Madonna

Madonna

Madonna

  • Profession: Singer
  • Place/Date of Birth: Michigan USA
  • Associated with: Guy Ritchie

Rumours that the celebrity was to start the process of adopting another child on this trip have been strongly denied.

Madonna in visit to Malawi - April 16 2007

Madonna arrived in the impoverished southern African country Malawi today to continue her charity work, bringing along her daughter Lourdes and the Malawian boy she is adopting.

After a rest at a luxury lodge in the capital Lilongwe, the 48-year-old toured UN-backed development projects in the small village of Mtanga, where farmers are being helped to grow maize and start fish farming.

The singer, dressed in combat trousers, a khaki T-shirt and black boots, was greeted by singing women and children as she inspected the maize crop and storage facilities and stood by the fish pond.

Her daughter, Lourdes, looked bemused at the crushing poverty in Mtanga which, like most Malawian village, consists of simple dirt huts with no electricity or running water.

Toddler David, who Madonna is in the process of adopting, did not accompany them.

Madonna visited the country last autumn and took custody of the then 14-month-old, who was in an orphanage after the death of his mother.

The move sparked controversy and raised concerns that regulations were being swept aside to benefit a pop star who has been generous to the country. The singer maintains she has followed the law.

Malawian child welfare officials are expected to file a report on the suitability of Madonna and her husband, Guy Ritchie, as adoptive parents after two trips to their London residence in May and December.

Rumours that the celebrity was to start the process of adopting another child on this trip have been strongly denied.

MALAWI MADONNA - April 16 2007

Preparations are under way for a return visit to Malawi by pop star Madonna, who is adopting a child from the southern African country where her charity does work among its many Aids orphans.

The orphanages and care centres she has been involved with have been freshly painted and spruced up while security around the exclusive lodge where the star stayed last year has been tightened.

Madonna’s plans to adopt toddler David Banda sparked an international controversy and raised concerns that regulations were being swept aside to benefit a pop star who has been generous to the country.

It is also not clear whether she will be accompanied by David or any other members of her family.

Rumours that the celebrity was to adopt another child have been strongly denied.

Madonna’s New York-based publicist Liz Rosenberg said the star was going to Africa to continue her work with the Raising Malawi organisation. "She is overseeing the building of a children’s health care centre. She is absolutely not adopting another baby," she said in a statement.

Yacinta Chapomba, a director of local aid group Consol Homes, which has been involved with Madonna’s organisation in the building of a children’s care centre, said an official opening ceremony would be held at the centre. She could not confirm whether the star would attend.

The centre in the impoverished village of Mphandula, 30 miles outside the capital, Lilongwe, will initially house 400 children who lost their parents to Aids.

There has also been much activity at the Home of Hope orphanage where David was cared for. The road to the village of Mchinji have been upgraded, new flowers planted and the children have received new uniforms. Three local police officers have been posted at the orphanage.

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Biography

Madonna Louise Ciccone was born in Michigan USA in 1958., the third of eight children. During her school years she was a cheerleader, excelled in dance and drama classes which gave her the love of performing that she is famous for. Moving to New York in 1977 to pursue her dream, (with a rumoured $35 dollars to her name) Madonna worked as a model and studied dance under notorious choreographer Alvin Ailey. Two years later she formed a band, The Breakfast Club and met boyfriend Steve Bray who recognised her talents immediately and helped her to create the solo dance tracks which saw her signed by Sire Records, releasing her first single, Everybody, with DJ Mark Kamins, in 1982.

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

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