Historical Events  People
Madonna

Alternate:
Maria Louise Ciccone

Current:
Madonna Louise Ciccone

Immaculate confusion

Many people remember Madonna's birth name not to be "Madonna Louise Ciccone" but "Maria Louise Ciccone", or sometimes "Maria Louise Veronica Ciccone".

They remember her adopting the "Madonna" name, and recall it caused a controversy with the church at the time.

Most records today show she was always called Madonna, but there are a few remaining clues this might not always have been the case. Here's such a website, which claims to cover her life story.

Named after her mother

Her father was Italian and her mother French, and both were Catholics. Her mother was called Madonna, and the story is they named their daughter the same but called her "Little Nonni". When she was herself confirmed in the Catholic church, she took the name Veronica, which explains why this is sometimes seen in her name too.

She left for New York in 1978 with no money, and worked various low-paid jobs before becoming a backup dancer, and eventually forming her own band. After a few reforms she realised she'd be better as a solo act and was spotted by producer Kark Kamins, who arranged for her to audition for Sire Records.

With Shire, her first two singles Everybody and Burning Up were both instant hits on the US club circuit, but it was her third, Holiday, which was to propel her into international stardom with the album it appeared on, Madonna.

She not only enjoyed a stellar music career but featured in several hit movie too: Desperately Seeking Susan, Who's that Girl?, Body of Evidence, Evita and even the James Bond movie Die Another Day to name just a few.

Wikipedia residue?

There is evidence of her old name - some translated Facebook pages showed her 'Maria' name for some time after the English one appeared to change, as does a French Wikipedia one:

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Even the French Newspaper Le monde called her Marie Louise Ciccone.