Born and raised in Michigan, Madonna was one of seven children in a large Italian family named after her French-Canadian mother, Madonna Louise Ciccone, who died at age 30 of breast cancer. The loss changed the Material girl’s life forever.
As her mother’s death neared, Madonna noticed the difference in her, but she was too young to understand what was happening. The singer feels that her mother’s death has influenced her thought process and that her passing created a void that neither Madonna herself nor her stepmother have been able to fill.
How mom’s death affected Madonna
The loss of her mother affected the singer and instigated feelings of abandonment and the idea that everyone she chose to love would leave her. In a Billboard interview, Madonna described how the loss of her mother increased her control freak;
“My mother dying and not being told, and a sense of loss and betrayal and shock. Then I felt out of control for most of my childhood, and I became an artist and said I’ll control everything.”
His mother’s death spawned the perfectionism and drive he exudes. In memory of her late mother, Madonna had the French word “Maman” tattooed on her right wrist, which translates to mother in English. He posted a video to Instagram on April 4, showing his symbolic ink signifying his bleeding for his mother.
When little Madonna’s mother died, she couldn’t think of a different way to express herself outside of shedding tears. The singer cried for days on end, causing the neighbors’ efforts to comfort her to expire.
In her song “Mother and Father,” from her album “American Life,” Madonna sings about her emotional reaction to the revealing loss: “I cried and cried and cried all day, ’til the neighbors left. They couldn’t take away my loneliness. I couldn’t stand his falsehood.”
Madonna’s dad broke her heart
Madonna became attached to her father, Silvio, when her mother died. Silvio married his maid, Joan Gustafson, three years after his mother’s death, and broke the singer’s heart. Resentful feelings towards him grew, which he later addressed in “Mother and Father”;
“My father had to go to work. I used to think he was a jerk. I didn’t know he was heartbroken.”
The singer was unable to make peace with her father’s decision and for years harbored feelings of hatred towards him. The “Like a Prayer” singer said she hadn’t visited her mother’s grave for years after Silvio remarried. These experiences incited rebellion in Madonna, causing her to turn away from religion and demand the right to liberation in all aspects of life.
Madonna and her father repaired their relationship
The pop star kept the distance between her and her father for almost 15 years. The instability in their relationship ended when they supported Madonna’s brother, Martin Ciccone, who suffered from alcohol addiction and spent seven years without a home.
After years of silent division, she found her way back to her “first love,” even taking him onstage on her birthday. The Queen of Pop has reached extreme heights in her career, spending more than 30 years at the top of the charts. However, the tragic experiences of her life alienated her from her family.
Today, his relationship with his Italian father is on the mend. Now it’s part of the life she built with her blended family. Madonna recently took her children to her vineyard to celebrate her 90th birthday.