Madonna

Madonna has strung together many hits throughout her career. The Guinness Book of World Records dubbed her the greatest selling female artist of all-time, with 120 million albums sold.

However, Madonna had to work her way up for her success.

Born in Michigan in 1958, Madonna got an early start in music when her father required his children to take music lessons. In 1977, she dropped out of college and headed to New York to pursue a dance career. In New York, she latched on with several bands, playing the underground music scene.

She released her first single in 1982, which had moderate success on the dance tracks, but nothing like what she would grow accustomed to. In 1984, “Like a Virgin” became her first album to top the U.S. charts. Her fourth album, “Like a Prayer,” was her first album with personal lyrics and produced five hit singles.

Starting in the early 1990s, Madonna would release a series of videos which would come under public scrutiny for their sexuality. “Vogue,” “Justify My Love,” and “Erotica,” were all videos that came under fire. In 1992, she continued pushing the limits when she released the photographic book, “Sex.” The controversy did a number to her career as more and more organizations and people spoke out about the singer.

Her seventh album, “Ray of Light,” returned her to commercial success. She released her 8th album, “Music,” in 2000 to much commercial success and the “Queen of Pop” returned to the throne. Recently she has released her tenth album, “Confessions on a Dance Floor.”

However, not all of Madonna’s success was in music. Her most critically acclaimed role was in the musical, “Evita.” Madonna appeared in dozens of films including “Dick Tracy,” “Desperately Seeking Susan” and “A League of Their Own.”

Madonna is credited for much of the change in pop culture over the years, setting many trends in fashion and lifestyle for females of the world.