7 revelations from Madonna’s new biography as The Celebration Tour kicks off: Mary Gabriel’s A Rebel Life documents the pop icon’s life, LGBT activism and marriages to Sean Penn and Guy Ritchie
- The Queen of Pop’s The Celebration Tour begins at London’s O2 tonight – the same week that the Madonna: A Rebel Life biography dropped and daughter Lourdes Leon released new song ‘Spelling’
- She trained as a ballerina before embarking on a singing career, and was friends with pop artists Andy Warhol and Keith Haring, but the production of her biopic starring Julia Garner got shelved
The big Madonna biopic might’ve been scrapped earlier this year, but the Queen of Pop’s life and legacy clearly won’t be far from the public eye in the years to come.
Fans didn’t have to wait long for more thrills and spills. This week, Pulitzer Prize finalist Mary Gabriel’s Madonna: A Rebel Life – The Biography finally arrived – an already-acclaimed account of Madge’s illustrious four-decade music career, and how she’s managed to stay in the spotlight to this day.
Perhaps by coincidence (or not), the day after the bio was released, Madonna’s daughter Lourdes Leon released a new song “Spelling” as Lolahol, which the 26-year-old described as “an homage to [her] mother’s timeless piece of art ‘Frozen’”.
The biggest news of all however, is that The Queen of Pop is kicking off her anniversary The Celebration Tour in London today – a six-month greatest hits extravaganza wrapping in Mexico City in late April.
Here are seven things we learned from the hype around the 65-year-old “Material Girl” singer’s new biography:
1. How Madonna got the nickname “Madge”
Gabriel’s biography explains how Madonna got the nickname “Madge”. Back in her earlier days, when she moved to London to work on her Music album in 2000, her British fans liked how she acted more like a “normal” person rather than a typical Hollywood celeb. It apparently earned her the title “Madge” to help her blend in, rather than have a glam name like Madonna.
2. She is a trained ballerina
It’s no secret that the talent born Madonna Louise Ciccone can dance. She’s been doing it for decades! But what’s lesser known about the “Like a Virgin” superstar is that she actually studied ballet in her teens. She even earned a dance scholarship at the University of Michigan, before dropping out to relocate to New York City.