Madonna through the years
With Madonna set to turn 54 on August 16, join us for a look at the singer's life and career, on stage and off, over the years.
Pop queen Madonna was born on Aug. 16, 1958. Here's a look at the pop queen's life and career over the years.
Pop queen Madonna was born on Aug. 16, 1958. Here's a look at the pop queen's life and career over the years.
July 1983: Madonna's self-titled debut album was released on July 27, 1983, about a month before her 25th birthday. The album peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard 200, and yielded the hit singles "Holiday," "Borderline" and "Lucky Star."
November 1984: Madonna's second album, "Like a Virgin," solidified the singer's status as a star. The album was certified diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America and sold more than 21 million copies worldwide.
January 1985: The video for "Like a Virgin's" second single, "Material Girl," mimicked Marilyn Monroe's performance of the song "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" from the 1953 film "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes."
March 1985: Madonna made her debut in mainstream movies in 1985, first with a brief appearance in "Vision Quest" and then in the comedy "Desperately Seeking Susan" (pictured).
February 1986: Sean Penn and Madonna leave a West Berlin cinema on Feb. 21, 1986, where they attended Penn's newest movie picture "At Close Range." The couple married on Madonna's birthday in 1985.
June 1986: "True Blue," Madonna's third studio album, spawned three No. 1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100: "Live to Tell," "Papa Don't Preach" and "Open Your Heart", and two more top-five singles: "True Blue" and "La Isla Bonita."
August 1986: Madonna followed up "Desperately Seeking Susan" with "Shanghai Surprise," co-starring with her then-husband Sean Penn. The couple filed for divorce in December 1987.
August 1987: Madonna performs during her concert in Paris on Aug. 30, 1987. More than 100,000 people attended her show in the Parc de Sceaux near the capitol.
February 1989: Madonna stirred up a firestorm with her video for "Like a Prayer," which featured Catholic symbols such as stigmata and burning crosses, included a dream about making love to a saint and was condemned by the Vatican.
March 1989: "Like a Prayer" was the first single off Madonna's fourth studio album of the same name. The album also featured the hits "Cherish" and "Express Yourself."
August 1989: The black-and-white video for "Cherish," which was shot at Paradise Cove Beach in Malibu, Calif., premiered on MTV on August 28, 1989.
June 1990: Madonna starred as "Breathless" Mahoney in the film "Dick Tracy," with Warren Beatty playing the title role. The two began a relationship during filming, but it ended before the end of 1990.
March 1990: For a while Madonna had everybody "voguing," thanks to the music video for "Vogue," which was featured on Madonna's Dick Tracy soundtrack, "I'm Breathless."
March 1991: Madonna performs the Best Original Song nominee "Sooner or Later" from "Dick Tracy" at the 63rd Academy Awards on March 25, 1991. The song won, earning songwriter Stephen Sondheim his first Oscar.
May 1991: The documentary "Truth or Dare" followed Madonna on her controversial "Blond Ambition" tour in 1990.
July 1992: Madonna starred in the movie "A League of Their Own," which told the story of the first female professional baseball league. She recorded the film's theme song, "This Used to Be My Playground," which became a Hot 100 No. 1 hit.
October 1992: Madonna's fifth studio album, "Erotica," debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. Its title track peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.
January 1993: The provocative imagery that had become her trademark continued with the erotic thriller "Body of Evidence," a film co-starring Willem Dafoe and containing scenes of sadomasochism and bondage.
October 1994: Madonna's sixth studio album, "Bedtime Stories," debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and produced four singles, including "Secret" and "Take a Bow."
December 1994: The video for "Take a Bow" was a lavish period piece casting Madonna as a Spanish bullfighter's neglected lover.
September 1995: Madonna poses after winning the Best Female Video award for the video for "Take a Bow" at the MTV Video Music Awards in New York on Sept. 7.
December 1996: Madonna landed the lead role in "Evita," telling the story of Eva Peron, Argentina's first lady from 1946 to her death at age 33 in 1952.
January 1997: Madonna holds the Golden Globe Award she received as best actress in a film musical or comedy for her role in "Evita" during the 54th Annual Golden Globe Awards as she stands with presenter, actress Nicole Kidman
February 1997: Madonna pays tribute to actress Elizabeth Taylor during the taping of a television special honoring Taylor's life and career titled "Happy Birthday Elizabeth -- A Celebration of Life."
January 1998: Jack Nicholson holds his Golden Globe Award for his role in "As Good As it Gets" as singer Madonna, who presented the award, looks on at the 55th annual Golden Globe Awards on Jan. 18, 1998.
March 1998: Madonna's seventh studio album, "Ray of Light," was honored with four Grammy Awards, and listed as one of Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums of All Time."
September 2000: Madonna's eighth studio album, "Music," became her first No. 1 album in 11 years since "Like a Prayer." It produced three singles: "Music," "Don't Tell Me" and "What It Feels Like for a Girl."
December 2000: Madonna and film director Guy Ritchie, with their son Rocco, leave Dornoch Cathedral in Scotland after the christening of their four-month-old son on Dec. 21, 2000. The couple married a few days later.
October 2002: Madonna starred in "Swept Away," alongside Adriano Giannini. The movie was directed by Madonna's husband, Guy Ritchie.
April 2003: Madonna released her ninth studio album, "American Life," which was based on her observations of American society, and received mixed reviews.
August 2003: Remember this mouth kiss between Madonna and Britney Spears at the MTV Video Music Awards Show?
November 2004: Madonna signs copies of her new book "The Adventures of Abdi" in London on Nov. 11, 2004. The book was the singer's third children's book.
November 2005: Her 10th studio album, the dance-infused "Confessions on a Dance Floor," won a Grammy Award for Best Electronic/Dance Album.
May 2006: Madonna performs at a concert to kick off the North American leg of her Confessions tour in Los Angeles on May 21, 2006.
March 2008: Madonna is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the 23rd annual induction ceremony, along with singers Iggy Pop (L) and Justin Timberlake, at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York on March 10, 2008.
April 2008: Madonna's 11th studio album, "Hard Candy," featured the Justin Timberlake-collaboration "4 Minutes." The song was Madonna's 37th Hot 100 top-10 hit, pushing her past Elvis Presley as the artist with the most top-10 hits.
May 2008: Actress Sharon Stone (R) joins Madonna at the amfAR's Cinema Against AIDS 2008 event during the 61st Cannes Film Festival, on May 22, 2008.
July 2008: After Madonna was tied to New York Yankees' player Alex Rodriguez in the tabloids, fans tease Rodriguez by holding up pictures of Madonna behind him as he stands in the on-deck circle, in the third inning of the Yankees MLB baseball game against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park in Boston, Mass., on July 25, 2008.
September 2008: In this shot, Madonna performs during her "Sticky and Sweet" tour at the Olympic stadium in Athens, on Sept. 27, 2008.
October 2008: Madonna and director Guy Ritchie, married for eight years, announced their divorce on Oct. 15, 2008. The photo here is from the 61st Cannes Film Festival on May 21, 2008.
November 2008: Fast-forward five years, and Madonna watches as Britney Spears bows at the end of their performance during her Sticky and Sweet tour at Dodgers stadium in Los Angeles.
Decmeber 2008: In Argentina for her concert tour, Madonna meets privately with Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner at the Casa Rosada Presidential Palace in Buenos Aires, on Dec. 2, 2008.
March 2009: Back in Malawi, Madonna holds her adopted Malawian son David Banda at a school she financed in Malawi's capital of Lilongwe, on March 30, 2009. Later that year, Madonna won a legal action and was able to adopt a second child, her daughter Mercy.
May 2009: Madonna, famous in part for her own trend-setting costumes, wears a design by Louis Vuitton to the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Gala in New York on May 4, 2009.
August 2009: Madonna performs here in her "Sticky & Sweet" concert in Munich, Germany, on Aug. 18, 2009.
September 2009: After feeding her musical side, Madonna feeds her spiritual self. Accompanied by an unidentified companion, she takes a walking tour of the ancient Jordanian ruins of Petra, on Sept. 3, 2009.
September 2009: Back on stage, Madonna pays tribute to Michael Jackson at the start of the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards in New York on Sept. 13, 2009.
September 2009: A day after the Michael Jackson tribute, Madonna attends the Marc Jacobs Spring 2010 show during New York Fashion Week, on Sept. 14, 2009.
December 2009: Lourdes Leon, Madonna's daughter (born on Oct. 14, 1996) is used to the limelight. Here, she arrives with her mom at the premiere of the film "Nine" in New York, on Dec. 15, 2009.
February 2010: Madonna was linked for much of 2009 and 2010 to Brazilian underwear model Jesus Luz (2nd R). Madonna's daughters, Lourdes (2nd L) and Mercy (R), joined the couple to watch the Carnival parade of samba schools in Rio de Janeiro's Sambadrome, on Feb, 14, 2010.
April 2010: Madonna has two adopted children, a boy and a girl, both from Malawi. In this photo, Madonna looks at her daughter Lourdes (L) and holds adopted daughter Mercy James during a visit to Gumulira village, about 50 miles from the Malawian capital Lilongwe, on April 5, 2010.
November 2010: Madonna arrives to open Hard Candy Fitness gym in Mexico City, on Nov. 29, 2010. The Mexico City gym is the flagship of an international chain of gyms, another of the singer's business projects.
February 2011: After presenting parts of her new film "W.E." on the sidelines of the 61st Berlinale International Film Festival, Madonna leaves a restaurant at Berlin's Gendarmenmarkt square, on Feb. 13, 2011. Madonna was co-writer and director of the film.
February 2011: Madonna arrives at the 2011 Vanity Fair Oscar party in West Hollywood, Calif., on Feb. 27, 2011.
May 2011: Oprah Winfrey and Madonna embrace during the taping of "Oprah's Surprise Spectacular" in Chicago.
January 2012: Madonna poses with her award for best original song for "Masterpiece" from the movie "W.E.," backstage at the 69th annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Jan. 15, 2012.
February 2012: Madonna performs during the halftime show at Super Bowl XLVI on Feb. 5 in Indianapolis.
February 2012: Cee Lo Green performs "Like a Prayer" with Madonna during the halftime show at Super Bowl XLVI.
March 2012: Madonna's 12th studio album, "MDNA," was released March 26.
April 2012: Madonna launches her new fragrance "Truth or Dare by Madonna" at Macy's in New York on April 12, 2012.
June 2012: Madonna performs during a concert of her MDNA world tour at O2 World in Berlin, Germany, on June 28, 2012.
