Madonna

Profession: Singer
Place/Date of Birth: Michigan USA
Associated with: Guy Ritchie

Madonna and her husband were granted temporary custody of toddler David Banda, then 13 months old, last October after his father placed him in an orphanage following the death of his mother.

The singer began the adoption process after she found David in the orphanage while in Malawi to launch a project to help the country’s two million Aids orphans.

She has previously come under fire for allegedly attempting to bypass normal Malawian adoption rules, an allegation she has strenuously denied.

Mrs Ritchie, a Conservative councillor, is stepmother to Madonna’s film director husband.

She is Cabinet Member for Family and Children’s Services for The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and was asked how the situation is going, having probably one of the most famous adopted grandsons in the world.

She said: "It is working very well. They are wonderful parents - loving and wonderful parents.

"And he’s a very lucky little boy."

Madonna’s new record deal? - Oct 12 2007
Madonna is planning to sign a 120 million dollar (£60 million) deal with a new record company, it has been reported.

The deal would see the US star leaving her long-term record label Warner Music for a recording and touring deal with live entertainment promoter Live Nation, a source familiar with the contract negotiations said.

The pop singer’s management informed Warner last week that she would accept Live Nation’s offer after the record company refused to match the deal, said the source, according to AP.

Warner Music and Live Nation declined to comment.

A call to Madonna’s publicist was not immediately returned.

Under terms of the proposed deal, Madonna, 49, would receive a signing bonus of about 18 million dollars (£9 million and an advance of about 17 million dollars (£8.5 million) for each of three albums, the person said.

A portion of the compensation would involve stock.

Madonna could also benefit significantly from the touring component of the deal, which gives Live Nation the exclusive right to promote her tours, the source said.

Madonna first signed with Warner Music Group subsidiary Warner Bros Records in 1984.

Her last contract with the New York-based company calls for her to deliver one more studio album and a greatest hits record.

Madge’s shopping trip - Sept 13 2007
Madonna has been pictured heading home after a shopping trip - with a naughty purchase.

The Queen of Pop was pictured carrying a sex toy in a plastic bag after leaving a London hotel with her husband Guy Ritchie.

The snap comes just days after Malawian officials visited the star for the next stage in their adoption of two-year-old David Banda.

The report apparently said she was "as perfect as Mary Poppins" as a mum.

A friend told the Sun: "It is the final legal hurdle in adopting David and they are so relieved it went well. No wonder they look so happy and have been buying sex toys."

The couple began adoption proceedings for David in October after spotting him in an orphanage. He has been living with Madonna and Guy and their two children Lourdes and Rocco at their London home ever since.

The final adoption report will be out in February but officers have confirmed they have passed.

Madonna plans Kabbalah pilgrimage? - Sept 12 2007
Madonna is reportedly heading to Israel to mark the Jewish New Year in true Kabbalah style.

The Queen of Pop is planning to fly to Israel to join a study tour organised by the religion, The Sun reports.

Madge, 49, will apparently spend more than a week taking part in religious lessons.

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Biography

Madonna Louise Ciccone was born in Michigan USA in 1958., the third of eight children. During her school years she was a cheerleader, excelled in dance and drama classes which gave her the love of performing that she is famous for. Moving to New York in 1977 to pursue her dream, (with a rumoured $35 dollars to her name) Madonna worked as a model and studied dance under notorious choreographer Alvin Ailey. Two years later she formed a band, The Breakfast Club and met boyfriend Steve Bray who recognised her talents immediately and helped her to create the solo dance tracks which saw her signed by Sire Records, releasing her first single, Everybody, with DJ Mark Kamins, in 1982.

The following year Madonna broke away from Kamins and recorded Holiday which went straight in to the American top 20 and was a hit across Europe. She cemented her raunchy image with Like A Virgin, her first US number one, and Material Girl with it’s iconic video. By this time Madonna was becoming one of the most emulated and best loved artists in the world and she became even more popular thanks to her part in Live Aid and a high profile marriage to Sean Penn.

The pop diva followed up her success with several singles from the True Blue album and turned her hand to acting for the first time in the poorly received A Certain Sacrifice and of course, Desperately Seeking Susan. Her first real flop was alongside her husband in the laughable Shanghai Surprise. Her failure’s in the film department didn’t stop David Mamet from casting her in a Broadway production of Speed the Plow - by this time talent or no, Madonna’s was name that guaranteed attention.

1989 saw the singer court controversy with the video for Like A Prayer, featuring a black Jesus, which outraged and shocked the Catholic church and caused Pepsi to cancel a sponsorship deal. But far from ruining her career, this stunt saw her become the icon that we know today. The 1990s were the pinnacle of Madonna’s success, her divorce from Sean Penn pushing her further in to the lime light, beginning with a part in Dick Tracy opposite Warren Beatty and a fantastic soundtrack album alongside featuring hit song Vogue. Documentary film Truth or Dare and her Blonde Ambition tour (with that pointy bra) followed with further controversy.

In 1992 she signed a multi million pound deal with Time Warner guaranteeing the release of music, films and books through her own record label, Maverick. She made the most of the deal with picture book Sex, which caused another controversy but rocketed up the bestsellers charts nonetheless. Erotica was her first album for years though not to generate a US number one. People thought that perhaps Madonna had gone too far with her need to shock, and perhaps she had realised it too as her next album was far mellower and a part in Evita in 1996 made her bankable again.

Later that year she fell pregnant with Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon, daughter of her personal trainer. But far from slowing her work, having a child only seemed to spur Madonna on, she released the runaway success, Ray of Light which produced hit after hit and recorded Beautiful Stranger for the second Austin Powers movie. she also starred alongside Rupert Everett in romantic comedy The Next Best Thing.

It was around this time that Madonna met British director Guy Ritchie - the man who would change her life. They had son Rocco in 2000 and they married in 2002 after Madonna moved permanently to England, took to wearing flat caps and drinking tea. The title track of her album Music gave her a transatlantic number one hit. Collaborations with Ritchie, especially their film Swept Away, have generally been unsuccessful but Madonna’s music career continues to go from strength to strength, her latest album American Life has been a worldwide hit and she has even found time to pen a children’s book, The English Roses. Now, an honorary Brit and devout follower of Kaballah, Madonna lives with her family in Marylebone and Wiltshire. She also owns a ?4 million Spanish-style villa in Beverly Hills, a house in Miami and a duplex overlooking Central Park in New York.
(Updated April 04)
March 2008