“I stand for freedom of expression, doing what you believe in, and going after your dreams.” -Madonna
She has been called “the most influential female recording artist of all time.” She’s won more awards than we can count and transformed the music industry and its perception of women, all on her own terms. She’s a maverick in every sense of the word.
A fearless and uninhibited spirit, Madonna continues to push the envelope in mainstream popular music by reinventing herself. She’s taken the complexities of her life and transcended the standard for women in pop music. Her popularity around the world has made her a household name, but here are five things you probably didn’t know about Madonna:
- The Bay City, Michigan native moved to New York City to pursue a career in modern dance.
- A true Renaissance woman, Madonna has taken on other ventures including fashion design, writing children’s books, and film directing and producing.
- Madonna has sold more than 300 million records worldwide and is recognized as the best-selling female recording artist of all time by Guinness World Records.
- Madonna was greatly influenced by the death of her mother, who died of breast cancer. Madonna commented: “We were all wounded in one way or another by [her death], and then we spent the rest of our lives reacting to it or dealing with it or trying to turn into something else. The anguish of losing my mom left me with a certain kind of loneliness and an incredible longing for something. If I hadn’t had that emptiness, I wouldn’t have been so driven. Her death had a lot to do with me saying—after I got over my heartache—I’m going to be really strong if I can’t have my mother. I’m going to take care of myself.”
- In 1977, during her undergraduate studies in dance at Michigan, Madonna was awarded a six-week scholarship to study with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York City.
Congratulations to Madonna, maverick of the music industry and a Power 31 Woman Who Dares!
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