Madonna (entertainer)

American pop musician

Madonna Louise Ciccone Ritchie (born August 16, 1958), known simply by her first name, is an American pop singer-songwriter, record and film producer, dancer, actress, author and fashion icon. Guinness World Records listed Madonna as the most successful female recording artist of all time. Madonna is often referred to, by the media, as the 'Queen of pop'. [1] Madonna's record company credited her as having sold over 232 million albums and 150 million singles worldwide. [2]

General quotes

• "In a time when political correctness is valued over honesty, I would also like to say: ride on motherfuckers...!"

• "beauty is where you find it."

• "A falcon." (When asked by a fan what kind of animal she would be; she then performed the song "Hollywood" which contains the line "This bird has flown," and quipped mid-lyric "Told you I was a falcon!")

• "I was sacked from Dunkin' Donuts for squirting the donuts jelly all over the customers." (About working in Dunkin' Donuts in New York before becoming famous).

• "I miss New York. I still love how people talk to you on the street - just assault you and tell you what they think of your jacket."

• "I hate polite conversation. I hate it when people stand around and go, 'Hi, how are you?' I hate words that don't have any reason or meaning. Also I hate it when people smoke in elevators and closed in places. It's just so rude."

• "I don't take drugs: I never did. All the feelings that drugs are supposed to produce in you - confidence or energy - I can produce naturally. The only problem is going to sleep. But I never take pills... I drink herbal teas."

• "I love horses. I think I may have been one of Henry VIII’s knights in another life, riding through a great forest."

• "In everyday life I am quiet and reserved, not the housekeeper type but cool and relaxed. I don't get up in the morning wearing false eyelashes and I don't wear fancy underwear when I'm cooking popcorn. I'm a nice little ducky."

• "With the crucifixes I was exorcising the extremes that my upbringing dwelt on. Putting them up on the wall and throwing darts at them. And the 'Boy Toy' thing was a joke, a tag name given to me when I first arrived in New York because I flirted with the boys. All the graffiti artists wore their nicknames on their belt buckles."

• "One of my all-time favourite poets is <<Charles Bukowski>>. I think he's the coollest guy in the world."

• "Listen, everyone is entitled to my opinion."

• "Absolutely no regrets."

• "I'm not a feminist, I'm a humanist." (at American Life MTV special)

• "Life's too short to be bitter, I'm too short to be bitter."

Inspiration

• "That consciousness is everything and that all things begin with a thought. That we are responsible for our own fate, we reap what we sow, we get what we give, we pull in what we put out. I know these things for sure."

• "I think you can be defiant and rebellious and still be strong and positive."

• "I stand for freedom of expression, doing what you believe in, and going after your dreams."

• "Never forget to dream."

• "I want to be like Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, and John Lennon... but I want to stay alive."

• "Be strong, believe in freedom and in God, love yourself, understand your sexuality, have a sense of humor, masturbate, don't judge people by their religion, color or sexual habits, love life and your family."

• "I'd like to think I am taking people on a journey; I am not just entertaining people, but giving them something to think about when they leave."

• "I don't care anymore if people dress like me, now I want them to think like me."
• I shun anybody who could be considered a "benefactor" I would rather take all the glory for myself.
• "To be brave is to love someone unconditionally, without expecting anything in return. To just give. That takes courage, because we don't want to fall on our faces or leave ourselves open to hurt."

• "When in doubt act like god".

• "Better to live one year as a tiger, then a hundred as sheep."

• "I refer to an entity called 'The Beast'. I feel I am describing the world that we live in right now. To me 'The Beast' is the modern world that we live in."

• "I understand that gossip sells papers, but I am dissapointed because it discourages others from doing the same thing. The media is doing a great disservice to all the orphans in Africa by turning it into a negative thing. I beg them to go to Africa and see what I saw. It's a state of emergency. Anyone who went there would want to bring one of those children home and give them a chance to have a future and better life." (About the adoption of her son, David)

• "I don't think you can ever love enough."

• "Not only does society suffer from racism and sexism but it also suffers from ageism. Once you reach a certain age you're not allowed to be adventurous, you're not allowed to be sexual. I mean, is there a rule? Are you supposed to just die?"

• "Humiliating someone for gain will haunt you. God will have his revenge."

Ambition

• "When I came to New York it was the first time I'd ever taken a plane, the first time I'd ever gotten a taxi-cab, the first time for everything. And I came here with 35 dollars in my pocket. It was the bravest thing I'd ever done."

• "I went to New York. I had a dream. I wanted to be a big star. I didn’t know anybody. I wanted to dance. I wanted to sing. I wanted to do all those things. I wanted to make people happy. I wanted to be famous. I wanted everybody to love me. I wanted to be a star. I worked really hard and my dream came true." (Spoken at the beginning of the "Virgin Tour" concert video).

• "I wouldn't have turned out the way I was if I didn't have all those old-fashioned values to rebel against."
• "I wanted to do everything everybody told me I couldn't ever do."

• "I think passive beauties have their place in the world. It's hard for me to relate to that."

• "I'm ambitious. But if I weren't as talented as I am ambitious, I would be a gross monstrosity."

• "If I was a girl again, I would like to be like my fans, I would like to be like Madonna."

• "I feel just as hungry today as I did the day I left home."

• "There's no borderline for the things that I can say, do, and create."

• "People think they will wake up one day and I'll be gone. But I'm never going away."

• "I have the same goal I've had ever since I was a girl. I want to rule the world."

• "I'm not going to compromise my artistic integrity." (Spoken in her documentary "Truth or Dare".)

• "I became an overachiever to get approval from the world."

• "I always thought I should be treated like a star."

• "Now that I got everyone's attention, what do I have to say?" (Behind The Music on VH1)

• "If at first you don't succeed, you're obviously not me."

• "I'm like a cockroach you just can't get rid of me!"

• "You have to be patient. I'm not."

• "I won't be happy till I'm as famous as God." (In the very begining of her career).

• "To me, the whole process of being a brush stroke in someone else's painting is a little difficult."

• "I wanna rule the world." (When asked what she wanted to do, on "American Bandstand".)

• "I'm tough, ambitious, and I know exactly what I want. If that makes me a bitch, okay."

• "Sometimes you have to be a bitch to get things done."

• "haven't got much time to waste; It's time to make my way; I'm not afraid of what I'll face; But I'm afraid to stay." (Lyrics from "Jump")

• "When I'm hungry, I eat. When I'm thirsty, I drink. When I feel like saying something, I say it."

• "There are moments when I can't believe I'm as old as I am. But I feel better physically than I did 10 years ago. I don't think, Oh God, I'm missing something."

• "I am my own experiment. I am my own work of art."

About family

• "Obviously, my tastes and my priorities have changed, Just because I'm a mother doesn't mean I'm not still a rebel and that I don't want to go in the face of convention and challenge the system. I never wanted to think in a robotic way, and I don't want my children to think that way, either. I think parents should be constantly questioning society."

• "family is everyting. Family comes first. It's not what I expected it to be, but nothing ever is."

• "Children always understand. They have open minds. They have built-in shit detectors."

• "The last thing I want is to raise a brat. We could definately go down the wrong road. I don't want Lola to have everything she wants. I want her to appreciate things, and not to be presumptuous. I want her to have manners and social graces."

• "I could probably bring up a child as normal as I can live my life. I surround myself with people who don't treat me like a celebrity or a freak or whatever, and I would do the same with my child."

• "I think it's important for children to stay in one place, to socialize with other children."

• "We get up with them in the morning. I get my daughter ready for school. I spend time with my son before he goes off to his daycare. Either Guy or I am always with them at dinner, and we spend evenings together". (On her children)

• "My father was very strong. I don't agree with a lot of the ways he brought me up. I don't agree with a lot of his values, but he did have a lot of integrity, and if he told us not to do something, he didn't do it either."

• "Have I ever been totally and completely intimidated by another person? Yes - my husband's mother."

• "It only took me 40 years to get it right." (Talking about her husband, Guy Ritchie)

• "He actually knows a guy who fed people to pigs! Go on, tell how you got this scar." (About her husband, Guy Ritchie)

• "Well, he sometimes wears a kilt." (Said jokily when asked who wears the pants in her relationship with Guy)

• "The scar on his neck is one of my favorite things about him. I thought he got into a fight or something when we started dating." (About her hubby, Guy)

• "I love Guy's confidence and his director's charm. The first time I met him, I was most certainly intrigued by his masculinity. He's my wonderful disciplinarian. He's so amazing with the kids; he's also mellow and a Virgo of course."

Sex, sexuality & Gender

• "Rejection is the greatest aphrodisiac."

• "It takes a Real man to fill my shoes."

• "Maybe I'm just a gay man inside a womans body!" (Talking to Michael Parkinson in November 2005)

• "Gay men are perfect men for girls who are tough. They're not threatened by strong women, and they're usually very in touch with their feelings and pay attention to details. I've always had an affinity with gay men."

• "Strong women leave big hickies."

• "I'm not interested in being Wonder Woman in the delivery room. Give me drugs."

• "Because I've taken my clothes off in public doesn't mean I've revealed every inch of my soul."

• "Why did God create men? Because vibrators can't mow the lawn."

• "I saw losing my virginity as a career move."

• "Everybody loves you when they are about to come."

• "When I get down on my knees, it is not to pray"

• "Most priests are gay."

• "Condoms saved my life."

• "If you have to ask for something more than once or twice it wasn't yours in the first place."

• "Come on girls! Do you believe in love? Cause I got something to say about it." (From the song Express yourself).

• "Hey you! Don't be silly! Put a rubber on your willie!" (Poem written for AIDS P.S.A.)

• "So what?" (In response to nude photos published early in career.)

• "I don't trust any man who hasn't kissed another man."

• "I don't care if you have a small dick, as long as you know how to use that stick."

• "I'll flirt with anyone from garbagemen to grandmothers."

On fame

• "Fame can be very disruptive. It can be like a drug. It gives you the feeling that you’re happy, it gives you the feeling of self-importance, it gives you the feeling of fulfillment... but it can distract you from what is really important."

• "The worst thing about being famous? I think it's what everybody says.. the lack of privacy and the idea that you're not really allowed to make mistakes and everything that you do is viewed under a microscope."

• "Before you're famous, you don't know what you're getting yourself into and you don't know until you're in the middle of it what you have sort of asked for."

• "I like to show off when I'm onstage, but I don't like to show on, like, 'Come in and check it out. Look how rich I am.' That's not my style."

• "I was publicly flogged." (RE: the "Sex" book phase of her career)

• "Sometimes I wake up, and I have forgotten how incredible a bitch I am."

• "I'm saying celebrity is bullshit. And who knows that better than me?"

• I have a cage
  It's called the stage
  When I'm let out
  I run about
  And sing and dance and sweat and yell
  I have so many tales to tell
  I like to push things to the edge
  And inch my way along the ledge
  I feel like God, I feel like shit
  The paradox, an even split
  It's just a job, I always say
  I should be grateful everyday
  Sometimes I think I just can't do it
  But I persist and I get through it
  And I console myself each night
  At least my cage is filled with light.(Short poem from "I'm Going to Tell You a Secret")

• "I've been popular and unpopular, successful and unsuccessful, loved and loathed, and I know how meaningless it all is. Therefore, I feel free to take whatever risks I want."

About politics

• "I fear the future I wish for my children is at risk, so I'm taking action. Please join me. Our greatest risk is not terrorism, and it's not Iraq or the "Axis of Evil". Our greatest risk is a lack of leadership, a lack of honesty and a complete lack of consciousness. Unfortunately our current government cannot see the big picture. They think too small. They suffer from the “what's in it for me?” syndrome. The simple truth is that the current administration has squandered incredible opportunities to bring the world together, to promote peace in regions that have only known war, to encourage health in places that are ravaged with disease, to make us more secure by living up to our principles at home and abroad. The simple truth is that the policies of our current administration do not reflect what is great about America." (About the War in Iraq & the Bush administration).

• "I am not anti-Bush. I am not pro-Iraq. I am pro-peace. I have written a song and created a video which expresses my feelings about our culture and values and illusions of what many people believe is the American dream - the perfect life."

• "If you don't like my attitude, then you can fuck off, just go to Texas and suck George Bush's dick!" (Singing 'I Love New York' at Coachella Festival 2006)

On religion

• "Catholicism is not a soothing religion. It's a painful religion. We're all gluttons for punishment."

• "It is difficult to believe in a religion that places such a high premium on chastity and virginity."

• "If I was to change my name, I'd used my confimation name, Veronica. I chose her because she wiped the face of Jesus, which I thought was really romantic."

• "I sometimes think I was born to live up to my name. How could I be anything else but what I am having been named Madonna? I would either have ended up a nun or this."

• "I loved nuns when I was growing up. I thought they were beautiful. For several years I wanted to be a nun. I saw them as really pure, disciplined, above average people. They had these serene faces. Nuns are sexy."

• "Crucifixes are sexy because there's a naked man on them!"

• "I would like to see the Pope wearing my T-shirt."

• "I pray when I'm in trouble or when I'm happy. When I feel any sort of extreme. I pray when I feel so great that I'll think I need to check with myself and recognize how good life is. But when it seems there's so much bullshit around, it's important to remind myself of the things I have to be grateful for."

• "The cross is a very powerful symbol and it symbolises suffering, but it also is connected to a person who was loving and sharing and his message was about unconditional love. I tried to take a powerful image and use it to draw attention to a situation that needs attention. "For me, we all need to be Jesus in our time. Jesus's message was to love your neighbour as yourself and these are people in need." (About the controversial crucifixion scene in her Confessions tour)

From "Sex" book

• "Straight men need to be emasculated. I'm sorry. They all need to be slapped around. Women have been kept down for too long. Every straight guy should have a man's tongue in his mouth at least once."

• "Then there are guys who say 'I have never fantasized about being with a man.' They are lying. And the least offensive men I've been with in terms of their sexual politics and how they view me as a woman, have been men who have either slept with men, or at least kissed or held a man once. It opens up your thinking. You don't think that women are less-than you are."

• "My pussy has nine lives."

• "A lot of people are afraid to say what they want. That's why they don't get what they want."

• "I think I have a dick in my brain. I don't need to have one between my legs."

On The Late Show with David Letterman

• Madonna: "Is that a rug?" (referring to David Letterman's hair)

• Letterman: after the singer brands him a "sick fuck": "You realize this is being broadcast don't you?"

• Madonna: "Listen, all you do is talk about my sex life on your show, so now you don't want to talk about my sex life when I'm on your show?!"

• Letterman: "I want to thank you folks for coming out for this run-through show. Thank you very much. This, of course, will never see the light of day. You won't miss a thing tonight."

• Letterman: "Oh, stop it! Will you stop? Ladies and gentlemen, turn down your volume. Turn down the volume immediately! She can't be stopped! There's something wrong with her!"

• Madonna: I am a sick fuck I have my nose in everybodies sexlife!

About Madonna

• "She's outrageous, she's provocative, she's inscrutable. And over the years, we've all been witnessed to her evolution, from street smart kid sister to virgin bride, from sex goddess to a yogi. Her mind is as celebrated as her body, she's as feared as she's desired, she leads while other's follow...a woman who is all woman, and all women." Sting

• "That woman has more sensuality in her ear than most women have anywhere on their bodies." Stephen Jon Lewicki [3]

• "Oh, God! Yes, I had a sense that they'd really like each other and really complement each other and I think they do - they're fantastic parents, and they sparkle when they're together. But I'm not a kiss and tell!"
  • Trudie Styler on introducing Madonna to her director husband, Guy Ritchie.[4]

• "I can understand that the whole world is interested in my wife. That's even why I married her."
• "We are not that flash, me or the missus. In fact, we are quite low-maintenance." [5]
• "Funnily enough, we took out the bits that my wife recommended we take out the first time she saw it." (About his film, Revolver)
• "She's definitely the stronger side of the family."
• "It works because, first, I love her. That helps in a marriage. I actually like her, which is even more rare in a marriage." (About being married to Madonna)
• Inerviewer: "who’s in charge at home?"
  Guy Ritchie: "I’ve got to tell you, we’re just like any other married couple."
  Interviewer: "So she’s in charge?"
  Guy Ritchie: "Yes!"
  • All by Guy Ritchie

• "I watched a screening of her [Madonna's] film and I was sitting right next to her, which to me was exciting still. I’m not jaded enough to not be excited by that." [6] Marilyn Manson

• "Madonna is the only modern celebrity who is truly a style icon. Who else has the audacity to dress like her these days? "She really influenced how I wanted to look when I was growing up, and made me realise that I didn’t have to look like a blonde beach bunny or a Playboy model." Dita Von Teese[7]

• "When we had a break Guy asked if I'd like to meet the wife as she was in the car park and he knew I was a fan. So off we trotted. To be honest, I had the shock of my life. There she was in the back of her Range Rover administering a shot of B12 into the arse of Gerald Butler. Believe me. I was completely stunned to be quite honest, stunned - I mean to throw open the door and see that... I knew it would be magnificent to meet her because she's cult - I mean like Elvis - but the last thing I expected to see was her giving Gerard a shot in his bare arse because he wasn't very well. She does it for her dancers, she's trained doing it, so she decided to do it for the actors as well. She was so cool. She just said to Gerard, "There you go - bosh! That does it." And while she was doing that she was talking to me about a load of books I should be reading. I was really thrown." [8] Tom Hardy

• "Madonna is one of the only people in the world that can make a straight woman become gay, or a gay man become straight." [9] Benjamin Bratt

• "She's quite extraordinary. When I was 14, the first single I ever bought was LIKE A VIRGIN. She was kind of my sexual awakening. I had some full-on posters of her on my wall. I don't know what my parents thought. She still looks damn fit." [10] David Tennant.

• "You can't imagine how small she is... really small! But she is a sex bomb, believe me."
  • John Kennedy Jr to William Noonan after hearing a message from Madonna on the phone.

• "The history of women in popular music can, pretty much, be divided into before and after Madonna." Susan Sarandon

• "She is very natural. I did not get to know her as a person but she is down-to-earth and straightforward. She just speaks her mind." [11] DJ Gordon Edge

• "Whenever I was with her I always knew I was around a woman who had power and knew how to wield it. She is a big-time businesswoman, and she knows exactly what she wants.
• "She's a great lady. If you watch her on TV or in her videos, you get the perception of her as a real hard person who says "Fuck" for twenty minutes on David Letterman. In person, she's nothing like that. I don't remember her swearing to excess when we were out together. She always handled herself elegantly."
  • Both by Dennis Rodman [12]

• "In a way I respect Madonna for the things she introduced because she introduced some subversive things and it has nothing to do with sex as far as I'm concern, I'm talking about the introduction to the vogue dance which originated in the gay clubs in 80', and she was always supportive of stuff like that which I think is really cool." Kurt Cobain

• "She was in the process of becoming the biggest star in the world. I just wanted to make my films and hide. I was an angry young man. I had a lot of demons and don't really know who could've lived with me at the time. I was just as badly behaved as her, so I can't point the finger of blame." [13]
• "I met her on the shoot of that video (Material Girl). Madonna had done Like a Virgin, so she was a phenom, but nothing could have told anybody what would happen next. I describe that marriage as loud. That's how I remember it. And frankly, I don't recall having a single conversation in four years of marriage. I've talked to her a couple of times since, and there's a whole person there. I just didn't know it. I was just living in my own head. Who was it that said 'Men are vain, particularly young men'? That was me, and I liked to drink a lot." [14]
• "She's someone who I have really high regard for, she's an upstart. In a world that lacks boldness she's bold. There're times when I think 'OMG what she's doing?' just like everybody else think but then when I run in to her I would see that she's a very spontaneous person in a certain ways and a good person."
  • All by Sean Penn.

• "She would hang around naked in the locker room."
  • Amy Arbus about Madonna in the early days.

• "I turned round and it's Madonna, and I'm thinking, 'Fucking hell, it's Madonna!' But I say 'hi' and she grabs my hand and she gives me the famous blink and says, 'I think you're amazing' in that tiny voice she has. And I'm thinking, 'OK, try and be cool, this is possibly the biggest pop icon of our life, be cool'. I tried to say something even remotely understandable and instead just garbled my words. I had high heels on and I hardly ever wear high heels, and I lurched towards her, and I could see the alarm on her face, thinking 'who the hell is this?' And I lurched off flustered without even saying goodbye." Shirley Manson

• "I was letting people dictate who should be my friends. I felt like because I was this big Black Panther type of nigga, I couldn't be friends with Madonna. And so I dissed her, even though she showed me nothing but love. I felt bad, because when I went to jail, I called her and she was the only person that was willing to help me." Tupac Shakur (Vibe interview '95)

• "Pipe bands greeted the Queen and the Queen mother when they visited us and a few people turned out. But everybody appeared to see this woman Madonna. She had them all in the palm of her hand." [15] Jim Matheson.

• "Madonna's a lovely, lovely person But I definitely wasn't the right person for her."
• "She has a big heart."
  • Both quotes by Andy bird

• "I really like Madonna. What I admire is she's made it on her own terms." Ayumi Hamasaki

• "She's incredibly brave and she's got a real mischevious quality about her. I find her very compelling, really daring." (SPIN, Interview 98/04)
• "Just the fact that she made it look good to control your own life when that was something that was not supposed to be very sexy for a woman. She's one of the few women who has remained true to herself and been a character." (Rolling Stone, #695 17 november 1994)
  • Both by Bjork

• "Madonna’s sound was made for the dance floor when she epitomized the New York club kid; it got a bit closer to rock when she started presenting herself that way, connected with R&B when her image became softer again, went New Age techno when she got into spirituality, and so on. Fashion has become a part of the musical exploration and experience."
• "I'd like to fix her a big plate of spaghetti."
• "In her kind, she is very strong."
• "I am in her line, so I feel a fraternity between us!" [16]
  • All by Tori Amos

• "I love Madonna. I do! Definitely."
• "It all works for Madonna. I mean, I couldn’t do a lot of the things she does, but it works for her. I watched ‘Human Nature’ [the video] for the ‘Check On It’ video even though it didn’t come out anything like it. I wanted to do something like that but we didn’t have time to do it because it was just a 12-hour shoot. But absolutely!"
  • Both by Beyonce [17]

• "I want to be the black Madonna." [18]
• "When I did that Metallic stuff for my Umbrella video, I didn't do it to show my body. I didn't do it for people to like me. I did it because it was a cool visual, unexpected and I looked hot. I just find myself leaning towards stuff that only Madonna can pull off." [19]
  • Both by Rihanna

• "I know Madonna as a mother, and she’s exemplary, the love she gives her kids is a dream, and I know that her heart is big enough to adopt not just one child but to adopt 20." [20] Ricky Martin

• "He couldn’t be in better hands - but it won’t surprise me if he develops a bit of an Oedipus complex, where he fancies his mum."
  • Russell Brand about Madonna adopting a baby boy.

• "Madonna should be applauded for helping to take a child out of the worst poverty imaginable and giving him a better chance in life. Baby David is lucky to have been adopted by someone who can give him a chance of survival in this world and I don't think it's fair that people are criticising her." [21] Bono

• *At lot of people make her out to be arrogant, and not fan friendly, but I can say otherwise, for such a superstar, she makes you feel as if you’re talking to an old friend. Eric West [22]

• "I'm a big fan of Madonna, I love her music a lot. I like her persona, her ways to reinvent herself, not being the same all the time. I think it's vital and creative for an artist to look for new ways, new looks, different ways to sing but at the same time keeping those qualities that make you unique. Madonna is also a controversial artist that tends to amaze people in every possibile way and the same time I think she's a very authentic person. She looks very visceral to me, also in her quests. She has become quite sophisticated over the years but she stays true to herself and still capable to push people's buttons. I think that's the key of her success." Emanuela Rossi [23]

• "The following song was not made famous by me, though the woman who made it famous was also a blonde, and we both have religious names." Bernadette Peters
  • Said before performing Madonna's "Sooner or Later".

• "No one knows how to work this business like she does."
• "She could afford to be a little more magnanimous and a little less of a cunt."
• "I see what she does and I say "Nice try honey, but you're not doing anything I didn't do twenty years ago."
  • All by Cher

• I'd rather do it with Madonna
  She's what a woman's supposed to be
  Oh Madonna won't you do it with me?
  The only girl I'll ever need
  She's really got me on my knees
  Have you seen that film clip where she's wearing the cowboy hat and she's kicking the dirt
  • (From the song "Do It With Madonna" by the Androids).

• "I just want to say how much I enjoyed Madonna's performance. She is an absolute professional and she makes us all look like amateurs." (On EMA's 2005).
• "Madonna is the ultimate in our day and age of the grass being greenest. Guy Ritchie is a lucky man. I do happen to fancy Madonna. She rehearses her arse off. Goes to the gym every day. She does all that stuff to get it spot-on and then she delivers. I'm in awe of her drive." [24]
  • both quotes by Robbie Williams

• "She's one of the most loyal friends I have. When my brother died, the first person that I got a phone from was Madonna; she said she's there for me in anything I need." (VH1 Behind The Music)
• "She inspires me a lot. I made all my Winter collection listening to "Confessions on a Dance Floor."
• "The word 'icon' is overused, but in the case of Madonna I believe it has some meaning. She is a true icon. She has become a symbol of modern womanhood - confident, ambitious, dynamic, constantly reinventing herself. She is also a friend of mine and my late brother Gianni so there is a sense in which she symbolised the way in which Versace was staying true to its DNA, while evolving for the 21st century." [25]
  • All by Donatella Versace

• "When I was a child I use to think she was my real mother."
• "Madonna is the Queen, she cooed, I'm honoured to be in her presence."
  • both by P!nk

• "I would really, really, really like to be a legend like Madonna. Madonna knows what to do next, and when she's performing, the audience is just in awe of her."
• "I performed at Mom and Dad's party when I was four. Oh my gosh, I was singing a Madonna song and I peed myself."
• " I think she's amazing, I just love her."
  • All by Britney Spears

• "I’m fascinated by Madonna of all the famous people I‘ve ever been introduced to, she was the only person who had that thing you imagine that Elvis or Marilyn Monroe had where you walk into a room and all the oxygen disappears in their direction."
• "She was incredibly gracious and more polite than everybody else in that room. She made Richard (his partner) and I feel like we were important. I’ve never met a person as enigmatic as her."
• "She’s a massive flirt. She’s like Bono in the respect she’s amazingly intelligent, but in an instant they know what you expect them to be and they will be that for you. That shows an incredible emotional intelligence."
• "She’s a pretty extraordinary thing."
• "What impressed me most? Her stamina, dedication and perfection. Her precision and respect for her body and the craft. What an icon! What a role model for women! I bow down to the one I truly serve!!"
• "You know what? Everyone always talks about her image or her personality or her political stance. But for me it’s actually the voice and the songs. I think she is totally underrated as a vocalist and as a songwriter. She deserves so much more credit for her melodic sense and her emotive voice. I don’t know why people haven’t joined the dots yet but you can pretty much put her in a room with anyone and she’ll come up with the goods. That’s a producer right there. That’s a talent." [26]
  • All by Darren Hayes

• "...the world needs more women like her and men even more!!"
• "She’s always straight with everyone. And today it’s hard to find celebrities of her kind."
• "It’s different than any other job that I’ve done in the past of course, it’s also an honour. Not only because she is Madonna, but also because when she hired us, she didn’t ask us to change a bit of what we were. She accepted us the way we were already with no conditions… and for what we could possibly bring of positive in her show. And trust me, there are not a lot of artists who do that!" [27]
  • All by Steve Nestar, Madonna's dancer.

• "Amazing. It was really hard work, but it has helped me to know myself a little bit more, I really like Madonna because she is a tireless worker." [28]
  • Sofía Boutella, Madonna's dancer, about her working experience with Madonna.

• "I feel that she has constantly conveyed a message of empowerment to women - that women don't have to seek approval before doing something, that they can be bold and brave and fulfill their potential - and that's very inspiring. She has also been vocal in her support of gay politics and latterly, has become involved in the fight against global poverty. In pop culture terms, she has been hugely influential - very few pop artists are so determined and outspoken." [29] Lucy O'Brien, biographer.

• "She is no symbol. She is human. More brilliant than most. The real deal." (Rosie's blog)
• "When you don't have a mother, you do everything in your power to be a good mother; it's like the goal of your life. And I think she succeeding, definitely do." (Vh1 behind the music)
  • Both by Rosie O'Donnell

• "I admire Madonna because she always did whatever she felt like doing. She went through some controversial periods when people rejected her, but she kept on reinventing herself." [30] Shakira

• "She's a genius, she can do no wrong." Lenny Kravitz

• "I'd die if I was Madonna. I'd die. God, what a horrible way to live. And Michael Jackson! To be so famous and to feel so isolated. I feel so bad for them. I don't know how it feels, and I hope it never happens to me." [31] Alicia Silverstone

• "I think she's really great. I respect and admire her and think she's really talented." Susanna Hoffs from The Bangles

• "Is Madonna prepared to take on everything else that goes with wearing a crown of thorns?" [32]
• "Why would someone with so much talent feel the need to promote herself by offending so many people?" [33]
  • Both by Spokesman of the Church of England.

• "There's this sexual energy about her. I was totally aroused when I met her."
• "Her work ethic is very infectious in the studio. I was kind like, man, I'm too slow. She's a workhorse. I'm just a fan. I'm basically just a fan who, like, tricked Madonna."[34]
• "She's a very talented lady, There are definitely moments when I think, wow, I'm singing with Madonna. But she's so cool. She's very clever, very innovative. I was humbled working with her. She's fun to work with and she takes advice. Plus she has an amazing mind." [35]
• "There’s only one Madonna. It was amazing. I’m still trying to figure out if she knew we were there, cause I was just constantly staring at her. I became like the weird stalker in the corner!" [36]
  • All by Justin Timberlake

• "Madonna has made it difficult for the rest of us but even if I gave myself another five years I'd never be able to fit into that bloody leotard!" [37] George Michael

• "She was doing a dance and she was naked under her coat. Over the course of the dance, she became inspired and opened her coat, and there she was. She has an extraordinarily beautiful body, like cut out of ivory. One day, when I'm old and I'm wheeled out on my porch wrapped in a blanket, if I have a beatific smile on my face, I'll probably be thinking of that." Al Pacino [38] [39]

• "At 18 I sniffed poppers with Hardy Amies, danced at a nightclub with Rudolf Nureyev and dined in Paris with Andy Warhol and Bianca Jagger. I knew what it was to be drunk on fame by association. Yet everything was a pale imitation of the impact Madonna made on me. We met by chance."
• "When I first met Madonna she really was one of the only women that whether you were gay or straight or an animal she demanded a sexual response some how, something inside her and everybody was turned on by her, everybody!"
• "She was raucous but poised, elegant but common. She had the cupid-bow lips of a silent screen star, and it was obvious that she was playing with Sean underneath the table throughout the meal."
• "She was tiny and luscious with long auburn hair, slightly curled. She sat down. Sean’s forget-me-not eyes watered with adoration. Hers were the palest blue, strangely wide-set, any further and she would look insane, or inbred. When they looked in your direction, you froze."
• "In no way was she conventionally beautiful. She was a bit like a Picasso. When she fixed you with her regard, there was a tenderness and warmth that made your skin bump, but when she looked away, it was like sunbathing on a cold day and suddenly a cloud comes."
• "She was mesmerising. She oozed sex and demanded a sexual response from everyone. It didn’t matter if you were gay. You were swept up all the same. In those early years there was no male who would not want to bed her."
• "...I lost myself in Madonna’s attention and by the end I had fallen in love." [40]
  • All quotes by Ruper Everett

• "Madonna is the speedboat, and the rest of us are just the Go-Go's on water skis." [41] Liz Phair

• "I love Madonna very much, I think she had an amazing career and a wonderful family; she’s a good mother but still has the passion on work. She knows exactly what she wants, she’s a smart woman. She’s doing her best all the time. She gives her children good education, she’s capable, she’s confident as well, she may suffer some setbacks or hurt, you know, people always suffer a lot, but I think she’ll get through these, she’ll get the ultimate. Take a look at her, I mean, you’ll know she’s strong enough. I think she’s active. I’d like to get to know her and find out what’s she like in her daily life, I think Madonna is an excellent example for every woman." Gongli

• "She's like an older sister. Everything I have gone through, she went through ten times worse and ten times longer. She gives me good advice about how to say no and take care of myself." [42] Gwyneth Paltrow

• "The thing that was imposed on me from the outside was crude and vulgar and distressful to me, and disturbing - that big tits, blonde hair, Diana Dors, blowsy kind of thing. (But) I think Madonna got it right. Madonna claimed it for herself, and I've always admired her for that. I loved that 'Sex' book she did. I thought it was fantastic, because it was a big two fingers up, 'This is my sexuality, it's not what you put on me, it's mine." [43] Helen Mirren

• "She's an aggressive person to acheive anything like she's acheive. Her lyrics are not, 'Hit me again. i love it.' They're more, 'Come here baby, this is it.' She's very timely, she's right on time."
• "We’ve met, but we kind of travel in different worlds. She’s such a big star. I realy do like her music. I think she’s had some great hits... some really great songs." [44]
  • Both by Debbie Harry

• "I think she glows, she's an amazing performer and her work inspires me. There will be no other Madonna." Mariquita Robinson

• "The Mercer. It's just nice. Really cool. I turned up there last time, and there were about 20 paparazzi going, 'Ricky,' 'Ricky,' 'Ricky.' And I said, 'What are you doin' here?' 'We're here to see you.' I said, 'What [are] you really here for?' And they went, 'Madonna.' They were nice, but I knew the truth. Why would they be there for me?" [45] Ricky Gervais

• "Madonna inspires creativity and expressions beyond gender, religion, race, nationality, culture and all borders. "Madonna’s philosophy and originality always invigorates the world audience every time she produces a new album. Conventions and trends are challenged and redefined for the new values. "Madonna is in sync with nature and balances her lifestyle to achieve her best physical and mental conditions. Her ever innovative spirits are in tune with her respect of nature. Despite her celebrity and never ending professional activities, Madonna always says FAMILY FIRST. Love and respect for all those who are dear to her are the most important values in life."
  • Yuki Matsumoto, producer of Madonna’s Ariake commercial.[46]

• "I jokingly refer to Madonna being my template in making my decisions, because she’s the best at reinventing herself. Every two years she reinvents herself. [That's why] she still is where she is after 20 years. I think that that’s a smart thing." Anthony LaPaglia [47]

• "Madonna's the Queen of Pop, I'm the princess. I'm quite happy with that." Kylie Minogue [48]

• "I like her boss and ultrafeminist side. I hate the concept of "femme-objet", and the idea that women are still maltreated in certain parts of the world irritates me." Emmanuelle Seigner[49]

• "I want to be around the way Madonna has done it. She’s had her life but still maintained her career." Avril Lavigne [50]

• "Madonna's a funky lady, she's up for everything." Timbaland [51]

• "In music, the one who has reached the tops, it's Madonna." Christophe Willem [52]

• "She's confident, sensual and strong, but I like to bring out her vulnerability as well." Jamie king [53]

• "She worked out her moves in the mirror the night before we’d shoot. She would work so hard. She was not someone who went out clubbing every night. She was the one who said, ‘I want to be there at 5.30 in the morning so I have enough time to get the hair and make-up right.’ So before the crew had even arrived, she would be there. By the time she arrived at the set she was smiling and she did her job. And she did her job brilliantly." Alan Parker [54]

• "Madonna's probably the most disciplined person around and so I can only pale in comparison. It's just too impressive." [55]
• "Madonna’s line for H&M is extremely directional, provocative and sexy!" [56]
  • Both by Sarah Jessica Parker

• "I'd like to work on collaborations with some other artists like Madonna. She would be my first choice." [57]
• "...I think Madonna might be the only person my girlfriend would forgive me for straying away just overnight with -- because I think she'd do the same." [58]
  • both by Damon Gough from Badly Drawn Boy.

• "Madonna's my idol and the incarnation of the ultimate star, with what we can imagine of requirement, dictatorship."
• "Each year, I wait for three rendez-vous with same impatience: Woody Allen's last movie, the CD or the concert by Madonna and the new book by Philippe Djan."
• "Since I am a teenager, I am a fan of Madonna. I admire her determination, her talent, I know her career by heart. To prepare this parody, I saw a documentary again, in order to prepare the expressions of her face. I put the accent on her Diva side, whose desires are orders. A little jacket, a leotard, shoes, I copied her look from her album "Confessions on a Dance Floor", inspired by the beginning of the eighties. Dressed as my idol, I was happy as a kid who put a costume of Superman!"
  • All by a French humorist, Florence Foresti[59]

• "she has this ability to have you in the palm of her hand again. I went to see her last year in the Confessions on a Dance Floor and it was brilliant, it was really inspiring."
• "I think the thing that Madonna does, which I hope I can do, is that she has this ability to come across as quite austere at the beginning …not cold exactly but a little detached. But at the end of it she looks like she’s having a great time - she’s dancing, and you’re dancing, and it’s all great. I think that’s really clever how she gets that dynamic to work. You always feel at the end of it that you’ve somehow won her over. I don’t know, that’s a real…you know what I mean? Not everyone has that."
  • Both quotes by Sophie Ellis-Bextor [60]

• "Madonna was incredibly quick and professional. I was unable to say anything else than 'Hello', 'I’ll listen to it' and 'Good-bye'. That was incredibly stupid of me. Madonna was the idol of my youth and I grew up listening to her music."
  • Charlotte Ginsbourg reveals that she was unable to talk when Madonna called to ask her if she could use a few lines from her movie "The Cement Garden" for her song "What it Feels Like for a Girl." [61]

• "She was very exact and particular about what she wanted as a director and she was very impressive."[62]
• "She is somebody who is so determined to stretch in every direction and I really admire that. Believe me, the number of directors that I have worked with who don't have half her ability makes me believe she has a real talent."[63]
  • Richard E.Grant about Madonna directing her short film, "Filth and wisdom".

• "Madonna is a funny person, respectful and collaborative. I've been aware for a year that Madonna was a Gogol Bordello fan and in the end, we met trough mutual friends and we spoke a lot."
• "I think she was very good and most of all she was scrupulous, that's something I think it's essential for a director. She knew what she wanted and she gave me total creative freedom, so for me it was an incredible experience." [64]
  • Both by Eugene Hutz frontman of Gogol Bordello about Madonna & working with her on Filth & Wisdom.

• "It was a hell-hole. There were prostitutes upstairs, junkies downstairs and it was a bare room with a bed, nylon sheets, and a kitchenette with dirty plates and a lamp. I’ve always felt ashamed she stayed in such a pit. If I’d known in 1983 how big she’d become, I'd have cut up the sheets and sold them on ebay." [65][66]
  • Marc Almond, frontman of Soft Cell reveals he still hasn’t gotten over the shame of hosting Madonna in his filthy apartment.

• "Ooh, Madonna’s thighs! She reminds me of my old dance teacher, who I used to have a crush on. Who didn’t have a huge crush on Madonna when they were a kid? "I’d marry her. If she came for me, I really would."
  • Kasabian frontman Tom Meighan was so thrilled with Madonna’s sexy show at Saturday’s Live Earth concert he wants to marry the her. [67]

• "For the first time I saw Madonna when she first came out and she was on television talking and singing songs about her mother and how her mother had passed and how sad she was. And it dawned on me 'oh that's what happened to me, my mother died'. And it makes you terribly sad and that's why I'm so unhappy and it's okay to talk about it and it's okay to grieve and I should be sad and I should be upset and I should be allowed to go through these things. So I did go through that process because of Madonna, because I saw her talking about it and singing about it, I was able to understand what happened to me and work through it and use my experiences in my favour to give me a lot of what I draw from when I act."
  • Ellen Pompeo On how Madonna helped her cope with the loss of her mother. [68]

• "Madonna is a colossus in the music industry and she is going to be considered an important historical figure as well. She is a fine singer, a fine songwriter and record producer, and she has the power to guarantee success with any song she chooses to record. It is a gift for her to have recorded 'American Pie.'I have heard her version and I think it is sensual and mystical. I also feel that she's chosen autobiographical verses that reflect her career and personal history. I hope it will cause people to ask what's happening to music in America. I have received many gifts from God but this is the first time I have ever received a gift from a goddess." Don McLean [69]

• "She's the kind of person that really does get up at five in the morning to go swimming. She wasn't at all prima donna-ish. She wasn't one of those people that want to be alone and sit in their trailer the whole time. I think she has much more of a sense of humour that people give her credit for. Too many people take that femme fetale stuff at face value." Susan seidelman, director of Desperately Seeking Susan.

• "If people feel exploited by Madonna - that's resentment of someone who's got drive. It seems like you're leaving people behind or you're stepping on them, and the fact is you're moving and they're not... Madonna doesn't care if she ruffles someone's feathers." Steve Bray [70]

• "Madonna always looks ahead, both for looks and sounds, just like we do." Pet Shop Boys [71]

• "...It could be Madonna, if she wants to come do a couple of shots of Jagermeister with her friend Dave she's more than welcome to come into the room and I'll pour her some chilli shots of whisky, it'll be great!"
  • Dave Grohl frontman of the Foo Fighters. [72]

• "She's so strong, beautiful and manipulative. All of which means she writes great songs." Kim of Sonic Youth

• "My first impression on meeting Madonna? I thought she had a lot of style. And she crossed over a lot of boundaries 'cos everyone in the rock clubs played her, the black clubs, the gay, the straight... and very few records have that appeal." John 'Jellybean' Benitez

• "...I run into her (Madonna) all the time, so it's not like there's any irresolvable strangeness. I like to think of the time when we were hanging out as the end of an era. We played out our friendship in the public forum, but it wasn't drunken or irresponsible airheads hanging out - she's a smart lady and I'm obviously my own brand of intellectual." Sandra Bernhard [73]

• "I have so much respect for Madonna after learning how hard it is to sing that song. She has an amazing voice - the range you need to sing the song is incredible."
  • Natasha Bedingfield about recording a version of Madonna's hit song, "Ray Of Light". [74]

• "Lo and behold, Madonna's track came back and she'd sung the second verse, which was a huge bonus. I was really touched - for Madonna is very rigorous in what she gets involved in and for her to do that for me, I was thrilled to bits." [75]
  • Annie Lennox about Madonna recording Annie's track, "Sing".

• "Madonna, the original MILF." Jonathan Ross [76]

• "There is only one thing to do with someone as special as Madonna....celebrate her. She told us so in one of her very first songs! But, mostly, she gives us something more to adore every year, and aside from making huge hits, her work in Malawi is something for everyone to emulate. Working with her is a dream come true!!! She has Never ever treated me in any other way but professionally, and with respect. I mean, gosh when the Queen of Pop loves what you do, there's no better feeling!! I really concentrate on the fact that these books are bringing a better life to those most in need in the world, and until more celebrities (and celebrity photographers) step up and do the charitable works she is doing, they cannot speak an ill word about her. People need to stop copying her videos and performances, and copy what really means the most to her...'Raising Malawi'! That's what it's all about!"
  • Jeffrey Fulvimari, Illustrator of Madonna's "The English Roses" books. [77]

• "I think she's used to people gushing over her and all of that, but I think she quickly sort of came to realize that yes, in fact I do go to every concert. The last concert she did, we made eye contact. Okay, in my mind it was eye contact. Madonna has no recollection, but I know she stared at me. There's something about her. I think she's very clever and witty. She's really funny. She's really down to earth when she's here. And I just love that about her. And I love looking at her because she's a physical specimen. Kelly Ripa[78]

• "I don't agree with everything Madonna's done but she is fearless." [79] Cathy Freeman

• "Madonna and I were very, very close for 20, 25 years, and I felt that the media adds so much pressure to celebrities' personal lives that it's really destructive." [80]
• "Madonna is a very dear friend of mine, and shared her knowledge of Kabbalah with me." [81]
  • Both by Debi Mazar

• "I once had dinner with Madonna and I wasn't nervous but within about a minute I found myself talking about underwear." [82] Randy Newman

• "I've always said that if you didn't know Madonna necessarily, you'd still be curious about the woman in the photograph." [83] Herb Ritts

• "Being able to work with Madonna... she's a legend in the music industry and she's so beautiful, so I couldn't ask for anything else." [84] Verne Troyer

• "I think Madonna’s amazing. She constantly reinvents herself and I just went to see her art show in New York the other day and that was great." [85] Rachel Weisz

• "I've known her since I was 15 and she was 17, longer than I've known my wife. We have had a great relationship, and part of that was because I never needed anything from her. I recognised that we were in two different occupations. Not to disparage one ounce of her musicality, I was always of the belief that her persona was her career. Whether she was making a movie or writing a song or punching a photographer, it was all pushing a persona forward, and that was the real body of work. I was never tempted to slip a song to her at thanksgiving." Joe Henry, Madonna's brother-in-low. [86]

• "Remember when Madonna was first on American Bandstand and she told Dick Clark she wanted to rule the world? Well I don't want to rule the world, but I want to make my mark on the world... You know what? I'm lying. I do want to rule the world." [87]
  • Korean-American actor Rex Lee, best known for his role on HBO's "Entourage".

• "Pat knew our voices were going to be really good together so he asked us to do the bridge together and we started. She turned her back on me and at one point turned around and was like: “Why aren’t you singing?” and I told her I was and Pat then told her that I was singing and that our voices were in harmony. She then said: “Will you sing on all my records then….” And I was just standing there wondering if I had the job. I got it!" (About auditioning for Madonna).
• "I’ve learnt so much from working with her – the power aspect about how to use what you have is an amazing thing. I learn more stuff about myself as I go along."
• "When I first started working with her I just wanted to be like her – I think I misinterpreted a lot of things. The fame. I just tried to be like her and didn’t do things my own way. It was funny looking back on it."
• "Madonna gave me some great advice about my own career and really helped me to go for what I wanted to do – not what a record company told me. She always said I could do it."
• "Madonna wants to make people be a better person now. In the old days it was about her and nothing else – just like I was. We were all self centered. You have to be like that and take those steps to be a better person later down the line. To me you have to grow as you work your way through your life – that’s why we are here. It’s amazing that she can come from that sort of place where she started to being a humanitarian like she is now. Coming from just wanting to be famous and be adored by everything to wanting to love everybody. She’s incredible. It’s a complete turnaround. She wanted to be served by everyone and now she’s serving everyone."
  • All by Donna De Lory, Madonna's singer since 1987.[88]

• "I get to meet some very, very beautiful ladies through my job. Madonna is very sexy and she really flirted with me, which was amazing." [89] Tim Vincent

• "Believe me, if I got asked to work with her, I certainly wouldn’t turn it down. Of all the women I’m fascinated by, she’s certainly up there." [90] Mika

• "Madonna knows the business and her art better than anyone." Randy Jackson [91]

• "If you look into Madonna's eyes - or Whitney Houston's when she was at her peak - you see something there that other people haven't got. It's a steel, a sense of 'I am going to do it, whatever happens'. It's not necessarily a good character trait to have, but if you are going to make it in this business, you need it." Simon Cowell (DailyMail Interview)

• "If we had a royal system she'd be the queen of Michigan and all the Michiganders would Bow down to her, and I'm not kidding. She's a person with a good heart; she does a lot of good for other people. I really admire her." Michael Moore (From E! News).

• "I appreciate and respect her as an artist and as a person." Al Gore [92]

• "The French like burgers, Madonna and Miami Vice." French president, Nicolas Sarkozy[93]

• "I think Madonna has a great deal of intelligence and capability. I have a lot of respect for her. She's taken her career and maximized it with intelligence and creativity." [94] Carole King

See also

• Music
• List of people by name

External links

• All Madonna Lyrics
• Madonna Letras - Hundreds of Madonna Lyrics
• Madonna's facts
• Guy Ritchie website Guy-Ritchie.net