Madonna was born Madonna Louise Ciccone in Bay City, Michigan at 7:05 AM on August
16, 1958. Her mother, Madonna Louise (née Fortin), was of French Canadian
descent, and her father, Silvio "Tony" P. Ciccone, was a first-generation
Italian American Chrysler/General Motors design engineer whose parents originated
from Pacentro, Abruzzo, Italy. Madonna is the third of six children; her siblings
are Martin, Anthony, Paula Mae, Christopher, and Melanie.
Madonna was raised in the Detroit suburbs of Pontiac and Avon Township (now
Rochester Hills). Her mother died of breast cancer at age 30 on December 1,
1963. Her father married the family housekeeper, Joan Gustafson, and they had
two children; Jennifer and Mario Ciccone. "I didn't accept my stepmother
when I was growing up," Madonna said, "in retrospect I think I was
really hard on her." Madonna convinced her father to allow her to take
ballet classes. Madonna attended St. Frederick's Elementary School and St. Andrew's
Elementary School (present day Holy Family Regional) and West Middle School.
She attended Rochester Adams High School, becoming a straight-A student and
a member of the cheerleading squad. Madonna received a dance scholarship to
the University of Michigan after graduating from high school.
Madonna's ballet teacher persuaded her to pursue a career in dance, so she
left the college at the end of 1977 and relocated to New York City. Madonna
had little money and for some time lived in squalor, working at Dunkin' Donuts
and with modern dance troupes. Speaking of her move to New York, Madonna said,
"It was the first time I'd ever taken a plane, the first time I'd ever
gotten a taxi cab. I came here with $35 in my pocket. It was the bravest thing
I'd ever done." While performing as a dancer for the French disco artist
Patrick Hernandez on his 1979 world tour, Madonna became romantically involved
with the musician Dan Gilroy, with whom she later formed her first rock band,
the Breakfast Club, in New York. In it, she sang and played drums and guitar
before forming the band Emmy in 1980 with drummer and former boyfriend Stephen
Bray. She and Bray wrote and produced dance songs that brought her local attention
in New York dance clubs. Disc jockey and record producer Mark Kamins was impressed
by her demo recordings, so he brought her to the attention of Sire Records founder
Seymour Stein.
She has posed nude at least three times in her career: briefly in A Certain Sacrifice
(1985), in some nude photos taken before she became famous in the late 1970s which
eventually ran in Penthouse magazine and in the 1992 photo and interview book
"Sex" which became a worldwide best seller.
Full name: Madonna Louise Ciccone Birthdate: August 16, 1958 Father: Silvio Ciccone Mother: Madonna Louise Fortin Birthplace: Bay City, Michigan, USA
