Version 2.1 - Last Update: December 2, 1996
Corrections and suggestions for new questions are strongly encouraged.
Q. Where and when was Madonna born?
Madonna was born in Bay City, Michigan on August 16, 1958. Her family lived in Pontiac, Michigan at the time but were visiting with Madonna's grandmother in Bay City when she decided to appear in the world.
Q. Is Madonna really her true name?
Yes, Madonna was named after her mother - Madonna Fortin. Her full birth name is 'Madonna Louise Ciccone'.
Q. Isn't Veronica part of her name? I've notice she puts the
initials ML(V)C on some things.
Not technically. Madonna was raised Catholic and picked Veronica as her confirmation name.
Q. Where did Madonna grow up as a teen?
Madonna grew up in Pontiac, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. When the house got too small for the growing Ciccone family they moved to Rochester Hills, Michigan. Her father and step-mother still live in this house.
Q. What happened to Madonna's birth mother?
Madonna's birth mother died of cancer when Madonna was five. Her father employed a housekeeper named Joan Gustafson and eventually married her. They are still married.
Q. How many brothers and sisters does Madonna have?
Madonna has 3 sisters - Melanie, Paula and Jennifer (half sister) and 4 brothers - Martin, Mario (half brother), Christopher and Anthony.
Q. What is Madonna's father's name?
His name is Sylvio (Tony) Ciccone.
Q. Is Madonna's mole real?
Yes, she does have a mole under her right nostril. It looks reversed in some pictures, but that is just a result of reversing the negative during developing. Sometimes it is covered with makeup.
Q. What is Madonna's real hair color?
Her real hair color is dark brown.
Q. What nationality is Madonna?
Madonna is American, her father's family immigrated from Italy and her mother is French Canadian.
Q. What is Madonna's religion?
She was raised Catholic, however we do not know if she is still a
practicing Catholic.
Q. How many times has Madonna been married and to whom?
Madonna has only married once and that was to actor Sean Penn on her 27th birthday, Aug. 16, 1985. The marriage officially ended on January 10, 1989 when Madonna (for the second time) filed for divorce (on Jan. 5th) on the grounds of irreconcilable differences. She has not been married since.
Q. Does Madonna have any children?
Madonna has one daughter, Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon, born October 14, 1996. The father is Carlos Leon, who was formerly Madonna's trainer and now boyfriend.
Q. Where does Madonna live?
Madonna has homes in New York (an apartment in Manhattan) and Miami. She lives between them depending on where she is working at the time. She also has a home in Los Angeles which she just purchased this year (1996).
Q. What movies has Madonna been in?
Q. What albums has Madonna released?
Q. What long-form videos has Madonna released in North America?
Q. How many times has Madonna been on tour?
Q. What singles has Madonna released?
Q. What are Madonna's #1 Songs?
According to Billboard's Hot 100 Singles Chart, Madonna is tied with Whitney for the most number one songs. Eleven of her songs have been number one hits. Take a Bow, her most recent #1, is her longest, at 7 weeks.
Q. What non-Madonna album tracks are there?
Q. Has Madonna ever appeared on Broadway?
Yes, Madonna's first attempt at stage acting (1986) came in a little known experimental theatre piece entitled "Goose & Tomtom" which played for a short run in New York City. It cast Madonna and Sean Penn and like their film collaboration was also a complete disaster.
She acted alongside Joe Mantegna and Ron Silver in a more recent David Mamet play, "Speed The Plow" (1988).
Q. Who is Madonna's personal manager?
Freddy DeMann, who also previously managed such artists as Michael Jackson, Lionel Ritchie and The Smithereens. If you want to get in touch with anyone who has anything to do with Madonna however, all such enquiries usually go through Madonna's publicist Liz Rosenberg.
Q. Who's clothes (designs) does Madonna like to wear?
Of the many designers that Madonna admires some of her favorites are Dolce & Gabbana, Jean Paul Gaultier and Betsy Johnson. She has recently been doing appearances in Versace designs, and has been featured in their most recent ad campaign.
Q. What musicians/singers influenced Madonna?
In Madonna's own words, "a lot of Motown...like Diana Ross and
Stevie Wonder". Her three favorite records-which she
owned as 45 RPM singles-were Strawberry Alarm Clock's "Incense &
Peppermint", Gary Puckett's "Young Girl" and The Box Tops "The
Letter". Later, when she started playing in bands she was said to
have been influence heavily by The Pretenders and The Police.
Q. What bands was Madonna in prior to going solo?
Some names of bands Madonna was in were: The Millionaires, Modern Dance, The Breakfast Club, Emmy, and also auditioned to be backup singer for disco singer, Patrick Hernandez who was best know for his single, "Born To Be Alive".
Q. Who the hell is this guy Otto Von Wernherr who I keep hearing
about and released albums like, "Madonna, In The Beginning" etc?
In 1981, when Madonna was hard-up for money she took a job singing
back-up for avant garde German artist Otto Von Wernherr. She
lent her vocals to three of his songs, "Wild Dancing", "Cosmic
Climb", and "We Are The Gods". Her actual participation on the
tracks was minimal consisting of repetitive chorus lines behind
Otto's monotone, spoken, flat and German accented vocals. When
Madonna hit the big time, he remixed the songs to bring Madonna's
voice out to the front of the mixes and released them on the UK
label, Receiver Records which is now marketed as the package
"Madonna (& Otto Von Wernherr) In The Beginning" and features
extended dance mixes of the songs. The tracks and Madonna's voice
are all horrific and his countless re-releases and picture discs
are soley a rip-off. If you're a completist collector, you'll
probably want to have at least one version of it, but other than
that, it's a complete waste of time and money.
In addition, there are several internet resources for Madonna discussion.
There are also other fanzines around the world which have come and gone over the past years. You can write to them to find out if they are still in business and their individual subscription or membership fees. (If you know of one which is definitely defunct or new fanzines, please send email to the FAQ maintainer.)
ICON
"The Official Madonna Fan Club"
8491 Sunset Boulevard
Suite 485
Hollywood, CA 90069 USA
Blond Ambition's Spanish Fan Club/Madonna Magazine
Apartado de Correos 1.100
46.080 Valencia, Spain
Everybody
3100 S. 208th St. #A-304
Seattle, WA 981948 USA
ICON
PO Box 175
Cardiff
CF5 1YN
(not to be confused with the OMFC publication-this is a completely
separate publication)
In Touch with Madonna
R. Sacadura Cabral, 18, 1 esq
Merces-2825 Mem Martins, Portugal
Like a Faggot!
"For Fans Of Madonna and Sodomy"
P.O. Box 149
New York, NY 10113-0149
(send a signed statement that you are over 18).
Like A Virgin
24043 Vidalengo
Caravaggio (Bg) Italy
Via G. Donizetti, 6
Madonna Fan-Club
34 Champs-Elysees
75008 Paris, France
Madonna Mania
Gavin Coe
3 Beaumont Vale
Haverhill, Suffolk
CB9 8QG UK
MadonnaMania
The Dutch Fanclub
Mandelborg 6 B
6228 CP MAASTRICHT
The Netherlands
Madonna Press
Via Battisti 28
74023 Grottaglie (TA), Italy
Venere
Madonna Fan Club
Casella Postale No. 6
Chiesanuova 47031 RSM
Italy
Virgin
via Sapri 65
20156 Milano, Italy