Madonna
- Profession: Singer
- Place/Date of Birth: Michigan USA
- Associated with: Guy Ritchie
In an open letter to Madonna, Eye Of The Child had questioned whether foreign adoptions were in the best interests of children. But Mirriam Nyirongo, a retired nurse who runs an orphanage in the northern Malawian town of Mzuzu, said: "We must be frank. We can’t afford to look after the thousands of babies that are being orphaned every day. If rich people like Madonna take just one child it will be a major boost for Malawi. For people like baby David, when they come to know their roots, might wish to do the same for others."
Madonna Adoption Confirmed - Oct 13 2006
Madonna and husband Guy Ritchie have been granted custody of their adopted African child David, the star’s spokeswoman confirmed today. The pop diva has spent a week touring orphanages in Malawi, where 13-month-old David Banda is from.
Her spokeswoman Liz Rosenberg confirmed: "Madonna and her husband Guy Ritchie have been granted custody of their son David. Final legal arrangements are being made to bring him home to his new family."
The singer is expected to bring David, whose mother died of a fever a week after giving birth, to London to begin his new life with his adopted family. David will be little brother to Lourdes, nine, whose father is fitness trainer Carlos Leon, and Rocco, six, son of film director Guy.
Madonna, 48, has met David’s father, a peasant farmer, who has given his blessing to the adoption. The star has promised David will return to the southern African nation in later life to know his roots, according to reports.
David’s father Yohame has said: "They are a lovely couple. She asked me many questions. She and her husband seem happy with David. I am happy for him. Madonna promised me that as the child grows she will bring him back to visit."
Madonna files adoption papers - Oct 12 2006
Madonna filed adoption papers at a Malawi court today, a government official said, confirming claims that the star planned to adopt a one-year-old boy. Kingston Kilembe, director of child welfare services in the Ministry of Gender, Child Welfare and Community Services, said the celebrity and her film director husband Guy Ritchie filed adoption papers today before a judge at the Lilongwe High Court.
"They have followed the normal processes. This has been going on for some time. Now this is the completion point," he said. Kilembe said the judge would review the papers signed by Yohame Banda, father of one-year-old David, whose mother died a month after childbirth of complications, "After the judge has ruled they are going to take the child," Kilembe said.
Banda said he met Madonna and Guy at the court as part of the formalities. While they talked, Madonna, who has two children, carried the baby boy. "They are a lovely couple. She asked me many questions. She and her husband seem happy with David. I am happy for him. Madonna promised me that as the child grows she will bring him back to visit," Banda said.
Madonna visits Malawi - Oct 6, 2020
Pop diva Madonna spent time chatting to orphans during a trip to Malawi yesterday.
The Hung Up singer has pledged to raise at least three million dollars (£1.6m) for programmes to support the nearly one million children in Malawi who have lost parents to Aids.
She is also hoping to build an orphanage in Malawi, which is among the poorest countries in the world.
The 48-year-old pop star and an entourage of 10 people landed on a private plane in the capital Lilongwe earlier this week.
The blonde star’s arrival sparked rumours she was planning to adopt a Malawian child during her visit to the southern Africa nation.
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The following year Madonna broke away from Kamins and recorded Holiday which went straight in to the American top 20 and was a hit across Europe. She cemented her raunchy image with Like A Virgin, her first US number one, and Material Girl with it’s iconic video. By this time Madonna was becoming one of the most emulated and best loved artists in the world and she became even more popular thanks to her part in Live Aid and a high profile marriage to Sean Penn.
The pop diva followed up her success with several singles from the True Blue album and turned her hand to acting for the first time in the poorly received A Certain Sacrifice and of course, Desperately Seeking Susan. Her first real flop was alongside her husband in the laughable Shanghai Surprise. Her failure’s in the film department didn’t stop David Mamet from casting her in a Broadway production of Speed the Plow - by this time talent or no, Madonna’s was name that guaranteed attention.
1989 saw the singer court controversy with the video for Like A Prayer, featuring a black Jesus, which outraged and shocked the Catholic church and caused Pepsi to cancel a sponsorship deal. But far from ruining her career, this stunt saw her become the icon that we know today. The 1990s were the pinnacle of Madonna’s success, her divorce from Sean Penn pushing her further in to the lime light, beginning with a part in Dick Tracy opposite Warren Beatty and a fantastic soundtrack album alongside featuring hit song Vogue. Documentary film Truth or Dare and her Blonde Ambition tour (with that pointy bra) followed with further controversy.
In 1992 she signed a multi million pound deal with Time Warner guaranteeing the release of music, films and books through her own record label, Maverick. She made the most of the deal with picture book Sex, which caused another controversy but rocketed up the bestsellers charts nonetheless. Erotica was her first album for years though not to generate a US number one. People thought that perhaps Madonna had gone too far with her need to shock, and perhaps she had realised it too as her next album was far mellower and a part in Evita in 1996 made her bankable again.
Later that year she fell pregnant with Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon, daughter of her personal trainer. But far from slowing her work, having a child only seemed to spur Madonna on, she released the runaway success, Ray of Light which produced hit after hit and recorded Beautiful Stranger for the second Austin Powers movie. she also starred alongside Rupert Everett in romantic comedy The Next Best Thing.
It was around this time that Madonna met British director Guy Ritchie - the man who would change her life. They had son Rocco in 2000 and they married in 2002 after Madonna moved permanently to England, took to wearing flat caps and drinking tea. The title track of her album Music gave her a transatlantic number one hit. Collaborations with Ritchie, especially their film Swept Away, have generally been unsuccessful but Madonna’s music career continues to go from strength to strength, her latest album American Life has been a worldwide hit and she has even found time to pen a children’s book, The English Roses. Now, an honorary Brit and devout follower of Kaballah, Madonna lives with her family in Marylebone and Wiltshire. She also owns a ?4 million Spanish-style villa in Beverly Hills, a house in Miami and a duplex overlooking Central Park in New York.
(Updated April 04)
November 2007