Madonna (born Madonna Louise Ciccone) is a recording artist, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983. She followed it with a series of albums in which she found immense popularity by pushing the boundaries of lyrical content in mainstream popular music and imagery in her music videos, which became a fixture on MTV. Throughout her career, many of her songs have hit number one on the record charts, including "Like a Virgin", "Papa Don't Preach", "Like a Prayer", "Vogue", "Frozen", "Music", "Hung Up", and "4 Minutes". Critics have praised Madonna for her diverse musical productions while at the same time serving as a lightning rod for religious controversy. Her career was further enhanced by film appearances that began in 1979, despite mixed commentary. She won critical acclaim and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for her role in Evita (1996), but has received harsh feedback for other film roles. Madonna's other ventures include being a fashion designer, children's book author, film director and producer. She has been acclaimed as a businesswoman, and in 2007, she signed an unprecedented US $120 million contract with Live Nation. Madonna has sold more than 300 million records worldwide and is recognized as the world's top-selling female recording artist of all time by the Guinness World Records. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), she is the best-selling female rock artist of the 20th century and the second top-selling female artist in the United States, behind Barbra Streisand, with 64 million certified albums. In 2008, Billboard magazine ranked Madonna at number two, behind only The Beatles, on the Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists, making her the most successful solo artist in the history of the Billboard chart. She was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the same year. Considered to be one of the "25 Most Powerful Women of the Past Century" by Time for being an influential figure in contemporary music, Madonna is known for continuously reinventing both her music and image, and for retaining a standard of autonomy within the recording industry. On May 4, 2024, with a free concert which was live streamed at the Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in front of 1.6 million people, Madonna broke the record for the most attended stand-alone concert by any artist, and the all-time highest attended concert by a female artist.
Four Rooms
(Elspeth)
Madonna: Truth or Dare
(Self)
Body of Evidence
(Rebeca Carlson)
Melodies and Rythms of Foreign Pop Music
(Self)
The Next Best Thing
(Abbie Reynolds)
Madonna X Vanity Fair – The Enlightenment
(Self)
Blue in the Face
(Singing Telegram)
A League of Their Own
(Mae Mordabito (CF))
Madonna: Sticky & Sweet Tour
(Self)
Britney Spears: In the Zone
(Self (archive footage))
Desperately Seeking Susan
(Susan)
Evita
(Eva Perón)
Swept Away
(Amber Leighton)
Madonna: Drowned World Tour 2001
(Self)
Arthur and the Invisibles
(Princess Selenia (voice))
Who's That Girl
(Nikki Finn)
Madonna: Blond Ambition World Tour Live
(Self)
Madonna: The Girlie Show - Live Down Under
(Self)
Live 8
(Self)
Rodman: For Better or Worse
(Self (archive footage))
Die Another Day
(Verity)
I'm Going to Tell You a Secret
(Self)
Der Regisseur Uli Edel - Fakten und Fiktion
(Self)
Madame X Presents: Madame Xtra Q&A
(Self)
Live Aid
(Self)
Madonna at the BBC
(Self)
Fathers and Songs: Music for Father's Day
(Self (archive footage))
The Righteous Babes
(Self (archive footage))
Madonna: The Confessions Tour
(Self - Lead Vocals & Guitar)
Dangerous Game
(Sarah Jennings)
Bloodhounds of Broadway
(Hortense Hathaway)
Madonna: Who's That Girl - Live in Japan
(Self)
Shanghai Surprise
(Gloria Tatlock)
Madonna: The Virgin Tour — Live
(Self)
Madonna: Ciao, Italia! - Live from Italy
(Self)
Madonna: Live Earth Concert at London
(Self)
Britney Spears: In the Zone
(Self)
Madonna: Re-Invention World Tour
(Self)
Hope for Haiti Now
(Self)
The True Story of Madonna
Lady Gaga: On the Edge
(Self)
Madonna - The Real Story
(Self)
Madonna: Live at Paris Olympia
(Self - Performer)
Madonna: Live from Roseland Ballroom in New York
(Self)
A Certain Sacrifice
(Bruna)
Demokratie unter Druck – Europa vor der Wahl
(Self - Singer (archive footage))
Madonna: MDNA World Tour
(Self - Guitar and Vocals)
Arianne Phillips: Dressing the Part
(Self)
Madonna Exposed
(Self (archive footage))
Miley Cyrus: MTV Unplugged
(Self)
Inside the Golden Statue
(Self)
Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero
(Self)
There's Only One Madonna
Kylie Minogue V The Bee Gees
(Self (archive footage))
Off the Menu: The Last Days of Chasen's
(Self)
Madonna: The Immaculate Collection
(Self)
Jean-Michel Basquiat, artiste absolu
(Self (Archive footage))
Beastie Boys Story
(Self (archive footage))
Dick Tracy: Behind the Badge, Behind the Scenes
(Self)
Shadows and Fog
(Marie)
Madonna: The Lady Is a Vamp
(Self)
The A-Z of Eurovision
(Self - Presenter (archive footage))
Sex
(Self)
In France with Madonna
(Self (archive footage))
MTV's 10th Anniversary Special
(Self)
Who Killed Michael Stewart?
(Self)
The Greatest Night in Pop
(Self (archive footage))
Britney Spears: Greatest Hits - My Prerogative
(Self)
A New Madonna: The Making of 'Evita'
(Self)
Avicii: True Stories
(Self)
Kids Are Punny
I Am Because We Are
(Self / Narrator (voice))
Madonna: The Celebration Tour in Rio
(Self)
Propaganda
(Self (archive footage))
Star
(Star)
Madonna: Move to the Music
(Self (archive footage))
Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution
(Self (archive footage) (uncredited))
The Egg
(The Egg Girl)
Junket Whore
(Self)
The Women Concert for Change
(Self)
Happy Birthday Elizabeth: A Celebration of Life
(Self)
Madonna: Rebel Heart Tour
(Self - Guitar, Ukulele & Vocals)
Madonna - Out on the Floor
365 Day Project
The Sound of Change Live
(Self)
Strike a Pose
(Self (archive footage) (uncredited))
Madonna: The Girlie Show Live in Japan 1993
(Self)
Torrance Rises
(Self)
Basquiat: Rage to Riches
(Self (archive footage))
The Undefeated
(Self (archive footage))
Britney: For the Record
(Self (uncredited))
Madonna: The Video Collection 93:99
(Self)
Vision Quest
(Singer)
Dick Tracy
(Breathless Mahoney)
Madonna: Blond Ambition - Japan Tour 90
(Herself)
Secret Project Revolution
(Self / Narrator (voice))
Madonna: Celebration - The Video Collection
((archive footage))
Girl 6
(Boss #3)
Are All Men Pedophiles?
(Self (archive footage))
Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer
Bert Stern: Original Madman
(Self (archive footage))
Madonna: Blond Ambition World Tour 90 from Barcelona
(Self)
Madonna: The Ultimate Collection
(Self - Vocalist)
Madonna: World of Madame X
(Self)
The Material Boy
(Self (archive footage))
Matangi / Maya / M.I.A.
(Self (archive footage))
Warren Beatty - Mister Hollywood
(Self (archive footage))
The Universe of Keith Haring
(Self (archive footage))
Madonna: Tears of a Clown
(Self)
Madonna and the Breakfast Club
(Self (archive footage))
Electric Blue 27
(Self (segment "Celebrity Nude"))
Madonna: The Name of the Game
(Self)
Madonna: Something To Remember (The Unreleased Videos)
(Self)
Debbie Harry: Atomic Blondie
(Self (archive footage))
Madonna - Do You Think I'm Sexy Unauthorized
Music Videos That Defined the 00’s
(Self (archive footage))
Uncle Howard
(Self (archive footage))
Live Aid: 20 Years Ago Today
(Self)
Express Yourself: Die Tänzer der Queen of Pop
Coachella: 20 Years in the Desert
(Self (archive footage))
Jean Paul Gaultier : Freak & Chic
(Self)
Madonna: Goddess of Pop
(Self (archive footage))
Madonna: Madame X
(Self - Performer)
Madonna - La vraie histoire
(Self)
Madonna - The Video Collection 2000:2006
(Self)
Quentin Tarantino: From a Movie Buff to a Hollywood Legend
(Self (archive footage))
Women in Rock
(Self (archive footage))
Swept Away Movie Special
(Self)
O Melhor do Flash Back - 92 Clipes Para Recordar
Becoming Madonna
(Self (archive footage))
Naqoyqatsi
(Self (archive footage) (uncredited))
Will & Grace
(Liz)
The Saturday Show
(Self)
The Marriage Ref
(Self - Panelist)
Top of the Pops
Saturday Night Live
(Self - Host)
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
(Self - Guest)
Wetten, dass..?
(Self)
The True Story of...
(Self (archive footage))
Stalked: Someone's Watching
(Self (archive footage))
The Hire
(Star)
MTV Video Music Awards
(Self)
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
(Self)
Wogan
(Self)
The Nineties
(Self (archive footage))
Leute heute
(Self)
Britney Spears: The Videos
(Self)
Saturday Night Live
(Self - Cameo (uncredited))
History 101
(Self (archive footage))
Saturday Night Live
(Self - Musical Guest)
The Graham Norton Show
(Self - Guest)
Fashion !
(Self)
ECHO-Verleihung
(Self)
The Graham Norton Show
(Self)
Il était une fois Champs-Élysées
(Self (archive footage))
Top of the Pops
(Self)
Eurovision Song Contest
(Self - Performer)
The Last Dance
(Self (archive footage))
Star Academy
(Self)
Live Earth: A Concert for a Climate in Crisis
(Self)
aspekte
(Self)
Sacrée soirée
(self)
Discovering Fashion
(Self (archive footage))
Madonna: Truth or Dare
(Executive Producer)
Madonna: Truth or Dare
(Music)
Agent Cody Banks
(Executive Producer)
Filth and Wisdom
(Director)
Filth and Wisdom
(Screenplay)
W.E.
(Director)
W.E.
(Writer)
30 Days Until I'm Famous
(Executive Producer)
Sex
(Executive Producer)
W.E.
(Producer)
With Honors
(Theme Song Performance)
I Am Because We Are
(Writer)
I Am Because We Are
(Executive Producer)
Beautiful Stranger
(Songs)
MTV's 10th Anniversary Special
(Executive Producer)
Madonna: Madame X
(Writer)
Madonna: Madame X
(Producer)
Madonna: Blond Ambition World Tour Live
(Songs)
Madonna: Blond Ambition World Tour Live
(Lyricist)
Madonna: The Celebration Tour in Rio
(Music Producer)
Madonna: The Celebration Tour in Rio
(Writer)
Secret Project Revolution
(Director)
Who's That Girl
(Writer)
Filth and Wisdom
(Executive Producer)
Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London
(Executive Producer)
Die Another Day
(Theme Song Performance)
I'm Going to Tell You a Secret
(Executive Producer)
Madonna: The Immaculate Collection
(Writer)
Madonna: The Immaculate Collection
(Songs)