#30. Her First Inspiration
What made Madonna want to become a superstar was the song These Boots Are Made for Walking by Nancy Sinatra. Who would've thought?
The song inspires to be an assertive woman who takes what she wants, and the moment she heard it, she knew that was the kind of attitude she wanted to have both as a person and as an artist.
#29. Her Real Name
Surprisingly, her real name is actually Madonna, which means "Virgin Mary", which is why she has used so much religious imagery during her career.. Her full name is Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone.*
She got her first name from her mother, also named Madonna, and was born in a little town in Michigan in 1958 which she absolutely hates.
#28. A Big Family
Madonna comes from a big family of six children. Because she had the same name as her mother, she was referred to as "Little Noni". How cute is that?
She never liked her name, but because her mother passed away when she was 5, she kept it to honor her. She actually blames her rebellious spirit on the fact that she was named "Virgin Mary".
#27. A Painful Childhood
Madonna and her five siblings were heartbroken when their mother passed away, so they did not let any nannies take care of them. But what about their father?
Their dad struggled to take care of his family and eventually remarried, something that all his kids hated. Madonna was so angry that her dad had a new wife that their relationship was almost completely ruined.
#26. Cheerleading
In high school, Madonna was a cheerleader. Her first passion was dancing, and she used a lot of her talents in her cheerleading routines.
Contrary to the stereotype, she wasn't very popular and was rather quiet and shy. She did love cheerleading, and she has kept her old outfit and used it in several of her concerts over the years.
#25. Big Brains
Madonna excelled in athletic stuff like dancing and sports, but her brains were actually the star of the show. She only got As at school and has an IQ of 140, which is way above average.
It is sad that people never took her too seriously, especially back in the day, and considered her a dumb, vapid blonde. If they had only known!
#24. Other Jobs
Before she was a big star, Madonna moved to New York City and struggled to make ends meet. She had many jobs along the way, the most notable of which was a job at a Dunkin' Donuts.
Everything went fine until a customer annoyed her and she squirted jam in his face, an incident that got her fired. Luckily, she got back on her feet.
#23. Her First Band
Before diving into pop music, Madonna was a rock artist, believe it or not. She first was part of a band called Breakfast Club with her boyfriend at the time, Dan Gilroy.
They were totally broke and had to live in an abandoned synagogue in Queens because they were homeless. For the band, she played the drums, guitar, and she sang.
#22. Her Second Band
When her relationship with Gilroy went south, Madonna left the band and started a new one with her new boyfriend, Stephen Bray.
This band, called Emmy, actually got the attention of a record label that offered them a singles deal. This would be the first time Madonna would ever record something in a studio.
#21. Haters Gonna Hate
While her style was one of the most influential in music history and inspired big names such as Britney Spears and Lady Gaga, many people hated it.
In fact, she was named "worst dressed" by People magazine in 1999. Some say she was just ahead of her time and what she wore back then would now be considered the hottest trend.
#20. Record Breaker
It comes as no surprise that Madonna has broken a record or two, but which ones are they? Well, there have been many successful female artists out there but none managed to beat Madonna.
She is the best-selling female recording artist and most successful female solo artist of all time according to the Guinnes Book of World Records.
#19. Too Cool For This
Some may say that getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is a big deal, but not Madonna. In fact, when she was nominated to get her own star in 1990, she completely ignored it.
Of course, they didn't give her the star because of her attitude, and she does not care a single bit. Why would Madonna need a star anyway? We all know who she is!
#18. Acting Career
Although she hasn't been doing much of this lately, Madonna has appeared in many movies. Can you name any of them?
While she got poor reviews for her performances many times, her role as Eva Peron in Evita got her a Golden Globe for Best Actress. She also worked in several movies with her ex-husband, director Guy Ritchie.
#17. Her Marriages
As we've mentioned before, Madonna was once married to director Guy Ritchie. The two were together from 2000 to 2008 and had one child together.
But she actually was married before that to actor Sean Penn, from 1985 to 1989. Their marriage was always rumored to be abusive and Penn is known for his poor anger management, but Madonna always denied those allegations.
#16. Her Children
Madonna has two biological children, Lourdes, who she had with actor Carlos Leon, and Rocco, with Guy Ritchie.
As a single woman, she adopted four kids: Mercy, David, Stelle, and Estere. She has a total of six children that she is raising on her own, resembling her own childhood. Angelina Jolie is shaking!
#15. A Tribute
Madonna was very close to her late mother, so she named her daughter Lourdes after the city of Lourdes, France, the place her mother always wanted to visit.
In that city, it is said that the Virgin Mary appeared. Madonna, her mother, and her daughter are all connected through their name, a tradition that Lourdes hopes to follow.
#14. Controversy
Madonna has been involved in a lot of controversy, but one of her biggest problems came with her music video for Like a Prayer. Does it ring a bell?
People wouldn't think much of it nowadays but back in 1989, all the religious imagery she used was considered blasphemous. She received tons of backlash and her $5 million contract with Pepsi was dropped.
#13. Her Signature Style
One thing that skyrocketed Madonna to stardom was her incredible style. Most of it came from her, but she also had a stylist who helped her create it, Maripol.
Maripol had worked with Debbie Harry and Grace Jones, so she had experience in making people famous. When Madonna showed up to th scene with her lace tops, fishnets, crucifixes, and tons of bracelets, she caught everyone's eye.
#12. Business Ventures
Aside from music and acting, Madonna is super into fitness, which is pretty obvious when you look at her impressive muscles. You don't wanna mess with her!
She opened a chain of gyms called Hard Candy Fitness with several locations around the country, and she even taught a class when the first one opened. She named it after her 2008 album Hard Candy.
#11. She Made An Explicit Book
Madonna has always been everything but shy, but it is still kind of shocking to learn that she released a book titled Sex in 1992 which, obviously, was all about sex.
There isn't much writing on it, and it consists mostly of very graphic, explicit pictures of the queen of pop engaging in certain... activities with other people.
#10. Influences
Madonna is one of the most influential artists to ever exist. But who influenced her? Her biggest inspiration back in the day, aside from Nancy Sinatra, was Debby Harrie from Blondie.
She loved her so much she even worked with the same stylist, remember? Led Zeppelin, Chrissie Hynde and Karen Carpenter were also her favorites.
#9. Other Lovers
Aside from her two husbands, Madonna also dated many high-profile celebrities. She famously went on a few dates with Michael Jackson back in the '80s, but she realized she only liked him as a friend.
She also had a very serious relationship with Tupac, and dated Dennis Rodman for a while. As you can see, men were all over her!
#8. Philanthropy
Madonna adopted one of her daughters, Mercy James, from Malawi, a country in southeast Africa. At the time of the adoption, Mercy was 3 years old.
She opened up the Mercy James Institute for Pediatric Surgery and Intensive Care, which she named after her daughter, to help care for all the children of the area. She continuously does work for the country.
#7. Achievements In Rock Music
Music fans, are you there? Although she is known as the queen of pop, she has been considered a rock artist in several aspects.
She was recognized by the Recording Industry Association of America as the best-selling female rock artist of the 20th century for selling 63 million records. Not many people agree with this title, but that can't stop Madonna.
#6. Not A Cook
Madonna has many talents, but cooking is not one of them. But her cooking abilities are so bad that she can't even boil an egg. Or so she says!
According to her brother Christopher, all she can make is Rice Krispie treats. She doesn't care though, since she has enough money to buy all the world's food.
#5. A Scientific Honor
You know you're a big star when some gross little microorganism is named after you. A little tiny species of water bear (which has nothing to do with actual bears, by the way) was named Echiniscus Madonnae to honor the queen of pop.
These can live over 120 years and don't even need water to survive. They are as scrappy and timeless as Madonna herself.
#4. The More The Merrier
The fact that Madonna kissed Britney Spears at the 2003 VMAs made headlines all over the world. But what many people forgot is that she also kissed Christina Aguilera.
The thing is that just when the kiss started, the editors switched cameras to show Justin Timberlake, Britney's ex, and his reaction, leaving Aguilera out of the party.
#3. Not Welcome
Although Madonna was super popular, one person that didn't like her at all was the Pope. Many religious people were outraged by Madonna's Like a Prayer and Like a Virgin music videos.
Madonna always proved the world how comfortable she was with her own sexuality, so the Pope specifically asked people not to go to her concerts. Needless to say, people went anyway.
#2. Hung Up
One of Madonna's biggest songs was 2006's Hung Up, which sounds awfully similar to another very famous song.
The melody is a sample of ABBA's Gimme Gimme Gimme. Sampling is a very common practice in the music industry, and she was given the rights to use the song.
#1. She Didn't Believe In Vogue
Vogue is remembered as one of Madonna's greatest songs and it is iconic in every way. Not only is the song amazing, but so is its music video.
But Madonna initially didn't want to release it as a single, let alone film a music video for it. She didn't think it was strong enough, but her team convinced her otherwise. Gladly, she changed her mind.