spears or Lady Gaga without Madonna. Her influence is seen in the fashion, style and songs of many of the female pop stars of today. Okay maybe Madonna is pretentious and annoying. What is up with her changing accents for example? Maybe you never thought her talent was all that great. There may be better vocalists. Maybe you think she is egotistical. Despite these public perceptions the one thing many people say about Madonna is that she is one tough (rhymes with witch). And I use that word with the utmost respect. In other words Madonna possesses a trait which we all need in order to survive life’s challenges. I am talking about resilience.
Madonna, who is now in her fifties, was born Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone in Bay City, Michigan to parents Silvio "Tony" Ciccone and Madonna Fortin. It was not long into Madonna’s childhood when she had to face tragedy. Her mother, diagnosed with breast cancer, died at the age of 30 when Madonna was only five years old. Her father remarried and Madonna was resentful of her new stepmother’s stern rules and regulations. Her home situation helped to mold Madonna’s rebellious nature. As a teen Madonna developed her unique style of fashion and she frequented underground nightclubs to get away from her home life.
Despite Madonna’s wild child ways she still received straight A’s and even got to graduate from high school a semester earlier than her peers. She also learned to express herself in dance and won a full scholarship to the University of Michigan’s dance program. Madonna dropped out of college to move to New York to pursue a career in dance. She was poor and in need of money to pay the rent so she did some nude modeling and was also a showgirl. Madonna then discovered her singing talents when she joined and created several bands. Her first hit was “Everybody” which was number one on the dance charts in 1982.
The following year her star really took off with a full album entitled Madonna which included hits such as "Borderline", "Lucky Star", and "Holiday." The rest is a long history of chart breaking success in a traditionally male oriented business.
This is a woman who was named the world’s wealthiest female musician by Forbes magazine in 2008. Madonna has sold more than 70 million albums internationally. Madonna is not only a singer and dancer but she is also a smart businesswoman. Along with having her own clothing line, she is also a writer, actress, and producer. She has earned the title of diva through her many successes. None of these were given to her. She earned them by starting at the bottom and working her way up. Not too shabby for a girl who began with barely enough money to pay her rent.
It was my first year of college that I discovered Madonna. I had some friends over to watch MTV (when MTV still played music) and we got to see one of Madonna’s first videos. I was in the kitchen when one of my friends who was watching called me over, “You gotta see this video, this girl is going to be a star.” My friend was right. I remember preparing for my classes and blasting “Lucky Star” on my tape player. In some ways I feel like I grew up with Madonna. And one of the things I admired and still do about Madonna much more so than her music is her ability to remain strong no matter what was happening in her life.
