Madonna (born
Madonna Louise Ciccone; August 16, 1958) is an American 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.
