Madonna has a big family as the mother of Lourdes Leon, Rocco Ritchie, David Banda, Chifundo 'Mercy' James, and twins Stella and Estere.
When she brought her family on her latest tour, she explained that her children learned a lot from her: "I think what my children learned the most in this year of rehearsing and performing is that if you want to follow your dreams, you have to work hard for them. And if all of them choose something different later in life, they will never forget this year of blood, sweat, and tears."
Madonna learned this same lesson as she left her home in Michigan to go to New York and become a singer. She told Rolling Stone: "If my mother didn’t die, and I grew up with a feeling of wholeness and completeness and family, I probably would have stayed in Michigan and become a schoolteacher."
Many may not realize that Madonna, like her kids, grew up in a crowded home herself. Her father, Silvio 'Tony' Ciccone, and mother Madonna Louise Ciccone shared six kids together: Anthony, Martin, Madonna, Paula, Christopher and Melanie.
© @madonnaAfter the matriarch's passing in 1963, Madonna's father would remarry the family's housekeeper Joan in 1966, welcoming Jennifer and Mario.
Here's all you need to know about Madonna's seven brothers and sisters.
Anthony
© SplashNews.comThe eldest Ciccone sibling was incredibly influential to his sister, as Madonna credits her eldest brother with introducing her to "Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Buddhism, Taoism, Charles Bukowski, Richard Brautigan, Jack Kerouac" and "Expansive Thinking Outside the Box."
Although he was clearly influential in Madonna's life, in 2011 Anthony became homeless, reportedly living under the Union Street Bridge in Traverse City, Michigan. By 2017, his younger brother Christopher confirmed that he was "back home" and recovering after he spent some time in a treatment center.
In 2023, the 66-year-old passed away, reportedly from respiratory failure and throat cancer. The news was broken by Melanie Ciccone's husband Joe Henry, who said: "My brother-in-law, Anthony Gerard Ciccone, exited this earthly plane last evening. I’ve known him since I was 15, in the spring of our lives in Michigan so many years now gone."
He continued: "As brother Dave Henry (who took this photograph) notes here, Anthony was a complex character; and god knows: we tangled in moments, as true brothers can. But I loved him, and understood him better than I was sometimes willing to let on. But trouble fades; and family remains— with hands reached across the table.
"Farewell, then, brother Anthony. I want to think the god your blessed mother (and mine) believed in has her there, waiting to receive you. At least for today, no one shall dissuade me from this vision."
His obituary described him as an "insatiable reader" and a "deep lover of music with a wanderer's spirit," but added he was a "loner." At times Anthony was "isolated throughout much of his adult life by the addiction that contributed to his early demise–– he was nonetheless enlivened by community and a sense of belonging."
The obituary added he was survived by his son, Angelo Lawson-Smith.
Martin
© Vinnie ZuffanteMadonna's older brother Martin has tried his hands at a number of things over the years, from working in the US army to opening a restaurant. He released a rap album under the name MC Ciccone in 1994, which reportedly took aim at his sister.
Like Anthony, Martin has similarly faced issues with addiction, with DUI charges, time in jail and stints in rehab according to the Daily Mail. However, in 2013 he made it clear that he was on good terms with his famous sister.
While working at a rehab center in Hollywood, he revealed: "We are on good terms and she's helping me out. She's getting me some new teeth. I'm hoping to start doing voiceover work again for cartoons and video games and get back on my feet."
Paula
© Vinnie ZuffanteMadonna's sister Paula followed in her footsteps by moving to New York with dreams of showbiz. She took on jobs behind the scenes, such as working as an effects coordinator for I Love Trouble (1994) and visual effects for Space Jam (1996).
She would later move back to Michigan and work as an artist, before opting for a corporate job. Nowadays, the famously shy sister has become an award-winning winemaker at her father's vineyard.
Christopher
© KMazurAs the younger brother to Madonna, Christopher was a well-respected artist, interior decorator and designer within his own right. He started his career as a dancer, taking dance classes at Oakland University before joining Ottawa's La Groupe de La Place Royal.
He worked with his sister closely throughout her career, dancing for her earlier in her career, and even becoming the art director for her 1990 Blond Ambition World Tour and tour director for The Girlie Show.
The duo fell out after he released his 2008 book Life with My Sister Madonna, in which he explained they had fallen out for financial reasons. He accused her then-husband Guy Ritchie of being homophobic in the book.
In 2012, he revealed that they were "back to being a brother and sister. I don't work for her, and it's better this way."
Melanie
© Stefan Rousseau - PA ImagesMadonna is perhaps closest to her younger sister Melanie, who she has affectionately nicknamed "Smells". She keeps a relatively low profile, but is married to singer songwriter Joe Henry.
The couple met through Madonna, according to Joe, who said: "[Madonna] was whip-smart and short on patience and, to tell the truth, she scared me more than a little but along with her sister Paula, her presence… opened a door through which I would pass and find my life utterly and forever changed.
He added that for him, "there is no other and never has been another" when it comes to his wife.
Madonna once said of her sister: "I'm so happy to have my sister Melanie in this room right now," adding: "No one knows better than her what it's like to survive our toxic and broken family from Michigan."
Jennifer
© @madonnaLittle is known about Jennifer, but she has worked at the family vineyard. She got married on the property in 2011, and has been photographed at her sister's concerts over the years. The duo were last spotted together at their father's 90th birthday.
Mario
© Vinnie ZuffanteWhile nowadays the youngest Ciccone brother manages the family vineyard, he once harbored dreams of breaking into the music industry like his sister.
"I was having a conversation with my sister on the phone one day, and she encouraged me to come to L.A. to check it out for a year and to see if I could find some people to play with out there," he told the Northern Express. I packed up all my stuff and along with a drummer friend moved to L.A."
Eventually, he landed a demo deal with Warner Brothers, although creative differences and struggling in the industry led to him letting go of his musical dreams.
