Unique Facts About the Queen of Pop Herself, Madonna

Madonna, the queen of pop music, is known for reinventing herself onstage at regular intervals. She did the unthinkable and shot to fame in the ‘80s when men supposedly dominated the music industry. Not only that, but the ‘Material Girl’ singer has released a slew of hit tracks, 21 of which peaked in the U.S. Top 10, selling over 70 million records worldwide by 1991. It’s no wonder Forbes magazine recognized her as the wealthiest female artist in the world at the beginning of 2008!

Still, some mysteries need to be unraveled when it comes to Queen Madge. Here are five facts that would surely tickle any music fan’s fancy.

1. She Was Born to Be a Star

In 1958, Silvio Ciccone and Madonna Fortin welcomed a beautiful baby girl named after her gorgeous mother. She grew up in Michigan with her father and stepmother, Joan Gustafson. The pair raised the future music icon after her mother passed when Madonna was five. While Madonna's unorthodox attitude may be traced back to a childhood spent rebelling against her stepmother, the singer was quite disciplined in the classroom and on stage.

Madonna spent two years at the University of Michigan using a dance scholarship before dropping out to pursue a career in the performing arts in New York and France, where she also worked as a n*de model. She started making music professionally in 1980, playing with groups including Madonna and the Sky, and The Millionaires before going solo in 1981.

2. She Made Her Mark on MTV Early On

One of the most monumental moments in TV history has to be when Madonna debuted the title track from her upcoming second album, Like a Virgin, during the first annual MTV Video Music Awards in September 1984. What made it stand out from the rest was when she graced the stage in a wedding dress, dancing the night away in a sultry fashion, much to everyone’s shock and delight.

Instead of ending her career as people expected, Madonna took it to the next level and sold millions of records worldwide. The song she performed also stormed the charts and peaked at number one on Billboard.

3. She Dipped Her Toes Into Broadway

Many pop stars have challenges transitioning from singing to acting, and Madonna certainly had her fair share of backlash when she appeared in movies. Yet, her acting career flourished, and she even appeared on Broadway at some point. She had a supporting role in the 1988 David Mamet comedy Speed-the-Plow, starring Joe Mantegna as a studio production boss who becomes involved with a scheming writer.

For this role, Madonna portrayed Karen, Mantegna's secretary, who plays on the tension with her boss to get what she wants. Critics have said that Madonna was recruited more for her ability to bring in the cash than for her acting chops, despite the fact that she apparently requested an audition for the role and was hired. Nonetheless, she did have some backers and still received some praise for her acting skills.

4. She Had Issues with Pepsi Over Her Video

In 1989, Madonna produced a music video for her track ‘Like a Prayer,’ which was met with criticism due to its extensive usage of religious symbolism. Some in the Catholic community were offended by the video's explicit content, and Pepsi, which had recruited Madonna to a $5 million endorsement agreement, quickly became embroiled in the controversy. Unfortunately for her, Pepsi decided to withdraw her advertisement when consumers began confusing it with the viral music video.

It was an unfortunate ending since Pepsi reportedly shelled out $5 million just to use the song, and that’s excluding the expenses they incurred to shoot the said advertisement. Although it’s been decades since the questionable ad, Madonna never forgot about it and even criticized the brand a few years later when a new controversial ad from Pepsi was released for the world to see.

5. She Almost Stopped Making Music

When a hacker, subsequently revealed to be Adi Lederman, released songs from Madonna's planned 2015 album, Rebel Heart, the singer and her fans were disappointed. Lederman gained access to the unfinished tracks through Madonna's colleagues' cloud storage and email. After some time, he was apprehended and charged with several offenses, including copyright infringement. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Lederman was to serve 14 months behind bars. The entire ordeal was so distressing that Madonna stated afterward that she temporarily lost her will to make new music.

True enough, Madonna's career in music, fashion, film, and beyond has combined several elements of creativity, originality, and power into a single whole that has broken through barriers and smashed preconceptions. That is why she is Hollywood royalty.