The rebellious, out-of-the-box-thinking queen of pop is a quintessential example of how age does not really determine or stop your success. She is known for her blatantly open attitude about nudity and sexuality. With over 14 studio albums released, 343 awards won, dozens of schools built, countless controversies and iconic moments, and millions of dollars donated to the charity, her legacy lives eternally.
She is now a 61-year-old mother of six: two biological kids and four adopted Malawian kids, but she shows no sign of slowing down. That age is correct, and the dancers from her 2015 unapologetically provocative music video, Bitch I'm Madonna, are undoubtedly old enough to be her children. Despite her age, her world tours remain athletic, stadium-filling affairs, cause guess what? She's an icon. She's Madonna.
It's hard to summarize her long-lasting career in 20 pictures, but well, here we go, 20 legendary moments of Madonna's career, in a timeline.
20 1983: Debut Singles & Self-Titled Album
Young Madonna was a member of her high school cheerleader team and an A-grade student as well. Her musical skill was honed during her time with the synthpop band Breakfast Club, which she served as a drummer, and Emmy and the Emmys. It wasn't until 1983 that she finally signed a major label deal as a solo act and released his debut single, Everybody, and its accompanying debut self-titled album.
19 1984: Like A Virgin And Rocked The First VMAs Stage
Madonna's star power skyrocketed after she released her debut album, and soon, she presented its follow-up, Like A Virgin, on November 12, 1984. This iconic masterpiece threw Madonna into hot water as after her 1984 VMAs' infamous wardrobe-malfunction while performing the album's lead single. She told Billboards, "And, as I reached for the shoe, the dress went up. And the underpants were showing." Welp.
18 1985: Big Screen Debut
Put the controversies aside. A year after the infamous on-stage malfunction incident, Madonna made her big-screen debut as she starred on A Certain Sacrifice. The movie was produced back in 1979, but it wasn't released until '85. She was only paid 100 dollars.
In the same year, another release, Desperately Seeking Susan, made a significant mark after grossing over 27.3 million dollars. The New York Times ranked Madonna's debut major-screen as one of the ten best films of 1985.
17 1985: Marriage
The second single of Like A Virgin album, Material Girl, sees Madonna recreating Marilyn Monroe's performance of Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend from the 1953 film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes on its accompanying music video. She met her first husband, Sean Penn, on the set of the set, and eventually tied the knot on her 27th birthday in 1985.
Even though their relationship was rocky at its best and they called it off in 1989, there's no bad blood between the two former sweethearts.
16 1986: True Blue
Madonna released her third studio album, True Blue, on June 30, 1986, and dedicated the whole project to her then-husband. Not only that, but she also scored her first entry of the Guinness Book of World Records as the most successful singer of 1986. Its second single, Papa Don't Preach, talks pregnancy and sparked her first backlash with the Vatican and anti-abortion groups. Pope John Paul II urged Italian fans to boycott her concerts during the Who's That Girl World Tour in 1987.
15 1989: Like A Prayer
Madonna released her fourth studio album, Like a Prayer, on March 21, 1989. It is among the most personal Madonna's albums to this date as she talks about the loss of her mother, her relationship with her father, and female empowerment on the album.
"Art should be controversial," she talked to The NY Times. The album's lead single sparked a huge discussion and controversy as it depicted burning crosses in a controversial Christian-themed music video.
14 1990: Mrs. Controversy
In 1990, Madonna embarked on her provocative extravaganza world tour, Blond Ambition World Tour, and it wasn't safe from controversies. Several religious organizations in Italy called to ban the tour due to her sexual imagery, which the Pope called it "one of the most satanic shows in the history of humanity."
Well, it was a successful attempt. One out of three Italian dates were canceled. Still, it became one of the highest-grossing tours of the 1990s, with 62 million dollars (122 million in today's inflation) were generated.
13 1990: Dick Tracy
Madonna pushed her acting career further in 1990 as she starred as femme fatale Breathless Mahoney on Warren Beatty-directed movie, Dick Tracy. Her massive star power, along with powerful features of Al Pacino and Warren put the film at the top of the US box office. She received a Saturn Award for Best Actress.
12 1992: Erotica
Madonna released her fifth studio album, Erotica, on October 20, 1992. As the title suggests, the album sees Madonna exploring into a darker, sexually provocative territory. Even though it met positive reviews from the critics, the album became the lowest-selling album of her career due to poor public acceptance. However, its accompanying X-rated coffee table book, Sex, was a huge commercial success and sold over 150,000 copies within the first day.
11 1994: Bedtime Stories
Madonna bounced back from her lowest-selling album, Erotica, by releasing her sixth studio album, Bedtime Stories, on October 25, 1994. On this toned-down, less sexual approach album, she proved one more time that she is more than just a sexy Hollywood woman who uses shock values to sell records.
In that very same year, she made a not-so-PG rant on the Late Show with David Letterman after the host started asking about her sex life. She called him 'a sick f*ck, and yes, she also told him to smell her underwear.
