This material girl has been in the spotlight for more than 15 years now, and she shows no signs of fading away just yet. Media-savvier than most, she has managed to keep both her music and her image under her control, an achievement in itself.

Madonna was born Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone on August 16 1958. She studied dance in high school, and left her home state of Michigan for New York in 1978. She has had to struggle long and hard on her winding journey to stardom.
Apart from a little modelling, she studied with choreographer Alvin Ailey before joining up with the Patrick Hernandez Revue, a disco group. That did not take her anywhere, and Madonna soon shifted focus. She started playing the drums(!) for a group called The Breakfast Club, formed with boyfriend Dan Gilroy. Her vocal abilities soon made it clear that she ought to be the singer. Looking for greener pastures, she began working with another ex-boyfriend, Stephen Bray. A demo of their work found its way to New York DJ/producer Mark Kamins. He apparently liked what he heard, for Madonna was soon signed on by Sire Records.

Kamins also produced her first club hit Everybody, and Madonna soon began to work with hotshot DJ Jellybean Benitez, with whom she had her third hit Holiday. A series of top ten hits followed, but Madonna obviously wanted more.