After causing a media storm when she brought baby David Banda back to England last year amid an adoption process that some claimed was illegal, it looks like Madonna will new be putting all her energy into projects that will directly benefit those still living in the poverty-stricken country.
"Madonna is going to Africa to continue her work with the Raising Malawi organisation. She is overseeing the building of a children’s health-care centre," added Liz.
In an open letter on the charity’s official website, Madonna describes her desire to "provide orphans and vulnerable children with physical assistance, long-term sustainability, and psychosocial programs to address their emotional needs."
Shoppers flock to buy Madonna range - Mar 22 2007
Leather trench coats and sequinned dresses were the most popular items in Madonna’s new fashion range which hit stores today.
Around 50 shoppers poured into H&M’s flagship London branch when the collection launched to the sound of La Isla Bonita.
An H&M spokeswoman said the M by Madonna collection wasn’t expected to sell out today because it went on sale in all 114 of the chain’s UK outlets - although some items were quickly advertised on eBay as being "sold out" despite still being stocked in stores.
Sunglasses priced at £19.99 and kimono dresses for £39.99 were among the collection’s most popular items.
Shoppers in H&M’s Oxford Street store grabbed armfuls of the clothes after doors opened at 9am.
The collection of 30 pieces of clothing plus shoes and accessories is priced from £7.99 for turbans to £149.99 for the leather trench coats.
Madonna teamed up with H&M design team Margareta van den Bosch to create the collection.
The H&M spokeswoman said the chain didn’t expect it to spark the same buying frenzy caused by more limited collections from designers Stella McCartney and Viktor & Rolf.
"With the designer collections we picked big city stores but with this, because it is so wearable, we put it everywhere," she said.
"Because this has gone to all the stores, the quantities are much higher. I am sure not every single store will sell out today, which has been known with the designers. "
Madonna in vogue with clothes launch - Mar 22 2007
Madonna’s new fashion collection will go on sale across the country for the first time today at high street chain H&M.
The Material Girl’s range of clothes and accessories, priced from £7.99 to £149.99, will be launched at H&M’s Oxford Street branch in central London.
Called M by Madonna, the collection has seen the icon team up with H&M design chief Margareta van den Bosch.
The 48-year-old star is also modelling the collection for the retailer’s advertising campaign.
She said: "Working with H&M was an exciting and new creative challenge. I’m happy with the results and look forward to wearing M by Madonna along with the rest of the world."
The range includes jackets, blazers, kimono dresses, handbags, sunglasses and trenchcoats.
Ms van den Bosch said: "Madonna has an impressive feel for fashion and trends. She was extraordinarily style conscious, passionate and involved in even the smallest details."
Previous collections for H&M by the designers Stella McCartney and Victor & Rolf sparked a rush of buyers to the chain.
Madonna to reunite David with father? - Mar 21 2007
The father of David Banda, Madonna’s adopted child, is hoping that the star will reunite him with his son during a planned trip to Malawi.
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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)
October 2007