5. Trying to make ends meet while studying at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Madonna took work wherever she could find it, including a Dunkin’ Donuts. She was reportedly fired for squirting jam in a customer’s face.
6. Before going the route of solo artist, Madonna was the founding member of not one, but two bands. She formed Breakfast Club with musician Dan Gilroy, who she met while touring Europe in 1979 as a backup dancer and singer for French disco artist Patrick Hernandez. The two lived together in an abandoned synagogue in Queens.
7. A year or so later, she left the band (and Gilroy) to form Emmy with new boyfriend Stephen Bray. Their music caught the attention of Sire Records founder Seymour Stein, who offered her a singles deal.
8. Madonna’s first single, « Everybody, » was released on October 6, 1982. Her debut album, Madonna, was released in July 1983, earning her first top 10 hit, « Borderline, » in 1984.
9. Her oft-imitated iconic ’80s look (think lace tops, skirts over capri pants, fishnets, lots of bracelets, lots of crucifixes) was actually the creation of stylist and jewelry designer Maripol.
10. She single-handedly set the bar for all other artists at the MTV Video Music Awards with her iconic performance of « Like a Virgin » at the cable network’s first-ever ceremony in 1984.
11. Madonna’s first film role was a cameo as a club singer in the 1985 movie Vision Quest. (Desperately Seeking Susan, which featured the budding star in a much larger role, came out later that same year.)
12. To date, she’s released 14 albums. Her total album sales have earned her a place in the Guinness Book of World Records as both the most successful female solo artist of all time and the best-selling female recording artist.
13. Her 2008 Sticky & Sweet Tour was so successful, she broke the record she’d set only two years earlier with her Confessions Tour. It still remains the highest-grossing concert tour of all time by a female artist.
14. In 1990, Madonna was nominated to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. However, she showed no interest in accepting and the invitation expired.
