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Since releasing her debut album in 1983, Madonna<\/strong><\/a> has rarely been out of the public eye<\/a> \u2014 and she\u2019s never stopped delivering<\/a> floor-filling pop hits.<\/p>\n Born in Bay City, Michigan, in 1958, Madonna \u2014 whose full name is Madonna Louise Ciccone \u2014 started dancing as a kid after convincing her dad to let her study ballet instead of the piano. After graduating from high school in 1976, she attended the University of Michigan on a dance scholarship, but she dropped out two years later and moved to New York City.<\/p>\n Madonna continued studying dance in the Big Apple, but she also started making music, and by 1981, she had her debut single, \u201cEverybody,\u201d ready to go. \u201cFirst of all, I wanted to make a living. I was tired of being broke,\u201d she recalled to The New York Times<\/em> in 2019, reflecting on those early years. \u201cBut second of all, all I wanted was a song to get played on the radio. That\u2019s all I was praying for. One song.\u201d<\/p>\n That dream came true and then some. As of 2023, she\u2019s the best-selling solo female artist of all time and is tied with Barbra Streisand<\/strong><\/a> for most multiplatinum albums by a solo female artist. \u201cI have something new to say every time I make a record,\u201d she told Entertainment Weekly<\/em> in 2016. \u201cI think that that\u2019s kind of a no-brainer. I\u2019m not a \u2018greatest hits\u2019 kind of girl. You could say it\u2019s reinventing, but a real artist is continuously changing and evolving because the art is continuously changing and evolving. I mean, Picasso didn\u2019t paint the same paintings over and over again.\u201d<\/p>\n Keep scrolling for a look back at Madonna\u2019s life and career<\/a> through the years:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n