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Lesley Ann Warren
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lesley Ann Warren (born August 16, 1946), is an American stage, film and television actress.

Warren was born in New York City to a Jewish family whose surname was originally "Woronoff". The 5-foot-8 inch actress began her career as a ballet dancer, training at the School of American Ballet.

She entered the Actors Studio at the age of seventeen - reputedly the youngest applicant ever to be accepted. Her Broadway debut came in 1963 in the musical, 110 in the Shade.

Having failed to obtain the role of Liesl in the film version of The Sound of Music, her first major television success was in the title role of Rodgers and Hammerstein's television special, Cinderella, in 1965. She later replaced Barbara Bain as the leading female in the Mission Impossible team.

In 1967, she married producer Jon Peters. They had one son, Christopher (born 1968, now an actor), but were subsequently divorced

Angela Bassett
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Angela Bassett (born August 16, 1958) is an Emmy and Academy Award-nominated, and Golden Globe winning American actress.

Biography

Early life

Born in New York City, and then relocated to St. Petersburg, Florida, as a child, Angela and her sister D'nette were raised by their social worker mother, Betty. Stressing the importance of an education by their mother, Angela earned an academic scholarship to Yale University and received her B.A. in African-American studies there in 1980. In 1983, she earned a Master of Fine Arts Degree from the Yale School of Drama. It was at Yale that Bassett met her future husband Courtney B. Vance, a 1986 graduate of the drama school. After college Angela worked as a receptionist for a beauty salon and as a photo researcher.

Career

Soon after graduating from Yale, Bassett made her first appearance on television as a prostitute in the TV movie Doubletake (1985). However, she made her official film debut as a news reporter in F/X (1986). Bassett soon gained recognition in the highly acclaimed, but controversial, films Boyz n the Hood (1991) and Malcolm X (1992). For her portrayal of Betty Shabazz in that film, Bassett earned an Image Award. In 1993, she earned a Golden Globe and was nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award for her portrayal of Tina Turner in the feature film What's Love Got to Do with It?.

Bassett made headlines when she stated that she was offered the role in Monster's Ball for which Halle Berry won a history-making Oscar but did not accept it because of its representation of African-American female sexuality.

Personal life

She has been married to actor Courtney B. Vance since 1997. In the summer of 2005, they starred together in a production of the play His Girl Friday at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The couple's first children, son Slater Josiah and daughter Bronwyn Golden, were born on January 27, 2006. The children were carried by a surrogate mother.

Madonna
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Birth name Madonna Louise Ciccone
Born August 16, 1958

Madonna Louise Ciccone, christened Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone (born August 16, 1958) but better known worldwide only by her first name, is an Italian-American pop musician, singer, songwriter and dancer. She has also experimented with acting and writing. She is noted for her innovative music videos, elaborately mounted stage performances, and controversial use of political, sexual and religious themes and imagery in her work.

Madonna emerged from the New York City club scene. Her early work consisted mainly of dance pop music. Her musical style matured over time and she went on to win five Grammy Awards with her career as film actress remaining secondary to her music career. In 1992, she co-founded Maverick Records, which was sold to Warner Music Group in 2004.

In 2000, The Guinness Book of Records credited Madonna as the most successful female recording artist of all time, with estimated worldwide sales of 120 million albums.[1] Her record label, Warner Bros., reported in 2005 that she had achieved international sales in excess of 200 million albums.[2] In popular media, the tag "Queen of Pop" commonly refers to Madonna.

Biography

Early life

Madonna Louise Ciccone was born in Bay City, Michigan. She is the third of six children born to Silvio "Tony" P. Ciccone, a Chrysler engineer of Italian American extraction, whose parents originated from Pacentro, in the region of Abruzzo, Italy, and Madonna Louise Fortin, a French Canadian. She was raised in a Catholic family in the Detroit suburbs of Pontiac and Rochester Hills. Madonna's mother died of breast cancer at age thirty on December 1, 1963, and Madonna has frequently discussed the impact her mother's death had on her life and career, calling it "one of the hardest things I've faced in my life."[3] Her father later married the family housekeeper, Joan Gustafson, and they had two children.

Tony Ciccone required his children to take music lessons; however, after a few months of piano lessons, Madonna convinced him to allow her to take ballet classes instead. Madonna's ballet teacher, Christopher Flynn, mentored her in dance and provided Madonna with her first exposure to gay discotheques, a scene that would later have an impact on her music and style. She attended Rochester Adams High School, where she was a straight-A student, excelled at sports, and was a member of the cheerleading squad. After graduating high school in 1976, she received a dance scholarship to the University of Michigan, In 1977, with Flynn's encouragement, Madonna left college at the end of her second year and moved to New York City in July 1978 to pursue a dance career. Looking back at her arrival in New York, Madonna has said: "When I came to New York it was the first time I'd ever taken a plane, the first time I'd ever gotten a taxi-cab, the first time for everything. And I came here with 35 dollars in my pocket. It was the bravest thing I'd ever done."[4]

Madonna experienced financial difficulties, and for some time lived in squalor and worked a series of low-paying jobs, including a stint at Dunkin' Donuts. She also worked as a nude model on occasion. She studied with Martha Graham and Pearl Lang, and later performed with several modern dance companies, including Alvin Ailey and the Walter Nicks dancers. While performing as a dancer for the French disco artist, Patrick Hernandez, on his 1979 world tour, Madonna met and became romantically involved with the musician Dan Gilroy, with whom she later formed her first rock band, the Breakfast Club, in New York. In addition to providing vocals, she played drums and guitar, before forming the band Emmy in 1980 with drummer and former boyfriend Stephen Bray. She and Bray wrote and produced a number of solo disco and dance songs that brought her local attention in New York dance clubs. D.J. and record producer Mark Kamins was sufficiently impressed by her demo recordings to bring them to the attention of Sire Records founder Seymour Stein.


1980-1985: Beginning and rise to fame

Madonna in her first music video for "Everybody," a low-budget video that featured Madonna and her dancers in a rather dark New York club.In 1980, Madonna signed a singles deal with Sire Records in the United States that paid her $5,000 per song. Her first release, "Everybody," a self-written song produced by Mark Kamins, became a dance hit in the U.S. on the Billboard Hot Dance/Club Chart, but failed to make an impact on the Billboard Hot 100. It also gained airplay on U.S. R&B radio stations, leading many to assume that Madonna was a black artist. The double-sided 12" vinyl single featuring "Burning Up" and "Physical Attraction" followed in late 1982, and was a success on the U.S. dance charts. These results convinced Sire Records executives to finance a full-length album.


She embarked on her first concert tour in the U.S. titled The Virgin Tour supported by the beastie boys.

In July 1985, Penthouse and Playboy magazines published a number of black and white nude photos of Madonna taken in the late 1970s. The publications caused a swell of publicity and public discussion of Madonna, who remained unapologetic and defiant. Speaking to a global audience at the Live Aid charity concert at the height of the controversy, Madonna made a critical reference to the media and vowed that, for her performance, she would not give her critics the satisfaction of taking off her jacket, despite the sweltering heat.

1986-1991: Artistic development

The music video for "True Blue" (1986), directed by James Foley, featured a 1950s theme.Madonna's 1986 album True Blue presented a more musically and thematically mature album than its predecessors, prompting Rolling Stone to declare, 'singing better than ever, Madonna stakes her claim as the pop poet of lower-middle-class America.'[7] The album included the beautiful and soulful ballad "Live To Tell", which she wrote for the film At Close Range, starring then-husband Sean Penn. The album was also the first to credit her as producer. She collaborated with composer Patrick Leonard, who would become a long time collaborator and friend. True Blue reached #1 in thirty-eight countries, and sold over 40 million copies worldwide, becoming her most successful studio album internationally, [8] and produced five successful singles, including three #1 entries in the United States.

The music videos for the album True Blue displayed Madonna's continued interest in pushing the boundaries of the video medium to a cinematic level, including elaborate art direction, cinematography and film devices such as character and plot. Though Madonna had already made videos expressing her sexuality, she added religious iconography, gender archetypes and social issues to her oeuvre, and these concepts would carry through her work for years to come. One notable example was the "Open Your Heart" video, her first collaboration with French photographer Jean-Baptiste Mondino.

In 1987, Madonna starred in the modestly successful film Who's That Girl?, and contributed four songs to its soundtrack, including the film's title track, which became an international hit and Madonna's sixth #1 single in the US.

In early 1989, Madonna signed an endorsement deal with soft drink manufacturer Pepsi, which would debut her new song "Like A Prayer" in a Pepsi commercial that Madonna herself would also appear in. The commercial used a child's birthday party as a plot device, and was not controversial in itself; however, the following day, the music video for the song premiered on MTV. It featured many Catholic symbols, including stigmata, and was condemned by the Vatican for its 'blasphemous' mixture of Catholic symbolism and eroticism. It depicted a black man, who comes to the aid of woman being murdered, arrested for the crime and jailed, until Madonna, who has witnessed the crime, secures his release. Although the video denounced racism, Madonna was criticized for her use of symbols such as burning crosses. The public linked the commercial with the music video, and although they were different, Pepsi was subsequently bombarded with complaints and threats of boycotts; Pepsi withdrew the commercial from broadcasting, but Madonna was allowed to keep her five million dollar fee, as Pepsi had voided their contract. Sales for the album increased during the ensuing publicity, and it reached #1 on the US albums chart, ultimately being certified 4x platinum.

The black and white music video for "Vogue" (1990) recalled the look of 1930s Hollywood films.In addition, that year, Madonna released her first 'Greatest Hits' album, The Immaculate Collection, which included two new songs, "Justify My Love" and "Rescue Me". The music video for "Justify My Love", again directed by Mondino, showed Madonna in a Parisian hotel, in suggestive scenes with her then-lover, gay icon and indie actor Tony Ward, as well as scenes of S&M, bondage with gay and lesbian characters, and brief nudity. It was deemed too sexually explicit for MTV, and was subsequently banned from the station. Warner Bros. Records released the video as a video single - the first of its kind - and it remains one of the highest-selling video singles of all time. "Justify My Love" itself reached #1 in the US singles chart.

In 1991, Madonna starred in her first documentary film, Truth Or Dare (also known as In Bed With Madonna, outside North America), which chronicled her successful 1990 Blond Ambition Tour, as well as her personal life. The following year, she appeared in the baseball film A League Of Their Own, and recorded the film's theme song, "This Used To Be My Playground", which became her tenth #1 single in the United States.

1992-1997: Sex controversy and Evita

The controversial music video for "Erotica" (1992) was aired only three times on MTV due to its highly charged sexual content.In 1992, Madonna released the erotic book Sex, photographed by long time collaborator Steven Meisel. Adult in nature, it featured strong sexual content and graphic photographs featuring Madonna depicting simulations of sexual acts and BDSM. The book caused huge publicity at the time of its release, primarily leading to bad press and negative attitudes towards Madonna. Many critics considered it another calculated controversy timed to boost sales of her new album, which the public linked together because of their generally close release dates and overt sexual content.

Erotica (1992), produced primarily with Shep Pettibone, featured sexual anthems that did not attempt to disguise Madonna's appetite for erotic fantasy and role-playing. The album peaked at number two in the U.S. and produced six singles, with its most successful being its title track "Erotica," which became the highest-debuting (number two) single in the history of the U.S. Hot 100 Airplay chart. The controversial music video that accompanied the song only aired three times on MTV due to its highly charged sexual content.

Her 1993 The Girlie Show Tour was her most explicit and controversial concert tour to date and featured Madonna dressed as a whip-cracking dominatrix, surrounded by topless dancers including Luca Tomassini and Carrie Ann Inaba. The controversy caused by the tour followed Madonna when she caused uproar in Puerto Rico by rubbing the island's flag between her legs on stage, while Orthodox Jews protested against her first-ever show in Israel. Madonna would later comment that this period of her life was designed to give the world every single morsel of what they seemed to be demanding in their invasion of her private life. She hoped that once it was all out in the open, people could settle down and focus on her work.


Credited as one of Madonna's most experimental videos, "Bedtime Story" (1995) directed by Mark Romanek featured images inspired by paintings by artist Frida Kahlo.After the raunchy sex period, Madonna released her sixth studio album, Bedtime Stories (1994), co-produced by Nellee Hooper and Dallas Austin. Madonna at the time was inspired by R&B/Rock Singer Joi's debut album Pendulum Vibe (1993), and was so in love with it that she recruited producer Dallas Austin to help with her project. She was also responsible for making the call that landed Joi becoming the first black model in a major Calvin Klein print ad campaign[citation needed]. The album features Madonna turning to a more R&B flavoured sound. It was a success in Europe, Australia and the United States, where it peaked at number three and was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Pop Vocal Album category. With its title track partially written by Björk, the album was giving a hint of what would come musically a few years later. It produced four singles, including "Take a Bow," co-written and produced with Babyface. The song was a success on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching number one for seven consecutive weeks. The Michael Haussman Spanish-themed video, meanwhile, would later help her win the lead role in Evita. In late 1995, Madonna released Something To Remember, a collection of her best ballads, which featured three new tracks, including a cover of Marvin Gaye's classic "I Want You", which she recorded with British band Massive Attack, and the top ten hit "You'll See." The album just missed the top five on the U.S. charts; it has since been certified triple platinum.

In 1996, Madonna's most critically successful film, Evita was released. The film's soundtrack became her twelfth platinum album and produced two popular singles, "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" and "You Must Love Me," which was written specifically for the film. "You Must Love Me" won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for Best Original Song From a Motion Picture the following year. Madonna herself also won a Golden Globe award for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy.



The music video for "Music" (2000).In 2001, Madonna embarked on the Drowned World Tour, her first tour in eight years. The concert tour was successful, was the subject of a television special in the US, and was released on DVD in November 2001 to coincide with the release of her second greatest hits album, GHV2. Unlike her previous compilation, GHV2 did not include any new songs, although clubs did receive multiple mega mixes for promotional play only. In 2002, she wrote and performed the theme song to the James Bond film Die Another Day, and had a cameo in the film as a fencing instructor. The song reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 and was nominated for both a Golden Globe for Best Original Song (and a Golden Raspberry for Worst Song).

2003-2006: Commercial ups and downs

The original video for American Life (2003) was widely seen as controversial and was revoked on the day of its release due to its graphic images and antiwar message.Madonna's ninth studio album, American Life (2003), in which her lyrics were themed on the aspects of the American dream, fame, fortune and society, polarized music critics with both extremely positive and extremely negative reviews. Arguably her most daring and musically extreme album, American Life presented a darker and more serious side of the singer. Once again, she teamed up with Mirwais with string arrangement contributed by French musician, Michel Colombier, who had already collaborated on Music, a gospel choir, and prominent acoustic guitars. The music video for the first single, "American Life" caused controversy in the US, as it contained visceral scenes depicting war, explosions, and blood. The day before the video was to air on European television, Madonna pulled it and released instead an edited and much more tamed version, which showed her singing in front of flags from around the world. The song failed to perform well on the U.S. singles charts, peaking at thirty-seven. Having sold just 4 million copies, 'American Life' is the lowest selling album of her career. However, the album did peak at number one on the U.S. albums chart and became her second consecutive album to do so. American Life produced three more singles, which all failed to chart in the U.S., although they became modest hits around the world.

Later that year Madonna performed a re-mixed version of her song Hollywood, which was arranged by Stuart Price aka. "Thin White Duke" (whom she later would work with again for her Confessions album) with Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and Missy Elliot at the MTV Video Music Awards. The performance caused controversy as Madonna kissed both Spears and Aguilera during the performance, and resulted in tabloid press frenzy. That fall, Madonna provided guest vocals on Spears' single "Me Against the Music", which became a dance hit in the U.S. In an effort to boost sales of American Life, Madonna released Remixed & Revisited, a remix EP that included remixes and some interesting rock versions of songs from American Life as well as Your Honesty, a previously unreleased song from the Bedtime Stories era. The EP did not perform well on the charts and peaked outside the top 100 on the US albums chart. A lesser-known aspect of the American Life era is that Madonna worked with fashion photographer Steven Klein in what was to become a photo and video installation entitled X-static Process that would tour in major art galleries around the world. These images were to be used for her Re-Invention Tour.


On August 16, 2005, her 47th birthday, Madonna was seriously injured after falling off a horse at her London home. She suffered three cracked ribs, a broken collarbone, and a broken hand from her fall. Following her accident she filmed the video to her first single, "Hung Up," from her upcoming album "Confessions on a Dance Floor." At the time of filming the high-energy dance video, none of the broken bones had fully healed yet, and she relied heavily on painkillers to complete the video shoot.[14]


Madonna's retro inspired "Hung Up" (2005) music video.Madonna's tenth album Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005), was built as a continuous mix of dance songs, with musical elements borrowed from the '70s as well as her own repertoire. Produced by Stuart Price, it reached number one in 41 countries and has sold more than 8 million copies since its November 2005 release (over 1.5 million in the US)[11]. The album received the most positive reviews since 1998's Ray of Light, and was considered a return to form after the negative reception to American Life. It has produced two successful singles, "Hung Up", which featured a sample of the ABBA song "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" and "Sorry". "Hung Up" became Madonna's first single to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 since American Life in 2003, and tied her with Elvis Presley with the most top ten songs on the U.S. singles chart. Worldwide, it became one of the most successful singles of her career. The follow-up single, "Sorry," became Madonna's twelfth number one in the UK. A third single, "Get Together", reached the UK Top 10 and became her thirty-sixth number one dance hit in the U.S. (the most for any artist in Billboard history), but failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. The fourth, and final single release from Confessions on a Dance Floor, is "Jump", due in August 2006. Madonna went onto receive five VMA nominations for her video, "Hung Up."

Madonna, along side the Gorillaz, opened the 48th Annual Grammy Awards in February 2006. The number began with the Gorillaz performing "Feel Good Inc." in state-of-the-art 3D animation. Nearing the end of "Feel Good Inc." the tune "morphed" into "Hung Up" as Madonna appeared as part of the animation belting out the chorus to her tune. Following this, the camera switched to another stage where Madonna and her dancers performed "Hung Up," the second half of the opening act, live.

Madonna appeared on the "Ellen Degeneres Show" Grammy post show (filmed at the Grammy awards that night) the next day, where she announced she would be going on tour that coming Summer. Furhter details were not disclosed for several months to follow.

Madonna was again hospitalized following her performance at the Grammy awards. She had a minor surgical procedure to treat a hernia from her high-energy "Hung Up" Grammy performance. She was back on her feet just two days after the surgery.[15]

On May 21, 2006, Madonna embarked on her sixth world tour (seventh tour total,) the Confessions Tour. The tour would begin in the United States & Canada, then moved to Europe, and finally, for the first time in thirteen years, Japan. She will perform her first-ever concert in Moscow, Russia on September 11, 2006, as part of the tour. Tickets for her tour dates sold out within minutes at many venues, prompting several additional dates to be added. Controversy was generated worldwide from her performance of "Live To Tell," where she sings while hanging from a mirrored cross while wearing a crown of thorns. She further fueled the controversy by inviting the Pope to her Rome concert.

Acting and film career

Madonna's success in acting has been varied, but mostly heavily panned by critics. She was presented with a special Razzie award in the year 2000 as "Worst Actress of the Century"[16]

In 1979, Madonna starred in A Certain Sacrifice, a low-budget film she starred in before she achieved widespread popularity as a successful recording artist. Its release in 1985 coincided in with the success of her second album Like a Virgin, and did not please Madonna who tried to prevent its release. A representative from Madonna offered to buy the rights of the film for $5000, which director Stephen Jon Lewicki refused. That same year Madonna appeared in two separate films. She made a cameo as a club singer in the film Vision Quest and garnered commercial and critical success in her first starring role in Susan Seidelman's film, Desperately Seeking Susan, which told the story of a housewife who is fascinated with a woman she only knows about by reading messages to and from her in the personals section of a New York City tabloid. It was a commercial success and grossed $27 million in the United States alone.[17] She appeared as Gloria Tatlock in the adventure drama film Shanghai Surprise (1986) with her ex-husband Sean Penn. The film did nothing to further her acting career, was dismissed by moviegoers, and received poor reviews by critics, with many criticizing her acting, calling it wooden and unbelievable. Subsequent films such as Who's That Girl? (1987) and Bloodhounds of Broadway (1989), based on short stories by Damon Runyon, failed to attract commercial and critical success. She was to appear in Francis Ford Coppola's third and final chapter of the Godfather trilogy. Unfortunately, the director decided to alter the role, make it younger and gave it to his own daughter Sofia Coppola. Nevertheless Coppola went on praising 'how good that little Italian girl was!'


Madonna as Eva Perón in the film adaptation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Evita (1996).In 1990, after a string of unsuccessful films, Madonna starred as Breathless Mahoney in the action film Dick Tracy, directed by Warren Beatty based on the popular Chester Gould's comic strip . She sang three Stephen Sondheim songs and played opposite histrionic Al Pacino as well as Warren Beatty. Although she received mostly positive reviews for her role, critics were quick to point out that her best-reviewed roles were ones where Madonna had played someone who is not unlike herself. In 1991, Woody Allen offered her a small role in Shadows and Fog as a trapeze artist opposite John Malkovich. The film was shot in black and white and was an hommage to German Expressionist cinema, backed by the music of Kurt Weill. The following year, Penny Marshall cast her in A League of Their Own opposite Tom Hanks, Geena Davis and Rosie O'Donnel. The film, which centered on a women's baseball team during World War II, earned Madonna good reviews from critics for her lightweight and comedic performance. Following the backlash of her sexual provocative book Sex and its companion album Erotica, Madonna starred in the 1993 erotic-thriller Body of Evidence with Willem Dafoe. The film was overwhelmingly panned by critics and performed poorly at the box office, while only serving to add fuel to Madonna's growing public backlash. Later that year she starred in Dangerous Game (aka Snake Eyes) by Abel Ferrara opposite Harvey Keitel and James Russo. The film revealed her as a more than able actress and was very well received in France, where French newspaper Libération dubbed her the fucked up Marilyn of the 90's. However, Dangerous Game was considered much too nihilistic and violent, and was released straight to home video in North America. In an attempt to improve her acting credentials, Madonna chose to take roles in independent films, first playing a singing telegram girl (again opposite Harvey Keitel) in Wayne Wang's Blue in the Face (1995) and as a witch in Four Rooms (1995). She also had a cameo as phone sex company owner in Spike Lee's film Girl 6 in 1996.


Madonna in her visit to Madrid, 1996.In 1996, Madonna starred as Eva Perón in the film adaptation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Evita. The film marked the first time in America since her appearance in Desperately Seeking Susan that Madonna was critically praised for her acting skills, even though some critics compared the film to a long music video, which required no further acting skills of Madonna than what she had already exhibited in her own videos[citation needed]. Madonna had campaigned for the role for nearly ten years and in December 1994, she wrote a four page, handwritten letter to director Alan Parker explaining that she would be perfect to play the role. Parker agreed and to prepare for the film Madonna took voice lessons to extend her range and researched the life of her character.[18] In January 1997, she won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, but failed to receive a nomination at the Academy Awards, though the song "You Must Love Me" won the Oscar for Best Song. Both "You Must Love Me" and "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" were both singles.

Madonna's follow-up to Evita was yet another critically panned role as Abbie, a woman who decides to have a baby with her gay best friend, in the film The Next Best Thing (2000) directed by John Schlesinger. Some critics however were kinder: French magazine Telerama pointed out that the script was much too weak, and neither she or the other two male leads, Rupert Everett and Benjamin Bratt could save the film or a director who's been running out of inspiration for some time already.[citation needed] Swept Away followed in 2002, which was also critically panned. The film, a remake of an Italian film bearing the same name by Lina Wertmüller in 1975, was the first big screen collaboration between Madonna and her husband Guy Ritchie. The film was mercilessly dished by everyone (It received seven Razzie Award nominations, winning five including Worst Actress for Madonna).

In 2002, Madonna composed and performed the theme song to the James Bond film "Die Another Day". She also had a cameo appearance in the film, playing a fencing instructor.

In late 2004, she provided the voice of Princess Selenia in the animated film Arthur and the Invisibles, set for release in January 2007.[19]

In March 2006, Madonna stated in an interview that she had given up acting because she fears her acting reputation will condemn any film she is a part of.[20] She has also expressed her frustration with the process of filmmaking, with the comment "I've been unlucky with some of my films because it's difficult for me to be a brushstroke in someone else's painting." [21]

Documentaries

In 1991, Madonna released her first documentary Truth or Dare (In Bed With Madonna outside the U.S.). The film, directed by Alek Keshishian, followed Madonna on her Blond Ambition world tour in support of her successful 1989 album Like a Prayer. The film featured black and white backstage scenes and live performances filmed in color. Truth or Dare was released in theatres worldwide, and became a box office hit, grossing more than $15 million in the U.S. alone.[22]

Her second documentary, I'm Going To Tell You A Secret (2005), followed Madonna and her family on the Re-Invention World Tour in 2004. Directed by long-time collaborator Jonas Åkerlund, it premiered commercial free on MTV in the U.S. on October 21, 2005. Like her previous effort, the film includes behind the scenes footage as well as live performances, and was released on DVD June 20, 2006 with a bonus audio CD. She also made a mini documentry directed by her husband Guy Ritchie in November 2005 documenting the rehearsal process of one of her album promotion tours for "Confessions on a dance floor". It was not given a title and broadcast live on AOL before the actual concert was broadcast live around the world on AOL.

Short films

In 2001, Madonna starred in BMW's short film The Hire: Star from the series The Hire as part of a marketing campaign. The film, directed by husband Guy Ritchie, featured Madonna as an arrogant rock star. Madonna starred opposite Clive Owen, Michael Beattie, and Toru Tanaka Jr.

Influences

Italian heritage, family and Catholicism

Madonna's background as an Italian American Catholic has had great significance in her life and career. She has cited her parents and upbringing as the major influences in her life and career. Her mother's death profoundly affected her, and she later stated that had her mother lived she might not have felt such a strong need to prove herself. Madonna's father, Silvio Ciccone, more commonly referred to simply as "Tony", is a strict Italian Catholic who raised his family in an atmosphere of religious observance.

The name "Madonna" derives from the two Italian words "Ma" and "Donna", meaning "My Lady". In Italy there is a vulgar term "Madonna Mia!", which translates into "My Madonna," a rough equivalent to the English language curse of "My God!" While filming in Venice, Italy, Madonna commented on hearing this expression and being confused as to whether people were cursing or talking to her. Italian Americans are sometimes depicted as using the abbreviated version of "Madonn'"[23].

The name "Madonna" is very Catholic as it references The Virgin Mary, who in Italy and in the Roman Catholic Church is often referred to as "Madonna". Given Madonna's rebellion against Catholic-based ideals of womanhood, some have found it ironic that she shares the same name as the ultimate symbol of the Catholic ideal of womanhood. Early in her career, many assumed that "Madonna" was a stage name that the singer had chosen for shock value.

As a teenager, Madonna rebelled against what she considered an oppressive upbringing but later admitted that Catholicism had remained a central influence. She has said that her first "idols" were nuns, and that she found them "sexy" and wanted to be a nun because they were "really pure and serene". [24]

Madonna also credits her father with instilling in her a strong work ethic, which she attributes to his Italian background, his family's working class history in Naples, and his struggle to raise himself from poor origins. She has spoken admiringly of his efforts, noting that he is the only member of his family with a college education, and that his degree in engineering allowed him to move beyond the limitations of his upbringing. [25] Madonna has also said that since becoming a mother, she has gained greater understanding and respect for her father as a parent.

As a teenager, lacking in self-esteem and rebelling against her Italian and Catholic background, Madonna was told by her ballet teacher and mentor, Christopher Flynn, "You have an ancient looking face. A face like an ancient Roman statue."[26] Madonna has stated that Flynn was the first person to tell her she is beautiful, and his approval inspired her to consider her Italian heritage, and her face, as something of value.

In her music career, Madonna's Catholic background and relationship with her parents has been most strongly reflected in her Like a Prayer album. In "Like a Prayer," Madonna moved away from the dance pop of her previous albums and toward more personal and reflective lyrics, featured songs directly related to her parents and her Catholic upbringing. The video for the title track contained overt Catholic symbolism, such as the stigmata. "Promise To Try" told of her sadness at the faded memory of her mother and her struggle to recall her. "Oh, Father" told of a strict and distant father, who elicited fear in the singer as a child and defiance as she grew older. The video for Oh Father depicts Madonna in a confessional and her father kneeling and praying before a picture of his dead wife. The album ends with the track "Act of Contrition", which contains verses from the Catholic prayer of the same name.

Madonna has used the Catholic symbol of the crucifix throughout her career, as a fashion accessory in her early videos, in the church setting of her "Like a Prayer" video, and in the stage design of her "Confessions" tour. The rosary has also often been used in Madonna's career. In the early 1980s, she wore it around her neck as part of her performance costume. Later, in the music video for the song La Isla Bonita Madonna portrays a character who is praying the rosary.

Madonna's Italian heritage has occasionally been referenced in her work. The video to her first number one single, "Like a Virgin," was filmed in Venice, Italy, and features Madonna in iconic Venetian settings. The "Open Your Heart" video ends with Madonna dancing into the sunset with a young boy, while her elderly boss chases after her, yelling at her in Italian. In the "Papa Don't Preach" video, often described as partly autobiographical in content, her father is played by the Italian American actor, Danny Aiello, and Madonna wears a shirt with the slogan, "Italians Do It Better". [27] The video for her Who's That Girl? Tour, titled Ciao Italia: Madonna Live from Italy, was filmed mainly in Turin, Italy.[28] (In the Ciao Italia: Madonna Live from Italy video, Madonna performs the song Papa Don't Preach while a large portrait of the Pope appears on the screen behind her. Coincidentally, "Papa" is the Italian word for "Pope" [29].) In her 2005 documentary I'm Going To Tell You a Secret, she jokingly states that she has "big, fat, Italian thighs." In film, she achieved a rare good reviews for her portrayal of the Italian American character "Mae Mordabato" in A League of Their Own. [30]

Much of her career has been founded on a rebellion against the Roman Catholic Church. As a result, Madonna has often offended many Catholics, including the head of the Catholic Church himself. In 1990, when Madonna toured Italy with the Blond Ambition Tour concert tour, the Pope encouraged citizens not to attend the concert [31], and as a result, Madonna was forced to cancel two shows due to poor ticket sales. The Pope accused Madonna of blasphemy against the Catholic Church (a crime in Italy), and attempted to have Madonna banned from stepping foot on Italian soil. In response, in a 1990 press conference in Italy, Madonna declared, "I am Italian American and proud of it." In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Madonna said that the Pope's reaction hurt, "because I'm Italian, you know", but in another Rolling Stone interview the same year stated that she had ceased to practice Catholicism because the Church "completely frowns on sex... except for procreation". [32] In the summer of 2006, Madonna drew criticism from Vatican officials when she took her Confessions Tour to Rome. Vatican officials claimed that Madonna's performance while hanging off of a cross while wearing a crown of thorns was an open attack on Catholicism and should not be performed in the same city as the pope's residence. [33] In the documentary Italians in America - Our Contribution, author Gay Talese relates Madonna's rebellion against the Catholic Church to her Italian ancestry. Talese claims that Madonna is descended from a region of Southern Italy with a long tradition of rebellion against the Catholic Church [34].

In 1988, city officials in the town of Pacentro, Italy [35], planned to construct a 13-foot statue of Madonna in a bustier. The statue was intended to commemorate the fact that some of Madonna's ancestors had lived in Pacentro. The mayor of the city and the Pope intervened and prevented the project from coming to fruition, citing concerns that a statue of Madonna in their city would corrupt the morals of their youth.

Musical styles and singers

In 1985, Madonna commented that the first song to ever make a strong impression on her was "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'" by Nancy Sinatra and that it summed up her take-charge attitude. [36] As a young woman, she attempted to broaden her taste in literature, art and music and during this time became interested in classical music. She noted that her favorite style was baroque, and loved Chopin because she liked his "feminine quality". Her favorite vocalists were Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra and Sam Cooke, and she also expressed admiration for B.B. King, Chaka Khan and Aretha Franklin. For their ability as performers and for their style and impact, she cited Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders and Deborah Harry of Blondie as artists who strongly inspired her. [37]

Film stars

During her childhood, Madonna became fascinated by films and film stars, later saying, "I loved Carole Lombard and Judy Holliday and Marilyn Monroe. They were all incredibly funny...and I saw myself in them...my girlishness, my knowingness and my innocence". [38] Her "Material Girl" music video recreated Monroe's "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend" number from the film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and she later studied the screwball comedies of the 1930s, particularly those of Lombard, in preparation for the Who's That Girl? film. The video for "Express Yourself" placed a femme fatale character alongside an androgynous figure in male attire, which was compared to Marlene Dietrich. The video for "Vogue" recreated the style of Hollywood glamour photographers, in particular Horst P. Horst, and imitated the poses of Marlene Dietrich, Carole Lombard and Rita Hayworth, while the lyrics referenced many of the stars who had inspired her. [39] Among those mentioned was Bette Davis, described by Madonna in a Rolling Stone interview, as an idol, along with Louise Brooks and Dita Parlo. [40]

Personal life

Relationships and family

In late 1970's and early 1980's Madonna had relationship with Dan Gilroy who formed "Breakfast Club" with her. During the first half of the Eighties, Madonna also dated musician Stephen Bray, painter and graffiti artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, DJ and record producer Mark Kamins, Norris Burroughs (who appears in "Burning Up" video) and musician Jellybean Benitez.

While filming the music video for her single "Material Girl" in 1985, Madonna began dating Sean Penn, who was well known for his role in the popular film Fast Times at Ridgemont High. The two were married later that year on Madonna's twenty-seventh birthday; the marriage lasted less than four years, reportedly caused by Penn's aggressive behavior and Madonna's secret relationship with John F. Kennedy, Jr.. Of her marriage to Penn, Madonna told Tatler, "I was completely obsessed with my career and not ready to be generous in any shape or form."[41]

After the divorce from Penn was made official in 1989, Madonna began a relationship with Warren Beatty, whom she had met on the set of the film Dick Tracy. She dated Lenny Kravitz briefly in late 1990.[42] In 1990-1991 she dated Tony Ward, a young model and porn star, who had previously starred in her music video for "Cherish" (1989) and "Justify My Love" (1990). In 1991-1992, she had a relationship with Vanilla Ice for 8 months; who appeared later in her erotic book Sex.[43] In 1992-1993, she dated actor John Enos[44] and her bodyguard Jim Albright. She had relationship with Dennis Rodman for 4 months, in 1994.[45]

While walking in Central Park Madonna met Carlos Leon, who became her personal trainer and lover. On October 14, 1996 she gave birth to the couple's child, a daughter, Lourdes Maria (Lola) Ciccone Leon.[46] Madonna and Leon ended their relationship in 1997.

In late 1990's, she had relationship with English actor and filmmaker Andy Bird[47] and she briefly dated David Blaine.[48]

On December 22, 2000, Madonna married British director Guy Ritchie, whom she had met in 1999 through mutual friends Sting and his wife Trudie Styler. Madonna gave birth to a son, Rocco Ritchie, on August 11, 2000.[49] She currently resides in an English estate in Wiltshire, UK with Ritchie and her children. Madonna, who refers to herself simply as "Mrs. Ritchie" on her personal letterhead, has undergone a transformation from Material Girl to family woman, as she told '"Tatler": "I don't need to drive around in flashy cars and I don't need to show off. I'm perfectly happy to go for walks every day for a month at my house in the countryside. That doesn't mean I can't have expensive tastes, like nice sheets on my bed, or enjoy architecture and pictures. But I do know what makes a healthy balance in life...a good marriage is a contest of generosity...Everyone needs to be stopped in their tracks by parenthood and marriage, otherwise you are just selfish satellites spinning in space."

According to various sources Madonna also had affairs with men and women including Prince, Sandra Bernhard, Michael Jackson, Antonio Banderas, Jose Canseco, Big Daddy Kane, Mark Wahlberg,[50] Anthony Kiedis,[51] Charles Barkley,[52] Ingrid Casares, Henry Rollins, Esai Morales, Chris Paciello and Billy Zane prior to her marriage with Guy Ritchie.[53]

Gay community
Main article: Madonna and the gay community

Madonna has fans from all walks of life, and has long been a gay icon. Many of her performances have incorporated aspects of "gay culture," perhaps the most famous example being her hit song "Vogue." In the 1980s, a time before most celebrities felt comfortable lending their support to AIDS charities, Madonna was one of the first major artists to speak out about the need for money for AIDS research. In 2003 Madonna received much publicity for her onstage kiss with Spears and Aguilera at the MTV Video Music Awards.

Kabbalah Centre

Since the late-1990s, Madonna has become a devotee of the Kabbalah Centre and a disciple of its controversial head Rabbi Philip Berg and his wife Karen. Madonna and husband Guy Ritchie attend Kabbalah classes and have been reported to have adopted a number of aspects of the movement and associated with Judaism. The media has reported that Madonna has taken on the Biblical name of Esther, has donated millions of dollars to Kabbalah Centres in London, New York and Los Angeles; no longer performs on Friday nights because it's the time when the Jewish Sabbath begins; wears a red string; and has visited Israel with members of the Kabbalah Centre to celebrate some of the Jewish holidays. She also studies personally with her own private-tutor, Rabbi Eitan Yardeni, whose wife Sarah Yardeni runs Madonna's favorite charitable project, "Spirituality for Kids," a subsidiary of the Kabbalah Centre.[54] Madonna reportedly donated 21 million dollars towards a new Kabbalah school for children.[55]

Controversy erupted again well before the release of her most recent album Confessions on a Dance Floor. Many Israeli rabbis condemned Madonna and the forthcoming song "Isaac" (tenth on its track listing) because they believed the song to be a tribute to Rabbi Isaac Luria, also known as Yitzhak Luria (1534-1572), one of the greatest Kabbalists of all time, and claimed that Jewish law forbids using a holy rabbi's name for profit. (Whether Jewish law actually forbids this, or the rabbis were simply uncomfortable with Madonna's song, is disputed). In interviews, Madonna had called this song: "The Binding of Isaac" and rumors spread that it was based on the major episode in the life of the Hebrew patriarch Isaac. Despite continued accusations that the song is about Isaac Luria, Madonna has repeatedly denied such accusations, claiming she could not think of a title for the song and, therefore, named it after Yitzhak (Isaac) Sinwani. In the song, Madonna sings with Sinwani, an Israeli singer, who is chanting a Yemenite Jewish song. Said Madonna: "The album isn't even out, so how could Jewish scholars in Israel know what my song is about? I don't know enough about Isaac Luria to write a song, though I've learned a bit in my studies."[56]

Madonna has openly defended her Kabbalah studies by stating, for example:

I wouldn't say studying Kabbalah for eight years goes under the category or falls under the category of being a fad or a trend. Now there might be people who are interested in it because they think it's trendy, but I can assure you that studying Kabbalah is actually a very challenging thing to do. It requires a lot of work, a lot of reading, a lot of time, a lot of commitment and a lot of discipline.[57]

Furthermore, Madonna said in a BBC interview that she believes Christianity is intolerant of questioning, whereas Kabbalah is not.

Madonna is expected to release ner new album in october of 2006 and the first single of the album will be relelased in late September. The album title is "I am what i am".

Political views

Madonna openly opposes United States President George W. Bush, and she endorsed Wesley Clark's Democratic nomination for the 2004 United States presidential election in an impassioned letter to her fans, saying at the time that "the future I wish for my children is at risk."[58] She also urged fans to see Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11.[59]

Madonna
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Birth name Madonna Louise Ciccone
Born August 16, 1958

Madonna Louise Ciccone, christened Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone (born August 16, 1958) but better known worldwide only by her first name, is an Italian-American pop musician, singer, songwriter and dancer. She has also experimented with acting and writing. She is noted for her innovative music videos, elaborately mounted stage performances, and controversial use of political, sexual and religious themes and imagery in her work.

Madonna emerged from the New York City club scene. Her early work consisted mainly of dance pop music. Her musical style matured over time and she went on to win five Grammy Awards with her career as film actress remaining secondary to her music career. In 1992, she co-founded Maverick Records, which was sold to Warner Music Group in 2004.

In 2000, The Guinness Book of Records credited Madonna as the most successful female recording artist of all time, with estimated worldwide sales of 120 million albums.[1] Her record label, Warner Bros., reported in 2005 that she had achieved international sales in excess of 200 million albums.[2] In popular media, the tag "Queen of Pop" commonly refers to Madonna.

Biography

Early life

Madonna Louise Ciccone was born in Bay City, Michigan. She is the third of six children born to Silvio "Tony" P. Ciccone, a Chrysler engineer of Italian American extraction, whose parents originated from Pacentro, in the region of Abruzzo, Italy, and Madonna Louise Fortin, a French Canadian. She was raised in a Catholic family in the Detroit suburbs of Pontiac and Rochester Hills. Madonna's mother died of breast cancer at age thirty on December 1, 1963, and Madonna has frequently discussed the impact her mother's death had on her life and career, calling it "one of the hardest things I've faced in my life."[3] Her father later married the family housekeeper, Joan Gustafson, and they had two children.

Tony Ciccone required his children to take music lessons; however, after a few months of piano lessons, Madonna convinced him to allow her to take ballet classes instead. Madonna's ballet teacher, Christopher Flynn, mentored her in dance and provided Madonna with her first exposure to gay discotheques, a scene that would later have an impact on her music and style. She attended Rochester Adams High School, where she was a straight-A student, excelled at sports, and was a member of the cheerleading squad. After graduating high school in 1976, she received a dance scholarship to the University of Michigan, In 1977, with Flynn's encouragement, Madonna left college at the end of her second year and moved to New York City in July 1978 to pursue a dance career. Looking back at her arrival in New York, Madonna has said: "When I came to New York it was the first time I'd ever taken a plane, the first time I'd ever gotten a taxi-cab, the first time for everything. And I came here with 35 dollars in my pocket. It was the bravest thing I'd ever done."[4]

Madonna experienced financial difficulties, and for some time lived in squalor and worked a series of low-paying jobs, including a stint at Dunkin' Donuts. She also worked as a nude model on occasion. She studied with Martha Graham and Pearl Lang, and later performed with several modern dance companies, including Alvin Ailey and the Walter Nicks dancers. While performing as a dancer for the French disco artist, Patrick Hernandez, on his 1979 world tour, Madonna met and became romantically involved with the musician Dan Gilroy, with whom she later formed her first rock band, the Breakfast Club, in New York. In addition to providing vocals, she played drums and guitar, before forming the band Emmy in 1980 with drummer and former boyfriend Stephen Bray. She and Bray wrote and produced a number of solo disco and dance songs that brought her local attention in New York dance clubs. D.J. and record producer Mark Kamins was sufficiently impressed by her demo recordings to bring them to the attention of Sire Records founder Seymour Stein.


1980-1985: Beginning and rise to fame

Madonna in her first music video for "Everybody," a low-budget video that featured Madonna and her dancers in a rather dark New York club.In 1980, Madonna signed a singles deal with Sire Records in the United States that paid her $5,000 per song. Her first release, "Everybody," a self-written song produced by Mark Kamins, became a dance hit in the U.S. on the Billboard Hot Dance/Club Chart, but failed to make an impact on the Billboard Hot 100. It also gained airplay on U.S. R&B radio stations, leading many to assume that Madonna was a black artist. The double-sided 12" vinyl single featuring "Burning Up" and "Physical Attraction" followed in late 1982, and was a success on the U.S. dance charts. These results convinced Sire Records executives to finance a full-length album.


She embarked on her first concert tour in the U.S. titled The Virgin Tour supported by the beastie boys.

In July 1985, Penthouse and Playboy magazines published a number of black and white nude photos of Madonna taken in the late 1970s. The publications caused a swell of publicity and public discussion of Madonna, who remained unapologetic and defiant. Speaking to a global audience at the Live Aid charity concert at the height of the controversy, Madonna made a critical reference to the media and vowed that, for her performance, she would not give her critics the satisfaction of taking off her jacket, despite the sweltering heat.

1986-1991: Artistic development

The music video for "True Blue" (1986), directed by James Foley, featured a 1950s theme.Madonna's 1986 album True Blue presented a more musically and thematically mature album than its predecessors, prompting Rolling Stone to declare, 'singing better than ever, Madonna stakes her claim as the pop poet of lower-middle-class America.'[7] The album included the beautiful and soulful ballad "Live To Tell", which she wrote for the film At Close Range, starring then-husband Sean Penn. The album was also the first to credit her as producer. She collaborated with composer Patrick Leonard, who would become a long time collaborator and friend. True Blue reached #1 in thirty-eight countries, and sold over 40 million copies worldwide, becoming her most successful studio album internationally, [8] and produced five successful singles, including three #1 entries in the United States.

The music videos for the album True Blue displayed Madonna's continued interest in pushing the boundaries of the video medium to a cinematic level, including elaborate art direction, cinematography and film devices such as character and plot. Though Madonna had already made videos expressing her sexuality, she added religious iconography, gender archetypes and social issues to her oeuvre, and these concepts would carry through her work for years to come. One notable example was the "Open Your Heart" video, her first collaboration with French photographer Jean-Baptiste Mondino.

In 1987, Madonna starred in the modestly successful film Who's That Girl?, and contributed four songs to its soundtrack, including the film's title track, which became an international hit and Madonna's sixth #1 single in the US.

In early 1989, Madonna signed an endorsement deal with soft drink manufacturer Pepsi, which would debut her new song "Like A Prayer" in a Pepsi commercial that Madonna herself would also appear in. The commercial used a child's birthday party as a plot device, and was not controversial in itself; however, the following day, the music video for the song premiered on MTV. It featured many Catholic symbols, including stigmata, and was condemned by the Vatican for its 'blasphemous' mixture of Catholic symbolism and eroticism. It depicted a black man, who comes to the aid of woman being murdered, arrested for the crime and jailed, until Madonna, who has witnessed the crime, secures his release. Although the video denounced racism, Madonna was criticized for her use of symbols such as burning crosses. The public linked the commercial with the music video, and although they were different, Pepsi was subsequently bombarded with complaints and threats of boycotts; Pepsi withdrew the commercial from broadcasting, but Madonna was allowed to keep her five million dollar fee, as Pepsi had voided their contract. Sales for the album increased during the ensuing publicity, and it reached #1 on the US albums chart, ultimately being certified 4x platinum.

The black and white music video for "Vogue" (1990) recalled the look of 1930s Hollywood films.In addition, that year, Madonna released her first 'Greatest Hits' album, The Immaculate Collection, which included two new songs, "Justify My Love" and "Rescue Me". The music video for "Justify My Love", again directed by Mondino, showed Madonna in a Parisian hotel, in suggestive scenes with her then-lover, gay icon and indie actor Tony Ward, as well as scenes of S&M, bondage with gay and lesbian characters, and brief nudity. It was deemed too sexually explicit for MTV, and was subsequently banned from the station. Warner Bros. Records released the video as a video single - the first of its kind - and it remains one of the highest-selling video singles of all time. "Justify My Love" itself reached #1 in the US singles chart.

In 1991, Madonna starred in her first documentary film, Truth Or Dare (also known as In Bed With Madonna, outside North America), which chronicled her successful 1990 Blond Ambition Tour, as well as her personal life. The following year, she appeared in the baseball film A League Of Their Own, and recorded the film's theme song, "This Used To Be My Playground", which became her tenth #1 single in the United States.

1992-1997: Sex controversy and Evita

The controversial music video for "Erotica" (1992) was aired only three times on MTV due to its highly charged sexual content.In 1992, Madonna released the erotic book Sex, photographed by long time collaborator Steven Meisel. Adult in nature, it featured strong sexual content and graphic photographs featuring Madonna depicting simulations of sexual acts and BDSM. The book caused huge publicity at the time of its release, primarily leading to bad press and negative attitudes towards Madonna. Many critics considered it another calculated controversy timed to boost sales of her new album, which the public linked together because of their generally close release dates and overt sexual content.

Erotica (1992), produced primarily with Shep Pettibone, featured sexual anthems that did not attempt to disguise Madonna's appetite for erotic fantasy and role-playing. The album peaked at number two in the U.S. and produced six singles, with its most successful being its title track "Erotica," which became the highest-debuting (number two) single in the history of the U.S. Hot 100 Airplay chart. The controversial music video that accompanied the song only aired three times on MTV due to its highly charged sexual content.

Her 1993 The Girlie Show Tour was her most explicit and controversial concert tour to date and featured Madonna dressed as a whip-cracking dominatrix, surrounded by topless dancers including Luca Tomassini and Carrie Ann Inaba. The controversy caused by the tour followed Madonna when she caused uproar in Puerto Rico by rubbing the island's flag between her legs on stage, while Orthodox Jews protested against her first-ever show in Israel. Madonna would later comment that this period of her life was designed to give the world every single morsel of what they seemed to be demanding in their invasion of her private life. She hoped that once it was all out in the open, people could settle down and focus on her work.


Credited as one of Madonna's most experimental videos, "Bedtime Story" (1995) directed by Mark Romanek featured images inspired by paintings by artist Frida Kahlo.After the raunchy sex period, Madonna released her sixth studio album, Bedtime Stories (1994), co-produced by Nellee Hooper and Dallas Austin. Madonna at the time was inspired by R&B/Rock Singer Joi's debut album Pendulum Vibe (1993), and was so in love with it that she recruited producer Dallas Austin to help with her project. She was also responsible for making the call that landed Joi becoming the first black model in a major Calvin Klein print ad campaign[citation needed]. The album features Madonna turning to a more R&B flavoured sound. It was a success in Europe, Australia and the United States, where it peaked at number three and was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Pop Vocal Album category. With its title track partially written by Björk, the album was giving a hint of what would come musically a few years later. It produced four singles, including "Take a Bow," co-written and produced with Babyface. The song was a success on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching number one for seven consecutive weeks. The Michael Haussman Spanish-themed video, meanwhile, would later help her win the lead role in Evita. In late 1995, Madonna released Something To Remember, a collection of her best ballads, which featured three new tracks, including a cover of Marvin Gaye's classic "I Want You", which she recorded with British band Massive Attack, and the top ten hit "You'll See." The album just missed the top five on the U.S. charts; it has since been certified triple platinum.

In 1996, Madonna's most critically successful film, Evita was released. The film's soundtrack became her twelfth platinum album and produced two popular singles, "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" and "You Must Love Me," which was written specifically for the film. "You Must Love Me" won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for Best Original Song From a Motion Picture the following year. Madonna herself also won a Golden Globe award for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy.



The music video for "Music" (2000).In 2001, Madonna embarked on the Drowned World Tour, her first tour in eight years. The concert tour was successful, was the subject of a television special in the US, and was released on DVD in November 2001 to coincide with the release of her second greatest hits album, GHV2. Unlike her previous compilation, GHV2 did not include any new songs, although clubs did receive multiple mega mixes for promotional play only. In 2002, she wrote and performed the theme song to the James Bond film Die Another Day, and had a cameo in the film as a fencing instructor. The song reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 and was nominated for both a Golden Globe for Best Original Song (and a Golden Raspberry for Worst Song).

2003-2006: Commercial ups and downs

The original video for American Life (2003) was widely seen as controversial and was revoked on the day of its release due to its graphic images and antiwar message.Madonna's ninth studio album, American Life (2003), in which her lyrics were themed on the aspects of the American dream, fame, fortune and society, polarized music critics with both extremely positive and extremely negative reviews. Arguably her most daring and musically extreme album, American Life presented a darker and more serious side of the singer. Once again, she teamed up with Mirwais with string arrangement contributed by French musician, Michel Colombier, who had already collaborated on Music, a gospel choir, and prominent acoustic guitars. The music video for the first single, "American Life" caused controversy in the US, as it contained visceral scenes depicting war, explosions, and blood. The day before the video was to air on European television, Madonna pulled it and released instead an edited and much more tamed version, which showed her singing in front of flags from around the world. The song failed to perform well on the U.S. singles charts, peaking at thirty-seven. Having sold just 4 million copies, 'American Life' is the lowest selling album of her career. However, the album did peak at number one on the U.S. albums chart and became her second consecutive album to do so. American Life produced three more singles, which all failed to chart in the U.S., although they became modest hits around the world.

Later that year Madonna performed a re-mixed version of her song Hollywood, which was arranged by Stuart Price aka. "Thin White Duke" (whom she later would work with again for her Confessions album) with Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and Missy Elliot at the MTV Video Music Awards. The performance caused controversy as Madonna kissed both Spears and Aguilera during the performance, and resulted in tabloid press frenzy. That fall, Madonna provided guest vocals on Spears' single "Me Against the Music", which became a dance hit in the U.S. In an effort to boost sales of American Life, Madonna released Remixed & Revisited, a remix EP that included remixes and some interesting rock versions of songs from American Life as well as Your Honesty, a previously unreleased song from the Bedtime Stories era. The EP did not perform well on the charts and peaked outside the top 100 on the US albums chart. A lesser-known aspect of the American Life era is that Madonna worked with fashion photographer Steven Klein in what was to become a photo and video installation entitled X-static Process that would tour in major art galleries around the world. These images were to be used for her Re-Invention Tour.


On August 16, 2005, her 47th birthday, Madonna was seriously injured after falling off a horse at her London home. She suffered three cracked ribs, a broken collarbone, and a broken hand from her fall. Following her accident she filmed the video to her first single, "Hung Up," from her upcoming album "Confessions on a Dance Floor." At the time of filming the high-energy dance video, none of the broken bones had fully healed yet, and she relied heavily on painkillers to complete the video shoot.[14]


Madonna's retro inspired "Hung Up" (2005) music video.Madonna's tenth album Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005), was built as a continuous mix of dance songs, with musical elements borrowed from the '70s as well as her own repertoire. Produced by Stuart Price, it reached number one in 41 countries and has sold more than 8 million copies since its November 2005 release (over 1.5 million in the US)[11]. The album received the most positive reviews since 1998's Ray of Light, and was considered a return to form after the negative reception to American Life. It has produced two successful singles, "Hung Up", which featured a sample of the ABBA song "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" and "Sorry". "Hung Up" became Madonna's first single to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 since American Life in 2003, and tied her with Elvis Presley with the most top ten songs on the U.S. singles chart. Worldwide, it became one of the most successful singles of her career. The follow-up single, "Sorry," became Madonna's twelfth number one in the UK. A third single, "Get Together", reached the UK Top 10 and became her thirty-sixth number one dance hit in the U.S. (the most for any artist in Billboard history), but failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. The fourth, and final single release from Confessions on a Dance Floor, is "Jump", due in August 2006. Madonna went onto receive five VMA nominations for her video, "Hung Up."

Madonna, along side the Gorillaz, opened the 48th Annual Grammy Awards in February 2006. The number began with the Gorillaz performing "Feel Good Inc." in state-of-the-art 3D animation. Nearing the end of "Feel Good Inc." the tune "morphed" into "Hung Up" as Madonna appeared as part of the animation belting out the chorus to her tune. Following this, the camera switched to another stage where Madonna and her dancers performed "Hung Up," the second half of the opening act, live.

Madonna appeared on the "Ellen Degeneres Show" Grammy post show (filmed at the Grammy awards that night) the next day, where she announced she would be going on tour that coming Summer. Furhter details were not disclosed for several months to follow.

Madonna was again hospitalized following her performance at the Grammy awards. She had a minor surgical procedure to treat a hernia from her high-energy "Hung Up" Grammy performance. She was back on her feet just two days after the surgery.[15]

On May 21, 2006, Madonna embarked on her sixth world tour (seventh tour total,) the Confessions Tour. The tour would begin in the United States & Canada, then moved to Europe, and finally, for the first time in thirteen years, Japan. She will perform her first-ever concert in Moscow, Russia on September 11, 2006, as part of the tour. Tickets for her tour dates sold out within minutes at many venues, prompting several additional dates to be added. Controversy was generated worldwide from her performance of "Live To Tell," where she sings while hanging from a mirrored cross while wearing a crown of thorns. She further fueled the controversy by inviting the Pope to her Rome concert.

Acting and film career

Madonna's success in acting has been varied, but mostly heavily panned by critics. She was presented with a special Razzie award in the year 2000 as "Worst Actress of the Century"[16]

In 1979, Madonna starred in A Certain Sacrifice, a low-budget film she starred in before she achieved widespread popularity as a successful recording artist. Its release in 1985 coincided in with the success of her second album Like a Virgin, and did not please Madonna who tried to prevent its release. A representative from Madonna offered to buy the rights of the film for $5000, which director Stephen Jon Lewicki refused. That same year Madonna appeared in two separate films. She made a cameo as a club singer in the film Vision Quest and garnered commercial and critical success in her first starring role in Susan Seidelman's film, Desperately Seeking Susan, which told the story of a housewife who is fascinated with a woman she only knows about by reading messages to and from her in the personals section of a New York City tabloid. It was a commercial success and grossed $27 million in the United States alone.[17] She appeared as Gloria Tatlock in the adventure drama film Shanghai Surprise (1986) with her ex-husband Sean Penn. The film did nothing to further her acting career, was dismissed by moviegoers, and received poor reviews by critics, with many criticizing her acting, calling it wooden and unbelievable. Subsequent films such as Who's That Girl? (1987) and Bloodhounds of Broadway (1989), based on short stories by Damon Runyon, failed to attract commercial and critical success. She was to appear in Francis Ford Coppola's third and final chapter of the Godfather trilogy. Unfortunately, the director decided to alter the role, make it younger and gave it to his own daughter Sofia Coppola. Nevertheless Coppola went on praising 'how good that little Italian girl was!'


Madonna as Eva Perón in the film adaptation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Evita (1996).In 1990, after a string of unsuccessful films, Madonna starred as Breathless Mahoney in the action film Dick Tracy, directed by Warren Beatty based on the popular Chester Gould's comic strip . She sang three Stephen Sondheim songs and played opposite histrionic Al Pacino as well as Warren Beatty. Although she received mostly positive reviews for her role, critics were quick to point out that her best-reviewed roles were ones where Madonna had played someone who is not unlike herself. In 1991, Woody Allen offered her a small role in Shadows and Fog as a trapeze artist opposite John Malkovich. The film was shot in black and white and was an hommage to German Expressionist cinema, backed by the music of Kurt Weill. The following year, Penny Marshall cast her in A League of Their Own opposite Tom Hanks, Geena Davis and Rosie O'Donnel. The film, which centered on a women's baseball team during World War II, earned Madonna good reviews from critics for her lightweight and comedic performance. Following the backlash of her sexual provocative book Sex and its companion album Erotica, Madonna starred in the 1993 erotic-thriller Body of Evidence with Willem Dafoe. The film was overwhelmingly panned by critics and performed poorly at the box office, while only serving to add fuel to Madonna's growing public backlash. Later that year she starred in Dangerous Game (aka Snake Eyes) by Abel Ferrara opposite Harvey Keitel and James Russo. The film revealed her as a more than able actress and was very well received in France, where French newspaper Libération dubbed her the fucked up Marilyn of the 90's. However, Dangerous Game was considered much too nihilistic and violent, and was released straight to home video in North America. In an attempt to improve her acting credentials, Madonna chose to take roles in independent films, first playing a singing telegram girl (again opposite Harvey Keitel) in Wayne Wang's Blue in the Face (1995) and as a witch in Four Rooms (1995). She also had a cameo as phone sex company owner in Spike Lee's film Girl 6 in 1996.


Madonna in her visit to Madrid, 1996.In 1996, Madonna starred as Eva Perón in the film adaptation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Evita. The film marked the first time in America since her appearance in Desperately Seeking Susan that Madonna was critically praised for her acting skills, even though some critics compared the film to a long music video, which required no further acting skills of Madonna than what she had already exhibited in her own videos[citation needed]. Madonna had campaigned for the role for nearly ten years and in December 1994, she wrote a four page, handwritten letter to director Alan Parker explaining that she would be perfect to play the role. Parker agreed and to prepare for the film Madonna took voice lessons to extend her range and researched the life of her character.[18] In January 1997, she won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, but failed to receive a nomination at the Academy Awards, though the song "You Must Love Me" won the Oscar for Best Song. Both "You Must Love Me" and "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" were both singles.

Madonna's follow-up to Evita was yet another critically panned role as Abbie, a woman who decides to have a baby with her gay best friend, in the film The Next Best Thing (2000) directed by John Schlesinger. Some critics however were kinder: French magazine Telerama pointed out that the script was much too weak, and neither she or the other two male leads, Rupert Everett and Benjamin Bratt could save the film or a director who's been running out of inspiration for some time already.[citation needed] Swept Away followed in 2002, which was also critically panned. The film, a remake of an Italian film bearing the same name by Lina Wertmüller in 1975, was the first big screen collaboration between Madonna and her husband Guy Ritchie. The film was mercilessly dished by everyone (It received seven Razzie Award nominations, winning five including Worst Actress for Madonna).

In 2002, Madonna composed and performed the theme song to the James Bond film "Die Another Day". She also had a cameo appearance in the film, playing a fencing instructor.

In late 2004, she provided the voice of Princess Selenia in the animated film Arthur and the Invisibles, set for release in January 2007.[19]

In March 2006, Madonna stated in an interview that she had given up acting because she fears her acting reputation will condemn any film she is a part of.[20] She has also expressed her frustration with the process of filmmaking, with the comment "I've been unlucky with some of my films because it's difficult for me to be a brushstroke in someone else's painting." [21]

Documentaries

In 1991, Madonna released her first documentary Truth or Dare (In Bed With Madonna outside the U.S.). The film, directed by Alek Keshishian, followed Madonna on her Blond Ambition world tour in support of her successful 1989 album Like a Prayer. The film featured black and white backstage scenes and live performances filmed in color. Truth or Dare was released in theatres worldwide, and became a box office hit, grossing more than $15 million in the U.S. alone.[22]

Her second documentary, I'm Going To Tell You A Secret (2005), followed Madonna and her family on the Re-Invention World Tour in 2004. Directed by long-time collaborator Jonas Åkerlund, it premiered commercial free on MTV in the U.S. on October 21, 2005. Like her previous effort, the film includes behind the scenes footage as well as live performances, and was released on DVD June 20, 2006 with a bonus audio CD. She also made a mini documentry directed by her husband Guy Ritchie in November 2005 documenting the rehearsal process of one of her album promotion tours for "Confessions on a dance floor". It was not given a title and broadcast live on AOL before the actual concert was broadcast live around the world on AOL.

Short films

In 2001, Madonna starred in BMW's short film The Hire: Star from the series The Hire as part of a marketing campaign. The film, directed by husband Guy Ritchie, featured Madonna as an arrogant rock star. Madonna starred opposite Clive Owen, Michael Beattie, and Toru Tanaka Jr.

Influences

Italian heritage, family and Catholicism

Madonna's background as an Italian American Catholic has had great significance in her life and career. She has cited her parents and upbringing as the major influences in her life and career. Her mother's death profoundly affected her, and she later stated that had her mother lived she might not have felt such a strong need to prove herself. Madonna's father, Silvio Ciccone, more commonly referred to simply as "Tony", is a strict Italian Catholic who raised his family in an atmosphere of religious observance.

The name "Madonna" derives from the two Italian words "Ma" and "Donna", meaning "My Lady". In Italy there is a vulgar term "Madonna Mia!", which translates into "My Madonna," a rough equivalent to the English language curse of "My God!" While filming in Venice, Italy, Madonna commented on hearing this expression and being confused as to whether people were cursing or talking to her. Italian Americans are sometimes depicted as using the abbreviated version of "Madonn'"[23].

The name "Madonna" is very Catholic as it references The Virgin Mary, who in Italy and in the Roman Catholic Church is often referred to as "Madonna". Given Madonna's rebellion against Catholic-based ideals of womanhood, some have found it ironic that she shares the same name as the ultimate symbol of the Catholic ideal of womanhood. Early in her career, many assumed that "Madonna" was a stage name that the singer had chosen for shock value.

As a teenager, Madonna rebelled against what she considered an oppressive upbringing but later admitted that Catholicism had remained a central influence. She has said that her first "idols" were nuns, and that she found them "sexy" and wanted to be a nun because they were "really pure and serene". [24]

Madonna also credits her father with instilling in her a strong work ethic, which she attributes to his Italian background, his family's working class history in Naples, and his struggle to raise himself from poor origins. She has spoken admiringly of his efforts, noting that he is the only member of his family with a college education, and that his degree in engineering allowed him to move beyond the limitations of his upbringing. [25] Madonna has also said that since becoming a mother, she has gained greater understanding and respect for her father as a parent.

As a teenager, lacking in self-esteem and rebelling against her Italian and Catholic background, Madonna was told by her ballet teacher and mentor, Christopher Flynn, "You have an ancient looking face. A face like an ancient Roman statue."[26] Madonna has stated that Flynn was the first person to tell her she is beautiful, and his approval inspired her to consider her Italian heritage, and her face, as something of value.

In her music career, Madonna's Catholic background and relationship with her parents has been most strongly reflected in her Like a Prayer album. In "Like a Prayer," Madonna moved away from the dance pop of her previous albums and toward more personal and reflective lyrics, featured songs directly related to her parents and her Catholic upbringing. The video for the title track contained overt Catholic symbolism, such as the stigmata. "Promise To Try" told of her sadness at the faded memory of her mother and her struggle to recall her. "Oh, Father" told of a strict and distant father, who elicited fear in the singer as a child and defiance as she grew older. The video for Oh Father depicts Madonna in a confessional and her father kneeling and praying before a picture of his dead wife. The album ends with the track "Act of Contrition", which contains verses from the Catholic prayer of the same name.

Madonna has used the Catholic symbol of the crucifix throughout her career, as a fashion accessory in her early videos, in the church setting of her "Like a Prayer" video, and in the stage design of her "Confessions" tour. The rosary has also often been used in Madonna's career. In the early 1980s, she wore it around her neck as part of her performance costume. Later, in the music video for the song La Isla Bonita Madonna portrays a character who is praying the rosary.

Madonna's Italian heritage has occasionally been referenced in her work. The video to her first number one single, "Like a Virgin," was filmed in Venice, Italy, and features Madonna in iconic Venetian settings. The "Open Your Heart" video ends with Madonna dancing into the sunset with a young boy, while her elderly boss chases after her, yelling at her in Italian. In the "Papa Don't Preach" video, often described as partly autobiographical in content, her father is played by the Italian American actor, Danny Aiello, and Madonna wears a shirt with the slogan, "Italians Do It Better". [27] The video for her Who's That Girl? Tour, titled Ciao Italia: Madonna Live from Italy, was filmed mainly in Turin, Italy.[28] (In the Ciao Italia: Madonna Live from Italy video, Madonna performs the song Papa Don't Preach while a large portrait of the Pope appears on the screen behind her. Coincidentally, "Papa" is the Italian word for "Pope" [29].) In her 2005 documentary I'm Going To Tell You a Secret, she jokingly states that she has "big, fat, Italian thighs." In film, she achieved a rare good reviews for her portrayal of the Italian American character "Mae Mordabato" in A League of Their Own. [30]

Much of her career has been founded on a rebellion against the Roman Catholic Church. As a result, Madonna has often offended many Catholics, including the head of the Catholic Church himself. In 1990, when Madonna toured Italy with the Blond Ambition Tour concert tour, the Pope encouraged citizens not to attend the concert [31], and as a result, Madonna was forced to cancel two shows due to poor ticket sales. The Pope accused Madonna of blasphemy against the Catholic Church (a crime in Italy), and attempted to have Madonna banned from stepping foot on Italian soil. In response, in a 1990 press conference in Italy, Madonna declared, "I am Italian American and proud of it." In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Madonna said that the Pope's reaction hurt, "because I'm Italian, you know", but in another Rolling Stone interview the same year stated that she had ceased to practice Catholicism because the Church "completely frowns on sex... except for procreation". [32] In the summer of 2006, Madonna drew criticism from Vatican officials when she took her Confessions Tour to Rome. Vatican officials claimed that Madonna's performance while hanging off of a cross while wearing a crown of thorns was an open attack on Catholicism and should not be performed in the same city as the pope's residence. [33] In the documentary Italians in America - Our Contribution, author Gay Talese relates Madonna's rebellion against the Catholic Church to her Italian ancestry. Talese claims that Madonna is descended from a region of Southern Italy with a long tradition of rebellion against the Catholic Church [34].

In 1988, city officials in the town of Pacentro, Italy [35], planned to construct a 13-foot statue of Madonna in a bustier. The statue was intended to commemorate the fact that some of Madonna's ancestors had lived in Pacentro. The mayor of the city and the Pope intervened and prevented the project from coming to fruition, citing concerns that a statue of Madonna in their city would corrupt the morals of their youth.

Musical styles and singers

In 1985, Madonna commented that the first song to ever make a strong impression on her was "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'" by Nancy Sinatra and that it summed up her take-charge attitude. [36] As a young woman, she attempted to broaden her taste in literature, art and music and during this time became interested in classical music. She noted that her favorite style was baroque, and loved Chopin because she liked his "feminine quality". Her favorite vocalists were Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra and Sam Cooke, and she also expressed admiration for B.B. King, Chaka Khan and Aretha Franklin. For their ability as performers and for their style and impact, she cited Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders and Deborah Harry of Blondie as artists who strongly inspired her. [37]

Film stars

During her childhood, Madonna became fascinated by films and film stars, later saying, "I loved Carole Lombard and Judy Holliday and Marilyn Monroe. They were all incredibly funny...and I saw myself in them...my girlishness, my knowingness and my innocence". [38] Her "Material Girl" music video recreated Monroe's "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend" number from the film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and she later studied the screwball comedies of the 1930s, particularly those of Lombard, in preparation for the Who's That Girl? film. The video for "Express Yourself" placed a femme fatale character alongside an androgynous figure in male attire, which was compared to Marlene Dietrich. The video for "Vogue" recreated the style of Hollywood glamour photographers, in particular Horst P. Horst, and imitated the poses of Marlene Dietrich, Carole Lombard and Rita Hayworth, while the lyrics referenced many of the stars who had inspired her. [39] Among those mentioned was Bette Davis, described by Madonna in a Rolling Stone interview, as an idol, along with Louise Brooks and Dita Parlo. [40]

Personal life

Relationships and family

In late 1970's and early 1980's Madonna had relationship with Dan Gilroy who formed "Breakfast Club" with her. During the first half of the Eighties, Madonna also dated musician Stephen Bray, painter and graffiti artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, DJ and record producer Mark Kamins, Norris Burroughs (who appears in "Burning Up" video) and musician Jellybean Benitez.

While filming the music video for her single "Material Girl" in 1985, Madonna began dating Sean Penn, who was well known for his role in the popular film Fast Times at Ridgemont High. The two were married later that year on Madonna's twenty-seventh birthday; the marriage lasted less than four years, reportedly caused by Penn's aggressive behavior and Madonna's secret relationship with John F. Kennedy, Jr.. Of her marriage to Penn, Madonna told Tatler, "I was completely obsessed with my career and not ready to be generous in any shape or form."[41]

After the divorce from Penn was made official in 1989, Madonna began a relationship with Warren Beatty, whom she had met on the set of the film Dick Tracy. She dated Lenny Kravitz briefly in late 1990.[42] In 1990-1991 she dated Tony Ward, a young model and porn star, who had previously starred in her music video for "Cherish" (1989) and "Justify My Love" (1990). In 1991-1992, she had a relationship with Vanilla Ice for 8 months; who appeared later in her erotic book Sex.[43] In 1992-1993, she dated actor John Enos[44] and her bodyguard Jim Albright. She had relationship with Dennis Rodman for 4 months, in 1994.[45]

While walking in Central Park Madonna met Carlos Leon, who became her personal trainer and lover. On October 14, 1996 she gave birth to the couple's child, a daughter, Lourdes Maria (Lola) Ciccone Leon.[46] Madonna and Leon ended their relationship in 1997.

In late 1990's, she had relationship with English actor and filmmaker Andy Bird[47] and she briefly dated David Blaine.[48]

On December 22, 2000, Madonna married British director Guy Ritchie, whom she had met in 1999 through mutual friends Sting and his wife Trudie Styler. Madonna gave birth to a son, Rocco Ritchie, on August 11, 2000.[49] She currently resides in an English estate in Wiltshire, UK with Ritchie and her children. Madonna, who refers to herself simply as "Mrs. Ritchie" on her personal letterhead, has undergone a transformation from Material Girl to family woman, as she told '"Tatler": "I don't need to drive around in flashy cars and I don't need to show off. I'm perfectly happy to go for walks every day for a month at my house in the countryside. That doesn't mean I can't have expensive tastes, like nice sheets on my bed, or enjoy architecture and pictures. But I do know what makes a healthy balance in life...a good marriage is a contest of generosity...Everyone needs to be stopped in their tracks by parenthood and marriage, otherwise you are just selfish satellites spinning in space."

According to various sources Madonna also had affairs with men and women including Prince, Sandra Bernhard, Michael Jackson, Antonio Banderas, Jose Canseco, Big Daddy Kane, Mark Wahlberg,[50] Anthony Kiedis,[51] Charles Barkley,[52] Ingrid Casares, Henry Rollins, Esai Morales, Chris Paciello and Billy Zane prior to her marriage with Guy Ritchie.[53]

Gay community
Main article: Madonna and the gay community

Madonna has fans from all walks of life, and has long been a gay icon. Many of her performances have incorporated aspects of "gay culture," perhaps the most famous example being her hit song "Vogue." In the 1980s, a time before most celebrities felt comfortable lending their support to AIDS charities, Madonna was one of the first major artists to speak out about the need for money for AIDS research. In 2003 Madonna received much publicity for her onstage kiss with Spears and Aguilera at the MTV Video Music Awards.

Kabbalah Centre

Since the late-1990s, Madonna has become a devotee of the Kabbalah Centre and a disciple of its controversial head Rabbi Philip Berg and his wife Karen. Madonna and husband Guy Ritchie attend Kabbalah classes and have been reported to have adopted a number of aspects of the movement and associated with Judaism. The media has reported that Madonna has taken on the Biblical name of Esther, has donated millions of dollars to Kabbalah Centres in London, New York and Los Angeles; no longer performs on Friday nights because it's the time when the Jewish Sabbath begins; wears a red string; and has visited Israel with members of the Kabbalah Centre to celebrate some of the Jewish holidays. She also studies personally with her own private-tutor, Rabbi Eitan Yardeni, whose wife Sarah Yardeni runs Madonna's favorite charitable project, "Spirituality for Kids," a subsidiary of the Kabbalah Centre.[54] Madonna reportedly donated 21 million dollars towards a new Kabbalah school for children.[55]

Controversy erupted again well before the release of her most recent album Confessions on a Dance Floor. Many Israeli rabbis condemned Madonna and the forthcoming song "Isaac" (tenth on its track listing) because they believed the song to be a tribute to Rabbi Isaac Luria, also known as Yitzhak Luria (1534-1572), one of the greatest Kabbalists of all time, and claimed that Jewish law forbids using a holy rabbi's name for profit. (Whether Jewish law actually forbids this, or the rabbis were simply uncomfortable with Madonna's song, is disputed). In interviews, Madonna had called this song: "The Binding of Isaac" and rumors spread that it was based on the major episode in the life of the Hebrew patriarch Isaac. Despite continued accusations that the song is about Isaac Luria, Madonna has repeatedly denied such accusations, claiming she could not think of a title for the song and, therefore, named it after Yitzhak (Isaac) Sinwani. In the song, Madonna sings with Sinwani, an Israeli singer, who is chanting a Yemenite Jewish song. Said Madonna: "The album isn't even out, so how could Jewish scholars in Israel know what my song is about? I don't know enough about Isaac Luria to write a song, though I've learned a bit in my studies."[56]

Madonna has openly defended her Kabbalah studies by stating, for example:

I wouldn't say studying Kabbalah for eight years goes under the category or falls under the category of being a fad or a trend. Now there might be people who are interested in it because they think it's trendy, but I can assure you that studying Kabbalah is actually a very challenging thing to do. It requires a lot of work, a lot of reading, a lot of time, a lot of commitment and a lot of discipline.[57]

Furthermore, Madonna said in a BBC interview that she believes Christianity is intolerant of questioning, whereas Kabbalah is not.

Madonna is expected to release ner new album in october of 2006 and the first single of the album will be relelased in late September. The album title is "I am what i am".

Political views

Madonna openly opposes United States President George W. Bush, and she endorsed Wesley Clark's Democratic nomination for the 2004 United States presidential election in an impassioned letter to her fans, saying at the time that "the future I wish for my children is at risk."[58] She also urged fans to see Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11.[59]

Timothy Hutton
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Timothy Hutton (August 16, 1960) is an American actor.

The son of actor Jim Hutton, he was born in Malibu, California. He won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1980 for Ordinary People.

While never equaling that success as a mature actor, Hutton has had numerous popular roles in films such as Taps (1981), French Kiss (1995), The General's Daughter (1999), Sunshine State (2002), and Secret Window (2004) (also starring Johnny Depp).

Hutton played detective Archie Goodwin in the TV series Nero Wolfe (2001-2002), of which he was also executive producer, and has acted in TV miniseries such as WW3 (2001). He has also tried his hand at directing with the family film Digging To China (1998).

Hutton has married twice. His first marriage was to actress Debra Winger (1986-90), which produced a son, Noah. In 2000, he married his current wife, Aurore, who is the niece of former French president Valéry Giscard d'Estaing. They have a son, Milo.

Timothy Hutton
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Timothy Hutton (August 16, 1960) is an American actor.

The son of actor Jim Hutton, he was born in Malibu, California. He won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1980 for Ordinary People.

While never equaling that success as a mature actor, Hutton has had numerous popular roles in films such as Taps (1981), French Kiss (1995), The General's Daughter (1999), Sunshine State (2002), and Secret Window (2004) (also starring Johnny Depp).

Hutton played detective Archie Goodwin in the TV series Nero Wolfe (2001-2002), of which he was also executive producer, and has acted in TV miniseries such as WW3 (2001). He has also tried his hand at directing with the family film Digging To China (1998).

Hutton has married twice. His first marriage was to actress Debra Winger (1986-90), which produced a son, Noah. In 2000, he married his current wife, Aurore, who is the niece of former French president Valéry Giscard d'Estaing. They have a son, Milo.

Subject: LOVE


> >> What does Love mean?

> >> A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8
> >>year-olds, "What does love mean?"
> >>
> >> "When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint
> >>her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time,
> >>even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love."
> >> Rebecca- age 8
> >> _____
> >> "When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You
> >> just know that your name is safe in their mouth."
> >> Billy - age 4 (I love this one)
> >> _____
> >> "Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne
> >>and they go out and smell each other."
> >> Karl - age 5
> >> _____
> >> "Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French
> >>fries without making them give you any of theirs."
> >> Chrissy - age 6
> >> ___
> >> "Love is what makes you smile when you're tired."
> >> Terri - age 4
> >> _____
> >> "Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip
> >>before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK."
> >> Danny - age 7
> >> _____
> >> "Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of
> >>kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and
> >>Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss."
> >> Emily - age 8
> >> ____ _
> >> "Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening
> >>presents and listen."
> >> Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)
> >> _____
> >> "If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend
> >>who you hate,"
> >> Nikka - age 6 (we need a few million more Nikka's on this planet)
> >> _____
> >> "Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it
> >>everyday."
> >> Noelle - age 7
> >> _____
> >> "Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still
> >>friends even after they know each other so well."
> >> Tommy - age 6
> >> _____
> >> "Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken."
> >> Elaine-age 5
> >> _____
> >> "Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is
> >>handsomer than Robert Redford."
> >> Chris - age 7
> >> _____
> >> "Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone
> >>all day."
> >> Mary Ann - age 4
> >> _____
> >> "I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old
> >>clothes and has to go out and buy new ones."
> >> Lauren - age 4
> >> _____
> >> "When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little
> >>stars come out of you." (what an image)
> >> Karen - age 7
> >> _____
> >> "Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think
> >>it's gross."
> >> Mark - age 6
> >> _____
> >> "You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you
> >>mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget."
> >> Jessica - age 8
> >>
> >> _____
> >> And the final one -- Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked
> >>about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to
> >>find the most caring child.
> >> The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an
> >>elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man
> >>cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his
> >>lap, and just sat there. When his Mother asked what he had said to the
> >>neighbor, the little boy said,
> >> "Nothing, I just helped him cry"

Well, Bob of Boston, those definitions of loves are priceless, hawkman. I think you just gave us all a smile.

I like this one as well, because it has always been my basic philosophy:

When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You
just know that your name is safe in their mouth."
Billy - age 4 . What an insightful four year old.

The last one was so tender, listeners.

Thank you for all the bio's hawkman. Frankly, I never cared much for Madonna, but this song I really loved hearing her sing:


Artist: Madonna Lyrics
Song: Don't Cry For Me Argentina Lyrics

[Eva:]
It won't be easy, you'll think it strange
When I try to explain how I feel
That I still need your love after all that I've done

You won't believe me
All you will see is a girl you once knew
Although she's dressed up to the nines
At sixes and sevens with you

I had to let it happen, I had to change
Couldn't stay all my life down at heel
Looking out of the window, staying out of the sun

So I chose freedom
Running around, trying everything new
But nothing impressed me at all
I never expected it to

[Chorus:]

Don't cry for me Argentina
The truth is I never left you
All through my wild days
My mad existence
I kept my promise
Don't keep your distance

Boy it sure is hot today, because…

It Never Rains In Southern California
As recorded by Albert Hammond

Got on board a westbound seven-forty-seven
Didn't think before deciding what to do
All that talk of opportunities
TV breaks and movies, rang true
Sure rang true.

Seems it never rains in southern California
Seems I've often heard that kind of talk before
It never rains in California, but girl don't they warn ya
It pours, man it pours.

Out of work, I'm out of my head
Out of self-respect, I'm out of bread
I'm under loved, I'm underfed
I wanna go home
It never rains in California, but girl don't they warn ya
It pours, man it pours.

Will you tell the folks back home, I nearly made it
Had offers but don't know which one to take
Please don't tell 'em how you found me
Don't tell 'em how you found me
Give me a break, give me a break.

Seems it never rains in southern California
Seems I've often heard that kind of talk before
It never rains in California, but girl don't they warn ya
It pours, man it pours.

Hey, Try. Great song, buddy. I know what you mean by HOT, but wish I could tell you about rain. <smile>

Here is an answer, to Try's rain song from The Eagles:


Artist: Eagles Lyrics
Song: Hotel California Lyrics


On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair
Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air
Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim
I had to stop for the night
There she stood in the doorway;
I heard the mission bell
And I was thinking to myself,
'this could be heaven or this could be hell'
Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way
There were voices down the corridor,
I thought I heard them say...

Welcome to the hotel california
Such a lovely place
Such a lovely face
Plenty of room at the hotel california
Any time of year, you can find it here

Her mind is tiffany-twisted, she got the mercedes bends
She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys, that she calls friends
How they dance in the courtyard, sweet summer sweat.
Some dance to remember, some dance to forget

So I called up the captain,
'please bring me my wine'
He said, 'we haven't had that spirit here since nineteen sixty nine'
And still those voices are calling from far away,
Wake you up in the middle of the night
Just to hear them say...

Welcome to the hotel california
Such a lovely place
Such a lovely face
They livin' it up at the hotel california
What a nice surprise, bring your alibis

Mirrors on the ceiling,
The pink champagne on ice
And she said 'we are all just prisoners here, of our own device'
And in the master's chambers,
They gathered for the feast
The stab it with their steely knives,
But they just can't kill the beast

Last thing I remember, I was
Running for the door
I had to find the passage back
To the place I was before
'relax,' said the night man,
We are programmed to receive.
You can checkout any time you like,
But you can never leave!

some ambiguous lyrics from Led Zeppelin:

Spent my days with a woman unkind,
Smoked my stuff and drank all my wine.
Made up my mind to make a new start,
Going To California with an aching in my heart.
Someone told me there's a girl out there
with love in her eyes and flowers in her hair.

Took my chances on a big jet plane,
never let them tell you that they're all the same.
The sea was red and the sky was grey,
wondered how tomorrow could ever follow today.
The mountains and the canyons started to tremble and shake
as the children of the sun began to awake.

Seems that the wrath of the Gods
Got a punch on the nose and it started to flow;
I think I might be sinking.
Throw me a line if I reach it in time
I'll meet you up there where the path
Runs straight and high.

To find a queen without a king,
They say she plays guitar and cries and sings... la la la
Ride a white mare in the footsteps of dawn
Tryin' to find a woman who's never, never, never been born.
Standing on a hill in my mountain of dreams,
Telling myself it's not as hard, hard, hard as it seems.

Hey, Mr. Turtle. That is an odd song. Who knows what it means. It's rather like abstract art, right?

Same with "Take a Load off Fanny" and "Daniel" by Sir Elton.

Windmills of your mind is strange as well.

Often, folks, recording artists are like poets who say there simply is no message there, just the music and the lyrics

Well, since I love the melody to windmills;

Sting and the Police:

Round,
Like a circle in a spiral
Like a wheel within a wheel
Never ending or beginning
On an ever-spinning reel
Like a snowball down a mountain
Or a carnival balloon
Like a carousel that’s turning
Running rings around the moon
Like a clock whose hands are sweeping
Past the minutes on it’s face
And the world is like an apple
Whirling silently in space
Like the circles that you find
In the windmills of your mind

Like a tunnel that you follow
To a tunnel of its own
Down a hollow to a cavern
Where the sun has never shone
Like a door that keeps revolving
In a half-forgotten dream
Like the ripples from a pebble
Someone tosses in a stream
Like a clock whose hands are sweeping
Past the minutes on its face
And the world is like an apple
Whirling silently in space
Like the circles that you find
In the windmills of your mind

Keys that jingle in your pocket
Words that jangle in your head
Why did summer go so quickly?
Was it something that I said?
Lovers walk along a shore
And leave their footprints in the sand
Was the sound of distant drumming
Just the fingers of your hand?
Pictures hanging in a hallway
Or the fragment of a song
Half-remembered names and faces
But to whom do they belong?
When you knew that it was over
Were you suddenly aware
That the autumn leaves were turning
To the colour of her hair?

Like a circle in a spiral
Like a wheel within a wheel
Never ending or beginning
On an ever-spinning reel
As the images unwind
Like the circles that you find
In the windmills of your mind

The answer is not black and white, it's…

Kodachrome
Paul Simon Lyrics

When I think back on all the stuff I learned in high school
It's a wonder I can think at all
And though my lack of education hasn't hurt me none
I can read the writing on the wall.

Kodachrome, they give us those nice bright colors
Give us the green of summers
Makes you think all the world's a sunny day, oh yeah
I got a Nikon camera, I love to take photographs
So mama don't take my Kodachrome away.

If you took all the girls I knew when I was single
And brought 'em all together for one night
I know they'd never match my sweet imagination
Everything looks worse in black and white.

Kodachrome, they give us those nice bright colors
They give us the greens of summers
Makes you think all the world's a sunny day, oh yeah
I got a Nikon camera, I love to take photographs
So mama don't take my Kodachrome away.

Mama don't take my Kodachrome away
Mama don't take my Kodachrome away
Mama don't take my Kodachrome away.

Mama don't take my Kodachrome, mama don't take my Kodachrome
Mama don't take my Kodachrome away
Mama don't take my Kodachrome, don't leave your boy so far from home
Mama don't take my Kodachrome away.

Mama don't take my Kodachrome, hmmm
Mama don't take my Kodachrome away
Okay.

Love it, Try. I declare, folks. We do learn stuff here on our little radio.

This song is dedicated to our colorbook who has left our forum:

For those who fancy coloring book
As certain people do
Here's a new one for you
A most unusual coloring book
The kind you never see
Crayons ready, very well
Begin to color me
These are the eyes that watched him
As he walked away
Color them gray
This is the heart that thought
He would always be true
Color it blue
These are the arms that held him
And touched him then lost him somehow
Color them empty now
These are the beads I wore
Until she came between
Color them green
This is the room I sleep in
Walk in and weep in
Hiding that nobody sees
Color it lonely, please
This is the man
The one I depended upon
Color him gone...

Jean, Jean, roses are red
All the leaves have gone green
And the clouds are so low
You can touch them and so
Come out to the meadow, Jean

Jean, Jean, you're young and alive
Come out of your half-dreamed dream
And run, if you will
To the top of the hill
Open your arms, bonnie Jean

Till the sheep in the valley
Come home my way
Till the stars
Fall around me and find me alone
When the sun comes a-singin'
I'll still be waitin'

For Jean, Jean, roses are red
And all of the leaves have gone green
While the hills are ablaze
With the moon's yellow haze
Come into my arms, bonnie Jean

(Jean, Jean)
Jean, you're young and alive
Come out of your half-dreamed dream
And run, if you will
To the top of the hill
Come into my arms, bonnie Jean

Jean

La-la-la-la, etc


Oliver

Breaking news:

Man arrested in death of JonBenet Ramsey By CATHERINE TSAI, Associated Press Writer
14 minutes ago



BOULDER, Colo. - A man suspected in the slaying of 6-year-old beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey nearly a decade ago was arrested Wednesday in Thailand, the district attorney said in the long-awaited breakthrough in one of the nation's most lurid unsolved murder cases.


District Attorney Mary Lacey said the arrest followed several months of work. She disclosed no details about the suspect before a news conference scheduled for Thursday.

CBS reported that he is a 41-year-old second-grade teacher and will be brought back to the United States this weekend. Federal officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the man was already being held in Bangkok on unrelated sex charges.

Ramsey family attorney Lin Wood said in Atlanta that the arrest was vindication for JonBenet's parents, John and Patsy Ramsey, who came under suspicion in the slaying.

Wood said the Ramseys learned about the suspect a least a month before Patsy Ramsey's death June 24 after a long battle with ovarian cancer.

"It's been a very long 10 years, and I'm just sorry Patsy isn't here for me to hug her neck,"

WOW!

Telephone Road Lyrics
Steve Earle


My brother Jimmy, my other brother Jack
Went off down to Houston and they never come back
Mama wasn't gonna let her baby go yet
But there ain't nobody hirin' back in Lafayette

I'm workin' all week for the Texaco check
Sun beatin' down on the back of my neck
Tried to save my money but Jimmy says no
Says he's got a little honey on Telephone Road

Chorus:
Come on come on come on let's go
This ain't Louisianna
Your Mama won't know
Come on come on come on let's go
Everybody's rockin' out on Telephone Road

Telephone Road is ten miles long
Fifty car lots and a hundred honky-tonks
Jukebox blastin' and the beer bottles ring
Jimmy banging on a pinball machine

Chorus

Mama never told me about nothin' like this
I guess Houston's 'bout a big as a city can get
Sometimes I get lonesome for Lafayette
Someday I'm goin' home but I ain't ready yet

Chorus

edgar, missed your Jean. Love that song, Texas. Rod McKuen, right?

I just know, listeners, that somewhere out there his poem, "Listen to the Warm", is waiting for me to find. <smile>

some words of caution from Jimmie Witherspoon:

I have had my fun, if I don't get well no more
I have had my fun, if I don't get well no more
My health is failing me and I'm going down slow

If you see my mother, tell her the shape I'm in
If you see my mother, tell her the shape I'm in
Tell her to pray for me, forgive me all my sins

Tell her don't send no doctor, doctor can't do no good
Tell her don't send no doctor, doctor can't do no good
Cause i played so hard and I'd do the same thing again if i could