By 1991, she had achieved 21 top ten hits in the United States, and had sold more than 70 million albums internationally. In January 2008, she was declared the world’s richest female musician by Forbes magazine. Madonna was born on August 16, 1958 in Bay City, Michigan as the third of six children. Her parents are Silvio “Tony” Ciccone and Madonna Fortin. Tony, the son of an Italian immigrant, was the first of his family to go to university, where he graduated in engineering. Madonna’s mother was a French-Canadian X-ray technician and a former dancer. On December 5th 1963, Madonna at the young age of 5, lost her mother due to breast cancer. Madonna admitted that she was able to not be intimidated because of the lack of “manners” a mom usually teaches her daughters, despite her strict Catholic upbringing. After fighting against her family’s conservative viewpoint, she became influenced by new experiences going to gay bars, dancing in nightclubs and wearing much more revealing clothing; all while remaining an excellent student. So much so that in 1976, Michigan University offered her a scholarship into their dance program. She was then recruited in 1978 by the choreographer Pearl Lang while completing a six-week scholarship at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York. Madonna then began a romantic relationship with Dan Gilroy in 1979, who introduced her to the world of modelling during a trip to France. Aware that she was falling in love with singing and performance, it was around this time that she began to collaborate with other artists. Then in 1981, Mark Kamins, a Sire Records Manager, started helping Madonna with her solo career and together they recorded “Everybody” that went on to become a N°1 hit in 1982. Convinced by her performance, Sire Records offered Madonna another contract that allowed her to record her first, self-titled album “Madonna”. It was this record that included her famous hit songs “Holiday”, “Lucky Star” and “Borderline”. In 1985 she was nominated for 7 awards and “favorite female pop rock artist” for her album “Madonna”. Madonna wan in popularity ever since, even co-starring in Shanghai Surprise in 1986. Sending her audience multiple message of freedom and self-acceptation through her song and controversial performances making her more and more popular. In 1992, she won her first Grammy Award in the “Best music video” category. Fighting for women’s right to have control over themselves, she became a symbol – needs re-wording. Now with over 335 million records sold, 14 albums and more than 30 movies, she is an icon that represents liberty and success for all women and has been adored by the LGBTQ+ community over the years.