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Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone
(b. 1958)
Tales

Madonna (born Madonna Louise Ciccone) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. 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. 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. Critics have praised Madonna for her diverse musical productions which have also served as a lightning rod for religious controversy.

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 that attained 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.

Although receiving generally positive reviews for Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), later film appearances received mixed commentary. She received 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: fashion designer, children's book author, film director and producer. Madonna has been acclaimed as a businesswoman. In 1992, she founded entertainment company Maverick as a joint venture with Time Warner. In 2007, she signed an unprecedented US $120 million contract with Live Nation.

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, 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 chart. She was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the same year.

Madonna's first venture into the literary world came with the release of her 1992 coffee table book, SEX. The book proved to be a massive success, selling out its entire first edition. She later released another coffee table photography book entitled The Girlie Show which had an accompanying live CD with exclusive tracks from the tour.

In recent years, she had success writing a series of children's books. In 2003, Madonna signed a contract with Callaway Arts & Entertainment. On September 15, 2003, she released her first children's book, The English Roses, and it instantly became the biggest and fastest selling book ever by a first-time children's author. The book debuted at number one on the New York Times Bestsellers List for children's picture books and remained there for an impressive eighteen weeks. The English Roses received the widest launch in publication history as it was released in over a hundred countries on the same day; it also debuted in thirty languages. It is now available in 40 languages and in more than 110 countries worldwide.

Her series of books may very well mark the existence for the first time of kabbalist children's books. All of the books strive to teach lessons Madonna has learned in her study of this branch of Jewish mysticism as well as lessons she has learned throughout her life. For example, in The English Roses, her lead character's name, Binah, comes from the word Kabbalists use for "Understanding".

Madonna's subsequent releases, Mr. Peabody's Apples and Yakov and the Seven Thieves, were both released within a year of The English Roses. They also debuted at number one on the New York Times list and became international best sellers. Combined, Madonna's first three children's books have sold over one and a half million copies worldwide. The Adventures of Abdi was her least successful book. Her latest book, Lotsa de Casha, debuted at number three on the New York Times’ Bestsellers List. For the Lotsa de Casha promotion, Madonna did a photoshoot with photographer, Lorenzo Agius; 8 pictures (including the cover picture) were released in the U.S. magazine Ladies Home Journal with an exclusive interview inside.

Burkina Faso, 1996, Madonna

Chad, 1996, Madonna

Gambia, 1993, Tom Hanks and Madonna

Gambia, 1993, Madonna

Grenada, 1988, Madonna

Grenada, 1992, Madonna

Guinea, 2007, Madonna

Guinea, 2008, Madonna

Guinea, 2008, Madonna, James Bond

Guinea, 2008, Madonna, «Dick Tracy»

Guinea Bissau, 2005, Madonna

Guinea Bissau, 2008, Bono, Madonna