Madonna

Madonna Louise Ciccone, professionally known as Madonna, is an American singer, entertainer, songwriter, actress, producer, director and businesswoman born August 16, 1958 in Bay City, Michigan. After performing in the music groups [a=Breakfast Club] and [url=http://www.discogs.com/artist/Emmy+(7)]Emmy[/url], she signed with in 1982 and released her debut album, [i][m=5319][/i], the following year. She followed it with a series of commercially successful albums, has sold more than 400 million records worldwide and is recognized as the best-selling female recording artist of all time by Guinness World Records.

Madonna was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in her first year of eligibility. She was ranked at number one on VH1's list of 100 Greatest Women in Music, and at number two on Billboard's list of Greatest Hot 100 Artists of All Time (behind only The Beatles), the latter making her the most successful solo artist in the history of American singles chart.