Birthday quote 16th August

Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. A leading presence during the emergence of MTV in the 1980's, Madonna is known for pushing the boundaries of lyrical content in mainstream popular music, as well as visual imagery in music videos and live performances. Her diverse musical productions have been acclaimed by music critics and often generated controversy in media and public. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", Madonna is widely cited as an influence by other artists.

Born and raised in Michigan, Madonna moved to New York City in 1977, to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing as a drummer, guitarist and vocalist in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, Madonna signed with Sire Records in 1982 and released her eponymous debut album the next year. She followed it with a series of successful albums, including the global bestsellers, Like a Virgin (1984) and True Blue (1986), as well as the Grammy Award winners, Ray of Light (1998) and Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005). Throughout her career, Madonna has written and produced most of her songs, with many of them reaching number one on the record charts, including "Like a Virgin", "Papa Don't Preach", "Like a Prayer", "Vogue", "Take a Bow", "Frozen", "Music", "Hung Up", and "4 Minutes".

Madonna's popularity was further enhanced by her roles in films such as Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), Dick Tracy (1990), A League of Their Own (1992), and Evita (1996). While the latter earned her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress, many of her other films received poor reviews. An acclaimed businesswoman, Madonna is the wealthiest woman in the music business according to Forbes. In 1992, she founded her own entertainment company Maverick, including the label Maverick Records. Her other ventures include fashion design, writing children's books, health clubs, and filmmaking.

Having sold more than 300 million records worldwide, Madonna is recognised as the best-selling female recording artist of all time by Guinness World Records. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) listed her as the second highest-certified female artist in the United States, with 64.5 million album units. According to Billboard, Madonna is the most successful solo act on the Hot 100 singles chart, overall second only to the Beatles. She is also the highest-grossing solo touring artist of all time, earning U.S. $1.31 billion from her concert tickets since 1990. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in her first year of eligibility, Madonna topped VH1's countdown of 100 Greatest Women in Music. Additionally, Rolling Stone listed her among the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time and the 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time.

She has been married and divorced twice, and has six children, four of whom are adopted from Malawi.

Born 16th August, 1958 in Bay City, Michigan, U.S.

I hope that I inspire women to believe in themselves, no matter where they come from; no matter what education they have; what particular background they originate from.

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