"I'm tough, I'm ambitious and I know exactly what I want. If that makes me a b****, OK." 

• Born Madonna Louise Ciccone on Aug. 16, 1958, in Bay City, Michigan

• Madonna's second album, 1984's Like A Virgin, fueled by a steamy performance of the title track at the 1984 MTV Video Music Awards, became her first No. 1 album. "Like A Virgin" netted the Material Girl her first chart-topping single on the Billboard Hot 100.

• Madonna won her first GRAMMY for Best Music Video, Long Form for Madonna — Blonde Ambition World Tour for 1991. She won her first audio category award for Best Dance Recording for "Ray Of Light" for 1998.

• Madonna helped boost the career of GRAMMY-winning rappers the Beastie Boys when she had them open during her The Virgin Tour in 1985.

• Madonna has supported a wide range of charities, including American Foundation for AIDS Research and her own Raising Malawi, a nonprofit that supports community-based organizations that provide vulnerable children and caregivers in Malawi with food, clothing, shelter, education, and medical care.