Madonna Louise Ciccone

Madonna Louise Ciccone

By
Parinada Pongsuthana No.8 M.3/12

1989 - Like A Player

– By Madonna

Content

Preface
Introduction
Biography
Spiritual belief
Some pictures of spiritual activities
Reference

Preface

Growing up, I heard Madonna’s name many
times whether it's in a good way or not. Her songs are
also popular so it wouldn’t be a surprise that I have
listened to them many times. Many people can agree
that she is one of the most influential people in the
world. She had set a lot of records for herself and
caused some good amount of controversies. Even
though some of her actions aren't exactly good, I still
admire her as a public figure and a talented singer.

Introduction
Who Is Madonna?

Madonna is a pop music singer and actress
who went solo in 1981 and became a sensation in
the then male-dominated 1980s music scene. By
1991, she had achieved 21 Top 10 hits in the
United States and sold more than 70 million albums
internationally.

She is considered one of the most influential
figures in popular culture and has often been
referred to as the "Queen of Pop".

Biography
Early Life

Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone was born
in Bay City, Michigan, on August 16, 1958, to
parents Silvio "Tony" Ciccone and Madonna Fortin.

Her parents' strict observation of the Catholic
faith played a large role in Madonna's childhood.
"My mother was a religious zealot," Madonna
explains. "There were always priests and nuns in
my house growing up." Many elements of Catholic
iconography — including her mother's statues of
the Sacred Heart, the habits of the nuns at her
Catholic elementary school, and the Catholic altar
at which she and her family prayed daily

— later became the subject of Madonna's
most controversial works.

Madonna and Her Mother

Music and Dance: Late 1970s

Madonna balanced the insubordinate side of her
personality with a drive for perfectionism and high
achievement. She was a straight-A student, cheerleader
and disciplined dancer who graduated from high school
a semester earlier than her peers. In 1976, her hard
work earned her the attention of the University of
Michigan, which offered her a full scholarship to their
dance program.

In 1979, Madonna began dating Dan Gilroy, one
of the founding members of a ska-influenced pop-punk
band called Breakfast Club. Gilroy introduced Madonna
to the head of a vaudeville review in Paris, and she
spent some time in France working as a showgirl.
During this trip, she fell in love with the combination of
singing and performing. When she returned to the
United States in 1980, she joined Gilroy's band as its
drummer and later became the lead singer. Madonna
formed several different bands of her own over the next
few years, including Madonna & The Sky, The

Millionaires and Emmy.

Achievements

She is well-known as the Queen of Pop,
Material Girl, fashion icon, author, mother and
self-marketer.

Her 'Sticky and Sweet Tour 2008' is the best
selling concert by a female. Madonna is named by the
Guinness Book of Records as the most successful artist
of all time. Provocative, bold and controversial
Madonna's subject in her work especially in her music
videos and lyrics often challenged society to be more
about sex, family, relationship, spiritual and love.
Madonna's evergreen songs are 'Like A Virgin', 'Material
Girl', 'Vogue', 'Express Yourself' and 'Music'. 'Ray of
Light' is said to be the finest Madonna's album of her
career.

Spiritual belief

Madonna was born and raised a Catholic
but developed an interest in Kabbalah after being
introduced to it by her friend, the comedian and
actress Sandra Bernhard, in 1997.

Christian Upbringing
Born Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone in

1958 to an Italian father and a French Canadian
mother, she had an upbringing that seemed to be
more about harsh Christian rules and duties than a
better understanding of God. Her mother died
when she was five, and at 17, she left home to
pursue dance in New York City.

Although she rejected her religious
teachings, she has always been a spiritual seeker
who considers religious thinking as "robotic"
thinking that tells you what to do without thinking
about it. So, she found Kabbalah as a way to get a
better understanding of God and life's issues.

She once explained "As I was raised
Catholic and I had questions (...) My father could
never answer those questions, and my religion
never answered those questions, and when I
started to study Kabbalah for the first time, I felt
like those questions were being answered."

Kabbalah Student

Over the years, Madonna has become a
committed student of Kabbalah, believing it is not a
religion but a method to understand life deeply
and more spiritually, which is more appropriate to
her own beliefs. However, as well as her
controversial concerts and performances, the pop
star also faced criticism with this decision.

In 2005, she had to defend herself when the
media began describing Kabbalah as a new cult. At
the time, she said that people were critical of the
method because they were not familiar with the
concept.

However, new arguments arose when the
Kabbalah Center in Los Angeles, where Madonna
was a practitioner, was publicly accused of
distorting the original Kabbalah and Judaism
principles to merchandise the discipline.

Some pictures of spiritual activities

However, since the pop star debuted her self-titled
album in 1983, she has retained some aspects of her

Catholic upbringing, wearing crosses and similar
accessories as a style aesthetic and as a symbol of an
oppressive system to defy. The Queen of Pop's usage of
these elements in her performances has generated a lot

of controversy throughout her career.

Madonna is also an author of five children’s
books. The first one, titled "The English Roses," was
published in 2003 at the top of The New York Times
Best Seller list. All of her books are inspired by Jewish
imagery, with names of different meanings from
Hebrew tales and leaders.

Madonna explained that while the stories are
based on her Kabbalah studies, she transformed them
into modern tales to explain the powerful knowledge
about God and spiritual issues to younger generations.
All the proceeds from these books have gone to charity.

Song: Like a Prayer
Link: Madonna - Like A Prayer (Official Video) -

YouTube

Written and produced by Madonna and Patrick
Leonard, the song heralded an artistic and personal
approach to songwriting for Madonna, who believed
that she needed to cater more to her adult audience.
Thematically, "Like a Prayer" speaks about a passionate
young girl in love with God, who becomes the only
male figure in her life.

Reference

- Religious Hollywood Celebrities Who Have
Spoken About Their Faith – The Hollywood
Reporter

- Madonna - Age, Children & Life - Biography
- Madonna’s Relationship with Kabbalah — inside

Her Religious Views over the Years
(amomama.com)
- Like a Prayer (song) - Wikipedia
- What is Madonna well- known for? - Answers

Pictures
- Madonna Childhood Pictures ~ jiah khan unseen
childhood pictures and death mystery
(childhood-images1.blogspot.com)
- https://www.pinterest.com/pin/220183869255799
878/
- (143) Pinterest
- Madonna: The Life and Career of the Material
Girl in Photos | TIME.com
- https://www.bing.com/newtabredir?url=https%3A
%2F%2Fwww.abebooks.co.uk%2Ffirst-edition%
2FEnglish-Roses-Madonna-Ciccone-Louise-Call
away%2F4309134228%2Fbd
- Madonna - Like A Prayer (Official Video) -
YouTube
- 10 of Madonna's Most Controversial Moments -
Biography