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Madonna Louise Ciccone Ritchie
(born August 16, 1958), best known by her stage name Madonna, is
an American musician and entertainer. Raised in Detroit,
Michigan, Madonna moved to New York City to pursue a career in
ballet. After performing as a member of the pop musical groups
Breakfast Club and Emmy, she began a career as a solo recording
artist with the release of her self-titled debut album in 1983.
Madonna has sense been regarded as "one of the greatest pop acts
of all time", dubbed the "Queen of Pop" by the media.[1][2][3]
Madonna rose to stardom, producing three consecutive number one
studio albums on the Billboard 200: Like a Virgin (1984), True
Blue (1986), and Like a Prayer (1989). Though the entertainer
faced negative critical publicity and modest sales on subsequent
albums Erotica (1992) and Bedtime Stories (1994), she garnered
critical acclaim with the release of her seventh studio album
Ray of Light (1998), which opened at number two. Madonna
continued to remain in the forefront of pop music with four more
consecutive number one studio albums; Music (2000) American Life
(2003) Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005) and Hard Candy
(2008).
Madonna is ranked by the Recording Industry Association of
America as the "Best Selling Female Rock Artist of the Twentieth
Century" and the second top-selling female artist in the United
States with 63 million certified albums.[4][5] Guinness World
Records lists her as the "World’s most successful female
recording artist of all time" and the top earning female singer
in the world with an estimated net worth of over $400 million,
having sold over 200 million albums worldwide.[6][7][8] On March
10, 2008, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame.[9]
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