Madonna (born Madonna Louise Ciccone; August 16, 1958) is an American recording artist, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, and raised in Rochester Hills, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977, for a career in modern dance. After performing as a member of the pop groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album, Madonna, in 1983 on Sire Records.
A series of hit singles from her next studio albums, Like a Virgin (1984) and True Blue (1986), established her as a pop icon. She pushed the boundaries of lyrical content in mainstream popular music and imagery in her music videos, which became a fixture on MTV. Her recognition was further raised by the film Desperately Seeking Susan (1985) which was widely seen as a Madonna vehicle despite her not playing the lead. Utilizing religious imagery in her fourth studio album Like a Prayer (1989), Madonna was praised by critics for her diverse musical productions while at the same time religious conservatives and the Vatican criticized her. In 1992, Madonna founded the Maverick corporation as a joint venture with Time Warner. The same year, she incorporated sexually explicit material in her work, with the
