lautnerfied Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 Known for her ever-changing, chameleon-like persona, Madonna is as much a brand as an individual. A media–savvy trendsetter, Madonna’s uncanny business sense is matched only by her talent. A veritable force of nature, Madonna’s ability to control her image, career and destiny was honed from an early age. A Little Girl Grows Up Too Fast The third child to Michigan residents and Italian immigrants Madonna and Tony Ciccone, Madonna Louise Ciccone was nicknamed Nonni to differentiate her from her young mother. When Madonna was 6 years old, her mother lost a battle with breast cancer, leaving the young girl confused and bereft of a maternal figure. Despite her early heartbreak, Madonna excelled in school, getting good marks and gravitating towards dance studies in high school. Madonna’s dance talent was undeniable, and she was awarded a dance scholarship to study at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance. She did not graduate, instead choosing to come to New York and study with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. An Unkind Welcome to City Life Life in New York was difficult. She began waitressing at Dunkin’ Donuts, but she was unable to pay the bills. Already quite at ease with her physical self, Madonna opted to earn rent money by posing for art students in the nude. She lived in ramshackle and dangerous apartments and was raped on a rooftop by two men at knifepoint She was also held-up at gun point and was the victim of several apartment robberies. All of this understandably left her shell shocked. However, she was undeterred from her professional goals. Turning Hardship Into Triumph Madonna took up the drums and started to sing pop music in the band Breakfast Club. During that time, Madonna also made the rounds as a backup singer and dancer in the New York club and then-thriving disco scene. Eventually, Madonna started to craft her own lyrics, writing songs in partnership with an old college flame. Mark Kamins, a popular DJ, was spinning at New York’s trendy Danceteria club and played her tapes for the crowd, who went wild. Kamins then brought Madonna to the attention of record producer and founder of Sire Records, Seymour Stein, who helped jump start Madonna’s wild ride to stardom. Kamins would produce her first hit, the dance anthem, “Everybody.” Controlling Her Destiny Madonna continued to record hits and was working on her first album, “Madonna,” for Warner Brothers, when she expressed discontent with the production techniques used on multiple tracks. She turned to then romantic partner, John “Jellybean” Benitez, for guidance, and ultimately worked with him on remixing a number of songs and recording her first global monster hit, “Holiday.” She continued to ruffle feathers, feed the industry machine and carve out hit after hit with songs like “Material Girl” and “Like a Virgin.” A Style Is Born Film roles followed, but it was her upstaging of star Rosanna Arquette in the sleeper film “Desperately Seeking Susan” that brought the full thrust of Madonna’s ability to rule a room, and create trends, to the forefront. “Desperately Seeking Susan” showcased a tantalizing combination of Madonna’s iconic fashion sense and New York City’s coolest, downtown neighborhoods. The combination proved irresistible. Sweet, young teeny boppers competed with their mothers to out-Madonna Madonna’s look, making fingerless lace gloves and crucifixes the go-to accessories of the era. Cementing An Ever-Changing Persona Madonna’s music and fashion style continued to morph over the next decade, following nothing other than her own uncanny ability to discern the next big thing and be the first one to create it. Unafraid of controversy, Madonna recorded and released the “Like a Prayer” video, which was condemned by the Vatican for its use of stigmata and sexual content, costing her a contract with Pepsi. Undeterred, Madonna’s music broadened its range, vacillating between spunky pop ballads and dark, edgy sexual melodies. Her Who’s That Girl Tour was all but banned by the Pope in Italy, who urged the faithful to stay away. Madonna’s personal life was also ever changing. A screen collaboration and early marriage to actor Sean Penn delighted fans, but dissolved after four years. A later marriage to director Guy Ritchie, following the birth of their son, Rocco, lasted longer but also dissolved, after eight years. After many years of controversy as a performer, her motherly side shone through and Madonna made headlines for a new reason, with the controversial adoptions of two children from Malawi, Africa. An Icon, a Legacy and a Woman Currently, Madonna continues to turn heads, make trends and she’s doing it all her way. A clothing line, Material Girl, is designed with her daughter, Lourdes, and her health clubs, Hard Candy Fitness, have expanded internationally. She has sold over 300 million records throughout her career and paved the way for generations of women new to the music business. Her social conscience has expanded, leading to benefit performances for Malawi and Haiti. In her 50s and still astonishingly gorgeous, Madonna’s love life also continues to sizzle. Her current beau is 26-year-old dancer Timor Steffens. http://newyork.cbslocal.com/guide/1010-wins-iconic-celebrity-4-madonna/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phineaspoe Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 I love fan fiction Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mensch Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 😍😍 thank you for posting!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lautnerfied Posted February 18, 2015 Author Share Posted February 18, 2015 1 TBD 2 TBD 3 TBD 4. Madonna (Bay City, Michigan)5. Frank Sinatra (Hoboken, NJ)6. Billy Joel (Bronx,NY)7. Joan Rivers (Brooklyn, NY)8. Robert De Niro (Manhattan, NY)9. Jerry Seinfeld (Brooklyn, NY)10. Woody Allen (Bronx, NY) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
promise to try Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 Barbra!!! Barbra must be one of the names that is left Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HolidayGuy Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 For someone that wasn't born and raised in New York or a surrounding area... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Django Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 1010 WINS Iconic Celebrity #3: Bette Midler wtf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
promise to try Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 what???????? Bette???? and by the way, Frank should be higher Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spotlight Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 Madonna should be higher Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Camacho Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 Bette is the queen of NYC bathhouses. Too bad she didn't get a chance to direct the Living For Love video! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fighting Spirit Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 Watch Lardy being #1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmmmm Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 Judy Garland and Babs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyper Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 watch Gags be 1 or 2 #meltdown Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qans1990 Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Wow, surprised Frank Sinatra and Robert De Niro are not higher! Tbh I'm (pleasantly) surprised M is as high as she is, given that, as HolidayGuy mentioned, she is not a native NYer or environs. Yessss, go M!!! Btw, something for us NY fans to look forward to.... Hard Candy Fitness is starting a pop-up class in NYC: http://wellandgood.com/2015/02/19/madonnas-hard-candy-fitness-hosts-classes-in-nyc-for-the-first-time/?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed WELLNESS WIRE | February 19, 2015 Madonna’s Hard Candy Fitness hosts classes in NYC for the first timeIf you watched the Grammy Awards last week and wondered for the zillionth time how you could get dance moves like Madonna’s, you’re in luck. On March 2, Madonna’s Hard Candy Fitness will launch a 20-week pop-up class series called Dancers’ Access, at Broadway Dance Center in Midtown. The debut marks the first time her workouts will be available to New Yorkers. Madge, whose fitness obsessions, workout habits, and trainers have been chronicled for years (from Barre3 to Tracy Anderson to yoga), launched Hard Candy Fitness in 2010 but the locations have exclusively been overseas, in Mexico, Russia, Australia, Italy, Germany, Chile, and Canada. The twice-a-week classes at Broadway Dance will be taught by the “Hard Candy Fitness Sweat Crew,” who are described as the top trainers working with Madonna on a regular basis, including Craig Smith, Jessica Castro, Timothy Anderson, and Kendra Kemerley. (Perhaps Madonna is still hoarding time with booty-sculpting Addicted to Sweat trainer Nicole Winhoffer?) The company says that choreography in the classes will be “inspired by Madonna’s on-stage performances,” which you may or may not have been practicing in your bedroom since you were twelve. “Based on Madonna’s love and passion for dance, we are excited to launch this program as a way for dance lovers of all skill levels to learn what inspires and keeps our global star fit and able to perform on such a high level,” says Craig Smith, who’s also Hard Candy’s creative director, in a press release. New Yorkers who are dance cardio obsessed will likely be thrilled, but we’re still wondering if Madonna will bring her full fitness concept to the U.S. soon. Or could we at least get an in-class cameo? —Lisa Elaine Held For more information, visit www.broadwaydancecenter.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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