Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone was born on August 16, 1958 in Ba Ciy, Michigan and was the third of eight children of a large Italian Catholic family. Her father, Tony Ciccone, was a design engineer for General Motors, her mother, Madonna Ciccone, died on December 1, 1963 at the age of thirty, of breast cancer when Madonna was only five. Madonna has frequently discussed the enormous impact her mother's death had on her life and career. Her father later (1967) married the family housekeeper, Joan Gustafson, which was very hard for Little Nonny to accept.
All the children recall the loving athmosphere at home in their early years before their mother´s death. Madonna was the apple of her father´s eye but she was never spoilt by him. She admired his strength and integrity. However, it was too soon, Tony and his six children became a one-parent family. When he got married again, Madonna found herself being required to take on responsibilities which were new to her. Two more children were born in the Ciccone family and Madonna grew into a role of a "little mother". In her teens she began to refuse to perform this way. She wanted freedom of her life. She became addicted to cinema, music and dance.
Tony required all of his children to take music lessons. After a few months of piano lessons, Madonna convinced her father to allow her to take ballet classes instead, and she proved to be a gifted dancer. At the age of eleven she was able to practise for several hours a day. As a young girl, Madonna attended three catholic junior schools St Adrews, St. Fredericks and the Sacred Heart Academy. At the age of twelve she attended Rochester Adams High School. She became a straight-A student and excelled at sports. She was also a member of the cheerleading squad. Some photographs from the school-year books
In tenth grade Madonna got to know a girl who was a serious student of ballet. She was the one who introduced Madonna to ballet class run by Christopher Flynn. His school specialized in modern dance and was very admired by his pupils. After some time he described Madonna as his "one of the best students he has ever had". All of her hard work was awarded a full scholarship to the Performing Arts School of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. Her life now was a very different one from that she had experienced at home in Rochester.
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