Madonna

Madonna Louise Ciccone Ritchie was born August 16, 1958, in Bay City, Michigan. Her mother, Madonna Louise, is of French-Canadian descent and her father, Silvio "Tony" P. Ciccone, was a first-generation Italian-American who worked as a Chrysler/General Motors design engineer. She was the third of six children. Her mother died of breast cancer when Madonna was a little girl.

At a young age, she convinced her father to allow her to take dance lessons. When she moved on to high school, not only was she a straight-A student but she was also a cheerleader, and was offered a dance scholarship to the University of Michigan. Her dance instructor convinced her to pursue a career in dance instead, though, and with just $35 in her pocket, she upped and moved to New York City.