Born Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone on 16th August 1958 in Michigan, USA, few artists can match Her Madge-sty's enduring pop-icon status. Since signing her first record deal with Sire Records in 1982, Madonna has continued to perform to sell-out audiences all over the world, picking up a string of number one hits along the way such as Papa Don't Preach, Like a Prayer, Vogue, Music, to name a few.

She also played the starring role in the film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Evita in 1996, detailing the life of Evita Peron, the influential wife of Argentina President, Juan Domingo Peron. Her first children's book, The English Roses instantly became the fastest-selling book ever by a first-time children's author in 2003.

So where does Madge get her motivation from? She's always cited her parents and upbringing as major influences. Madonna's father, Silvio P Ciccone, is Italian and she attributes her strong work ethic to him. An engineer and the only member of his family with a college education, he worked tirelessly to raise his family from their poor working class origins in Naples, southern Italy. He raised his family in Bay City, Michigan but sadly, Madonna's French Canadian mother, Madonna Louise Fortin, died of cancer when Madonna was six years old. Another singer with French Canadian ancestry on her mother's side is Grammy and Juno award-winning singer, Celine Dion - could this hold clues to the source of their combined vocal talents?

Madonna's Italian-American-Catholic background had had a similarly strong influence, but along a slightly different path. Much of Madonna's career has centered on opposing the conservative values of the Roman Catholic Church. In 1990, the Pope encouraged citizens not to attend her Blond Ambition Tour and Madonna was forced to cancel two shows due to poor ticket sales. The Pope also accused Madonna of blasphemy against the Catholic Church (a crime in Italy) in response to which Madonna famously declared, "I am Italian-American and proud of it."

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