» Frequently Asked Questions

Where and when was Madonna born? Madonna was born at 7:05 AM at Bay City Mercy Hospital in Bay City, Michigan on August 16, 1958. Her family lived in Pontiac, Michigan at the time but were visiting with Madonna's grandmother in Bay City when she decided to appear in the world. What is Madonna's Zodiac sign? Sun in Leo, Moon in Virgo. Is Madonna really her true name? Yes, Madonna was named after her mother - Madonna Fortin. Her full birth name is 'Madonna Louise Ciccone'. How is Ciccone pronounced? CHEE-KOH-NEH Isn't Veronica part of her name? I've notice she puts the initials ML(V)C on some things. Not technically. Madonna was raised Catholic and picked Veronica as her confirmation name. What about Esther? Madonna has chosen Esther as her kabbalistic/hebrew name, after the prominent heroine in the Hebrew scriptures. Should you call her Esther? No! She doesn't want you to call her Esther. Does Madonna have any nicknames? Nonnie, Maddy, Mo, Boy Toy, Mads, Madge, Material Girl, Veronica Electronica, Varla, Dita, creamy-smooth-pop-icon-goddess, Queen Of Pop, Esther. Where did Madonna grow up as a teen? Madonna grew up in Pontiac, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. When the house got too small for the growing Ciccone family they moved to Rochester Hills, Michigan. What happened to Madonna's birth mother? Madonna's birth mother died of cancer at age 30 in 1963. Madonna was five. Her father, Sylvio (Tony), employed a housekeeper named Joan Gustafson and eventually married her. They are still married. How many brothers and sisters does Madonna have? Madonna has 3 sisters - Melanie, Paula and Jennifer (half sister) and 4 brothers - Martin, Mario (half brother), Christopher and Anthony. Is Madonna's mole real? Yes, she does have a mole under her right nostril. It looks reversed in some pictures, but that is just a result of reversing the negative during developing. Sometimes it is covered with makeup. What are Madonna's stats? Height: 5'4" Weight: 110 (while on tour) - 120 lbs Measurements: 36(c)-24-34 Eye Color: Blue/Green Natural Hair Color: Dark Brown Has Madonna had any plastic surgery? In 1990 Madonna had a collagen injection to her lips to give them a fuller look for her "Justify My Love" video. Since collagen is a natural substance the effect is only temporary and her bee-stung lips returned to normal after 3-4 months. What nationality is Madonna? Madonna is American, her father's family immigrated from Italy and her mother is French Canadian. What is Madonna's religion? She was raised Catholic. Madonna also studies the Kabbalah (which is a spiritual practice, not a religion). Why does Madonna wear a red string on her wrist? According to Kabbalah teachings, the red string protects her from the negative influences of the "Evil Eye." The red string is kryptonite to "the unfriendly stare and unkind glances we sometimes get from people around us. Envious eyes and looks of ill will affect us, stopping us from realizing our full potential in every area of our life." What is Madonna's level of education? Madonna attended Rochester Highschool and then went to The University Of Michigan to study dance. Is Madonna married? Madonna is married to British film director Guy Ritchie. They wed on Friday, December 22, 2000, at Skibo Castle in Dornoch, Scotland. Guy is the father of their son Rocco. Madonna's first marriage was to actor Sean Penn. They wed on her 27th birthday, August 16, 1985. Their marriage ended on January 10, 1989 when Madonna (for the second time) filed for divorce (on Jan. 5th) on the grounds of irreconcilable differences. Does Madonna have any children? Madonna has two children. Her daughter, Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon, was born October 14, 1996. The father is Carlos Leon, who is a personal trainer/actor ("Nash Bridges"). Madonna's son, Rocco Ritchie, was born August 11, 2000. Rocco's father is British director Guy Ritchie ("Snatch"). Where does Madonna live? Madonna has homes in New York (an apartment in Manhattan), Los Angeles, and London. She lives between them depending on where she is working at the time. What is Madonna's lucky number? Her lucky number is 13. What is Madonna's IQ? Madonna's IQ is 140. What are Madonna's favorites? Food: Popcorn, caviar, Rice Krispies, salad and all kinds of sweets Drink: Cosmopolitan Hobbies: Yoga, reading, writing and spending time with her family Painter: Frida Kahlo , Tamara de Lempicka Painting: "My Birth" by Frida Kahlo Movies: "A Place In The Sun", "The English Patient", and "To Kill A Mockingbird" Sports: Boxing, basketball Idols: Greta Garbo, Bette Davis, Marilyn Monroe, Grace Kelly, Marlene Dietrich, Martha Graham Achievement: Motherhood Song Of Her Own: "Live To Tell" Books: The Passion, The Alchemist, Corelli's Mandolin, The Little Prince, Little Women, Memoirs Of A Giesha Poets: Pablo Neruda, Rumi Writers: Alice Walker, Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Fancoise Sagen, Jack Kerouac, James Joyce, Charles Bukowski, Honore de Balzac, V.S. Naipaul, Henry James, Louise Edrich, Guy de Maupassant, Noel Coward, Arthur Golden What groups does Madonna support? AIDS, world hunger, depletion of rain forests, voting, individual rights and choice, equality of gays and women, and self-expression. Has Madonna had an abortion? Madonna has discussed her abortions with a great deal of honesty and depth in a 1995 Spin interview. How does Madonna perceive herself? "I'm a normal height. I have a normal figure. I don't sing any better than other people. In fact, there isn't anything on the outside of me that is in any way abnormal. I think it's what's underneath, on the inside that's not normal" - Madonna 1985 How would you describe Madonna? If I had to describe Madonna I'd probably quote Sting: "She's outrageous, she's provocative, she's inscrutable. And over the years, we've all been witnessed to her evolution, from street smart kid sister to virgin bride, from sex goddess to a yogi. Her mind is as celebrated as her body, she's as feared as she's desired, she leads while other's follow...a woman who is all woman, and all women." How does Madonna want to be remembered? Not as an Icon, or a trend-setter, Madonna only wants to be remembered as being a good mother. Does Madonna have a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame? Nope. Madonna can have a star whenever she wants it. She meets all the criteria, but she's not interested in getting her star yet. What movies has Madonna been in? A Certain Sacrifice (1979) Vision Quest (cameo appearance) (1985) Desperately Seeking Susan (1985) Shanghai Surprise (1986) Who's That Girl (1987) Bloodhounds Of Broadway (1989) Dick Tracy (1990) Truth or Dare (aka In Bed With Madonna) (1991) Shadows & Fog (cameo appearance) (1992) A League Of Their Own (1992) Body Of Evidence (1993) Dangerous Games (aka Snake Eyes) (1993) Four Rooms (1995) Blue in the Face (cameo) (1995) Girl 6 (1996) Evita (1996) The Next Best Thing (2000) Swept Away (2002) Die Another Day (2002) I'm Going To Tell You A Secret (2005) Arthur and the Minimoys (voice) (2006) What albums has Madonna released? Madonna (aka The First Album) (1983) Like A Virgin (1984) Vision Quest (Soundtrack-contributed 2 songs) (1985) True Blue (1986) You Can Dance (compilation + 1 new track) (1987) Who's That Girl (Soundtrack-contributed 4 Songs) (1987) A Very Special Christmas (contributed 1 track) (1988) Like A Prayer (1989) I'm Breathless (1990) Immaculate Collection (compilation + 2 new tracks) (1990) Red, Hot, and Dance (contributed 1 track) (1992) Barcelona Gold (contributed 1 track) (1992) Erotica (1992) Just Say Roe (contributed 1 track) (1993) With Honors (Soundtrack-contributed 1 track) (1994) Bedtime Stories (1994) Inner City Blues: The Music of Marvin Gaye (contributed 1 track) (1995) Something to Remember (compilation + 3 new tracks) (1995) Evita-Complete Motion Picture Soundtrack (1996 US; 1997 abroad) Carnival! (contributed 1 track) (1997) Music from the Motion Picture Evita (1997 US; 1996 abroad) Ray Of Light (1998) Ricky Martin (duet) (1999) Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (contributed 1 track) (1999) The Next Best Thing Soundtrack (contributed 2 tracks) (2000) Production (Mirwais' album, contributed 1 track) (2000) Music (2000) GHV2: Greatest Hits Volume 2 (2001) American Life (2003) Remixed & Revisited EP (2003) Confessions On A Dance Floor (2005) I'm Going To Tell You A Secret (CD+DVD) (2006) The Confessions Tour Live (CD+DVD) (2007) Hard Candy (2008) What long-form videos has Madonna released in North America? Madonna (1985) Madonna Live: The Virgin Tour (1986) Ciao Italia (1988) Madonna-Live Blond Ambition (Laser Disc only) (1990) Immaculate Collection (1990) Justify My Love (video single) (1990) The Girlie Show: Live Down Under (1994) Ray Of Light (video single) (1998) Madonna: 93:99 - The Video Collection (1999) Music (DVD video single) (2000) What It Feels Like For A Girl (DVD video single) (2001) The Drowned World Tour (2001) I'm Going To Tell You A Secret (CD+DVD) (2006) The Confessions Tour Live (CD+DVD) (2007) How many times has Madonna been on tour? The Virgin Tour (1985) The Who's That Girl Tour (1987) The Blond Ambition Tour (1990) The Girlie Show (1993) The Drowned World Tour (2001) The Re-Invention Tour (2004) The Confessions Tour (2006) What singles has Madonna released? Which hit #1? 1982 Everybody Burning Up 1983 Holiday Borderline Lucky Star 1984 Like A Virgin #1 1985 Material Girl Angel/Into The Groove (ITG was the B side and hence did not chart) Gambler (released abroad) Crazy For You #1 Dress You Up 1986 Live To Tell #1 Papa Don't Preach #1 True Blue Open Your Heart #1 1987 La Isla Bonita Who's That Girl #1 Causing A Commotion The Look of Love (released abroad) 1989 Like A Prayer #1 Express Yourself Cherish 1990 Oh Father (US only) Dear Jessie (released abroad) Keep It Together Vogue #1 Hanky Panky Justify My Love #1 1991 Rescue Me 1992 This Used To Be My Playground #1 Erotica Deeper and Deeper 1993 Bad Girl Fever (B-side to Bad Girl in U.S./released abroad) Rain Bye Bye Baby (released abroad) 1994 I'll Remember Secret Take a Bow #1 1995 Bedtime Story Human Nature You'll See Oh Father (released abroad) 1996 One More Chance (released abroad) Love Don't Live Here Anymore You Must Love Me Don't Cry For Me Argentina 1997 Another Suitcase in Another Hall (released abroad) Buenos Aires (radio only) 1998 Frozen Ray Of Light Drowned World (released abroad) The Power Of Good-Bye 1999 Nothing Really Matters Beautiful Stranger 2000 American Pie Music #1 Don't Tell Me 2001 What It Feels Like For A Girl Impressive Instant (club promo-only) GHV2 Megamix (promo-only) 2002 Die Another Day 2003 American Life Hollywood Me Against The Music (Britney Spears featuring Madonna) Nothing Fails Nobody Knows Me (club promo-only) 2004 Love Profusion Mother & Father (club promo-only) 2005 Hung Up 2006 Get Together Jump 2007 Hey You (not promoted or commercially released) 2008 4 Minutes Give It 2 Me What non-Madonna album tracks are there? Gambler appears on the Vision Quest soundtrack. Santa Baby a cover song appearing on A Very Special Christmas. Ain't No Big Deal A B-side to "Papa Don't Preach" (outside of US) and "True Blue" (US) Sidewalk Tawk Produced by Jellybean Benitez with lead vocals by Catherine Buchanan. Madonna provides backing vocals. Supernatural Like a Prayer leftover, first appeared as a B-side to "Cherish"; later a remix appeared on the album Red, Hot and Dance. The Beast Within A haunting version of "Justify My Love" which appears on the JML maxi-single. Spoken word; Madonna is reading excerpts from the Book of Revelation. Erotic the first version of the song which became "Erotica." Different lyrics and sound, released with the book "Sex." A remix appears on the "Erotica" maxi-single. Up Down Suite A B-side to "Rain." Includes a sample of "Goodbye to Innocence." Goodbye to Innocence Appears on "Just Say Roe." Originally supposed to appear on Erotica, it was nixed in favor of "Fever." Let Down Your Guard A B-side to the UK release of "Secret." Freedom Cut from "Bedtime Stories" this appears on the rainforest benefit album "Carnival!" Madonna reads a poem on the soundtrack of 'Il Postino' Guilty By Association A duet with brother-in-law Joe Henry. Has To Be Is included on the Japanese version of 'Ray Of Light'. Be Careful (Cuidado Con Mi Corazon) Duet with Ricky Martin, on his eponymous album. Beautiful Stranger From the Austin Power's sequel, 'The Spy Who Shagged Me'. American Pie, and Time Stood Still, from the Next Best Thing soundtrack. Paradise (not for me), on Mirwais' album Production. Cyberraga, a bonus on the Japanese "Music" album, and also the b-side to the single "Music". Die Another Day was first released on the 'Die Another Day' soundtrack but was later tacked onto the 'American Life' album. Me Against The Music featuring Madonna is on Britney Spear's album 'The Zone'. Fighting Spirit, an unreleased track from the Confessions session was included on the Limited Edition Confessions On A Dance Floor CD. Super Pop, an unreleased track from the Confessions session was given to fans as a download from the Official Madonna Fan Club website. History, an unreleased track from the Confessions session was the b-side to Jump. Hey You, written as a 'Live Earth' charity song, co-produced by Pharrell Williams. The song was available as a free download on MSN.com, with Madonna donating a quarter for each free download. The song is now available for purchase on iTunes. Ring My Bell, a bonus track for the Japanese release of Hard Candy. Also a bonus track for fans that participated in the pre-sale for the Hard Candy album. Once the album became commercially available the bonus 'Ring My Bell' was no longer made available. What unreleased tracks are there? Love For Tender Bells Ringing No Time Drowning Society's Boy I Want You (not the Marvin Gaye cover) Love On The Run Get Up These Boots (were made for walking) Madonna Sessions: Ain't No Big Deal Vision Quest Sessions: Lies In Your Eyes Warning Signs True Blue Sessions: Pipeline Working My Fingers To The Bone Fantasy Like A Prayer Sessions: First Is A Kiss Supernatural Love Attack Just A Dream I'm Breathless Sessions: Dog House Time After Time Erotica Sessions: Throb Goodbye To Innocence By Alien Means Freak No Entry Love Won't Wait Bedtime Stories Sessions: Freedom Come Inside (Let Down Your Guard) Your Honesty Something To Remember Sessions: Broken Ray Of Light Sessions: Storm Has to be Music Sessions: Whisper Softly Mechanical Just another Cyberraga Sasha Sessions: Relief on Demand Heart Beat Take Away All the Way Down Painted picture These are tracks that can be found on early demos, in bootleg format, as b-sides and some have never been released at all. Who is Otto Von Wernherr? In 1981, when Madonna was hard-up for money she took a job singing back-up for avant garde German artist Otto Von Wernherr. She lent her vocals to three of his songs, "Wild Dancing", "Cosmic Climb", and "We Are The Gods". Her actual participation on the tracks was minimal consisting of repetitive chorus lines behind Otto's monotone, spoken, flat and German accented vocals. When Madonna hit the big time, he remixed the songs to bring Madonna's voice out to the front of the mixes and released them on the UK label, Receiver Records which is now marketed as the package "Madonna (& Otto Von Wernherr) In The Beginning" and features extended dance mixes of the songs. The tracks and Madonna's voice are all horrific and his countless re-releases and picture discs are a rip-off. If you're a completist collector, you'll probably want to have at least one version of it. Other early Madonna demos exist that are of better quality including the Emmy Demos which feature her with the band of that name, her solo demos for Gotham Management and three punk tracks known as the Giorlando Demos released on Receiver Records such as Shine A Light. There is also an album out called 'PreMadonna' which is produced by Madonna's long time collaborator Stephen Bray. It is of higher quality than the Otto crap and is comprised of early demos of some of her later hits. Has Madonna ever appeared on Broadway? Yes, Madonna's first attempt at stage acting (1986) came in a little known experimental theatre piece entitled "Goose & Tom Tom" which played for a short run in New York City. It cast Madonna and Sean Penn and like their film collaboration was also a complete disaster. She acted alongside Joe Mantegna and Ron Silver in a more recent David Mamet play, "Speed The Plow" (1988). And of course, she starred in the screen version of 'Evita'. Who is Madonna's personal manager? Madonna's manager is Guy Oseary. Freddy DeMann was Madonna's manager from 1983 - 1997. Caresse Henry Norman was Madonna's manager from 1997 - 2005. Who is Madonna's publicist? Madonna's long time publicist and friend is Liz Rosenberg. Madonna's fans know Liz as The Validator (ICON) and you can contact her at this number: (212) 275-4616, or via e-mail: Liz.Rosenberg@wbr.com Madonna's UK publicist is Barbara Charone. Are there any Madonna Fanzines or Fan Clubs which I can subscribe to or become a member of? ICON is the official Madonna Fanzine. Icon has merged with Madonna.com ICON The Official Madonna Fan Club 8491 Sunset Boulevard Suite 485 Hollywood, CA 90069 USA In addition, there are several internet resources for Madonna discussion: AbsMad Tawk Forum Who's clothes (designs) does Madonna like to wear? Dolce & Gabbana, Jean Paul Gaultier, Betsy Johnson, and Gianni Versace, Stella McCartney, and let's not forget Maripol! What musicians/singers influenced Madonna? In Madonna's own words, "a lot of Motown...like Diana Ross and Stevie Wonder". Her three favorite records-which she owned as 45 RPM singles-were Strawberry Alarm Clock's "Incense & Peppermint", Gary Puckett's "Young Girl" and The Box Tops "The Letter". Later, when she started playing in bands she was said to have been influence heavily by The Pretenders and The Police. What bands was Madonna in prior to going solo? Some names of bands Madonna was in were: The Millionaires, Emanon, Modern Dance, The Breakfast Club, Emmy, and also auditioned to be backup singer for disco singer, Patrick Hernandez who was best know for his single, "Born To Be Alive". How can I get a copy of Madonna's book, "Sex"? The book is now out of print and stores have completely sold out since 1992. You might find a seller on eBay. Warner canceled plans for a paperback version in 1993. What's with 'In The Closet'? Who is the 'Mystery Girl'? Madonna and Michael Jackson had considered doing a duet together. However, Madonna wasn't too keen on the path Michael was taking such a provocative title ('In The Closet') and abandoned the project. The vocals on the album version (on Michael Jackson's 'Dangerous') are by Princess Stephanie of Monaco. The video version features Naomi Campbell's vocals. Was "I Want You" released as a single? I Want You was released on very limited promotional cassette only release in the late summer of 1995. The song was scheduled to be both the lead single from Inner City Blues, the Marvin Gaye tribute album, and from Madonna's Something To Remember, but was scratched due to label conflicts and Madonna's new recording, You'll See. Remixes of I Want You by Junior Vasquez do exist, but were never officially commissioned or released. I Want You was never promoted to radio. How many albums has Madonna sold worldwide? Madonna has sold close to 200 million albums worldwide. For more details visit the Charts area in AbsoluteMadonna. FAQ History: September 26 1997 - present, Jason Engel October 7, 1995 - September 1997, Joe Barco Febrary 12 1994 - October 1995, Peter Weinzettl