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Madonna At 60: A Look Back At The Queen Of Pop's Most Legendary Moments

The Material Girl has put her stamp on music, film, style and more throughout her prolific career.
Curtis M. Wong
By 

Senior Culture Reporter, HuffPost

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Madonna rings in her 60th birthday on Aug. 16, the same way she has since she burst onto the scene in the early 1980s: as a pioneering and ever-divisive force in popular culture.

She’s known globally as the Queen of Pop, but honestly, music is just one of many spheres that have felt her influence. From fashion trendsetter to film director to children’s author to queer icon to philanthropist, Madonna has worn many hats through countless incarnations.

The one constant? She’s always the one in charge, much to the chagrin of her naysayers.

“I’m tough, I’m ambitious, and I know exactly what I want,” the Material Girl famously said in 1991. “If that makes me a bitch, okay.” In 2016, she offered a similar sentiment when she cited the many pop icons lost over the previous decade in a speech at Billboard’s Women In Music Awards, noting, “I think the most controversial thing I have ever done is to stick around ... I’m one of the lucky ones and every day I count my blessings.”

Pop superstar Madonna turns 60 on Aug. 16.
Pop superstar Madonna turns 60 on Aug. 16.
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And even as many of her peers plan Vegas residencies or fossilize into camp, Madonna won’t be slowing down anytime soon. She recently signed on to direct “Taking Flight,” a biopic about Sierra Leonean-American ballet dancer Michaela Prince. She’s been busy in the studio, too, finishing work on a new album that she says will be infused with the sounds of Portuguese fado music.

To honor Madonna’s milestone birthday, HuffPost rounded up 60 of her most memorable moments over the years. While this is by no means a comprehensive list, these songs, performances, films and fashion moments are a reminder of her indelible influence on pop culture.

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Sire Records co-founder Seymour Stein loved Madonna's demo single, "Everybody," so much that he agreed to give her a record deal while he was in the hospital recovering from a heart condition.
Madonna released her first single, "Everybody" in 1982. The cover of the single didn't feature the singer's image because the A&R rep at Sire Records "thought it could get a lot of R&B play on that record, because a lot of people thought she was black."
Madonna appeared on "American Bandstand" in 1984 to perform "Holiday." When host Dick Clark asked her "What are your dreams? What's left?" she famously -- and prophetically -- replied, "To rule the world."
Madonna performed "Like A Virgin" at the inaugural MTV Video Music Awards in 1984 while dressed as a bride and writhing on the stage floor.
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As her popularity soared, two adult magazines, Playboy and Penthouse, published nude photos of Madonna. The singer posed as a model for the photos in 1978 and was reportedly only paid $30 to $50 for each session.
Dressing as Marilyn Monroe in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," Madonna satirized wealth and glamour with 1985's "Material Girl" -- a nickname that would forever haunt her.
Madonna starred in her first major screen role as the titular character in 1985's "Desperately Seeking Susan." The film also featured the singer's hit song "Into The Groove."
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Madonna married Sean Penn in 1985 on her 27th birthday. The couple went on to star together in the critically panned "Shanghai Surprise" and divorced four years later, citing irreconcilable differences.
Madonna's controversial 1986 hit "Papa Don't Preach" was blamed for "romanticizing pregnancy" and encouraging "young, expectant girls not to consider abortions." The next year, she dedicated the song to Pope John Paul II during her Who's That Girl Tour. The pontiff responded by urging a boycott of the pop singer's shows.
Madonna teamed up with Pepsi in 1989 to promote the soft drink with an ad featuring her new single, "Like A Prayer." The ad was only aired once. Pepsi pulled the clip after seeing Madonna's controversial video for the song, which included her kissing a black saint and dancing amid burning crosses.
Madonna starred as Breathless Mahoney in 1990's "Dick Tracy," which featured Warren Beatty as the titular comic book hero. The two became an item and dated for a period during the early '90s. Madonna also released an album, "I'm Breathless," which was inspired by the film and included the smash single, "Vogue."
During her imperial phase, Madonna launched her 1990s Blond Ambition Tour, now regarded as one of the greatest pop shows of all time. During a Middle Eastern-inspired rendition of "Like a Virgin," she simulated masturbation on a red silk bed, writhing to the song's beat.
Madonna performed her No. 1 hit "Vogue" dressed as Marie Antoinette at the 1990 MTV VMAs. The performance became one of the most talked about moments of the night and significantly upped the ante for future awards-show performances.
Madonna, clad only in a bikini and an American flag, urged MTV viewers to Rock The Vote in 1990.
Madonna's 1991 documentary, "Truth or Dare," offered fans an inside look at the singer's life -- including her relationships with other celebrities. In one of the film's most memorable moments, Madonna meets Kevin Costner and, after the actor refers to her show as "neat," she reveals exactly what she thinks of him by sticking her finger down her throat and making a gagging motion.
Another memorable -- and controversial -- moment in "Truth or Dare" took place when Madonna accepted a dare to demonstrate "how she gives head" by using a bottle.
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In 1991, Madonna premiered "Truth or Dare" at the Cannes Film Festival and made quite an entrance by throwing open her Jean-Paul Gaultier-designed robe to reveal nothing but lingerie underneath.
The video for Madonna's 1990 hit "Justify My Love" was banned by MTV for being too explicit for the network. True to form, the singer capitalized on the controversy and released the clip as a VHS single, which reportedly sold 260,000 copies at $9.98 each.
In what's often cited as one of the best vocal performances of her career, Madonna channeled Marilyn Monroe as she sang the song "Sooner or Later" from "Dick Tracy" in 1991 at the 63rd Academy Awards. The ballad took home the Oscar for Best Original Song. Meanwhile, Madonna spent the night with her date, Michael Jackson.

SNL Short Wayne's World & Madonna - Justify My Love from His Dudeness on Vimeo.

After being named the "No. 1 babe of all time" by Wayne and Garth during a 1991 "Wayne's World" sketch, Madonna joined the two beloved characters to spoof the video for her hit "Justify My Love."
During a February 1992 episode of "Saturday Night Live," Madonna, Mike Myers and Roseanne Barr aced a "Coffee Talk" sketch in which they likened Barbra Streisand to "buttah," only to have the real-life Babs make a surprise appearance.
Madonna starred alongside Geena Davis, Tom Hanks and Rosie O'Donnell in 1992's "A League of Their Own." The film was a fictionalized retelling of the real-life female professional baseball teams in America during World War II. Madonna also recorded the No. 1 hit "This Used To Be My Playground" for the album's soundtrack.
Madonna co-founded her own entertainment company, Maverick, in 1992. The company, which released the singer's albums until she sold her share in 2004, signed Alanis Morissette in 1994 and released her hugely popular debut album, "Jagged Little Pill," a year later.
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Madonna's Sex, released in 1992, offered an explicit, no-holds-barred look at the singer's sexual fantasies. The $50 book, which also featured celebs like Isabella Rossellini, Naomi Campbell and Vanilla Ice, immediately raced to the top of the New York Times bestseller list and now claims the title of the world's "most sought-after out-of-print" book.
While performing her song "Bad Girl" on "Saturday Night Live" in 1993, Madonna parodied singer Sinead O'Connor -- who ripped up a photo of the pope during an earlier appearance on the show -- by ripping up a photo of Joey Buttafuoco.
Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
Among Madonna's many famous boyfriends was the late rapper Tupac Shakur. The couple dated around 1994, and a three-page breakup note is slated to be sold at auction later this year.
Madonna dropped by "The Late Show with David Letterman" in 1994 and made history by saying "fuck" 14 times. She also smoked a cigar and asked Letterman if he would sniff a pair of underwear she had brought on stage with her. The show became the most censored network talk show episode in history.
Madonna releases the single for "Take A Bow," from her album "Bedtime Stories" in 1994. The stunning video, directed by Michael Haussman, won the Best Female Video at the 1995 MTV VMAs, and the song became her longest-running No. 1 hit, spending seven weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Madonna's 1995 "Bedtime Story" video remains one of the most expensive music videos ever, and for good reason: The colorful, surrealist clip features some dazzling visual effects.
During an interview at the 1995 MTV Video Music Awards, Madonna was interrupted by the contents of Courtney Love's purse, which the Hole singer threw onto the set from the street below. What proceeded was a deeply uncomfortable joint interview so shady (“Courtney Love is in dire need of attention right now.”) that Madonna's handlers had to practically drag her away.
As she began her spiritual makeover, Madonna took up Kabbalah, a form of Jewish mysticism introduced to her by old friend Sandra Bernhard. Madonna became a face of the study, attending Israeli retreats and wearing its signature red bracelet.
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Madonna gave birth to her first child, Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon, in 1996. Lourdes -- or Lola, as she eventually became known -- was fathered by Madonna's then-boyfriend, Carlos Leon.
Madonna's turn as Eva Perón in the movie adaptation of the Broadway musical "Evita" remains her best-received big-screen performance, and won her a Golden Globe for Best Actress in 1997.
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The Grammys never cared much for Madonna, at least not before the "Ray of Light" renaissance that cast her in a spiritual (read: serious) light. In 1999, she scored her first major trophies (Best Pop Album, Best Dance Recording) and competed for the Album of the Year honor.
Madonna released the video for the title track of her album "Music" in 2000. The clip featured the singer spending a night on the town with her friends -- including actress Debi Mazar, who also turned up in Madonna's "Papa Don't Preach" and "True Blue" videos, and Sacha Baron Cohen playing his then-alter ego, Ali G.
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Madonna married British film director Guy Ritchie in a lavish wedding held at a Scottish castle in December 2000. The couple have two sons together, Rocco, who was born in August 2000, and David Banda, adopted from Malawi. They divorced in 2008.
Making "Die Another Day" only slightly morewatchable, Madonna appeared alongside Pierce Brosnan in the James Bond film as a fencing instructor who uttered the now-iconic line: "I don't like cock fights." She also performed the film's (underrated) theme song.
Dimitrios Kambouris via Getty Images
Madonna released her first children's book, The English Roses, in 2003. The book debuted atop the New York Times bestseller list and inspired a series of other books, as well as related merchandise, including clothing, tea sets and jewelry.
The public unjustly dismissed "American Life," but Madonna wouldn't let that era of her career go forgotten. At the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera paired up for a performance of "Like a Virgin" that evoked Madonna's infamous 1984 debut. When the queen joined them onstage for "Hollywood," she planted a juicy kiss on each -- and the world again was aghast.
Madonna suffered a broken hand, collarbone and three cracked ribs after falling off a horse while riding at her home in England in 2005. The singer mined the experience for her art during the opening segment of her 2006 Confessions Tour.
Madonna portrayed herself as Jesus Christ -- complete with a crown of thorns and a cross to hang on -- during her performance of "Live To Tell" on the 2006 Confessions Tour.
Madonna was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008.
Madonna's distaste for hydrangeas is now the stuff of legend. During a press conference for "W.E." at the Venice Film Festival in 2011, a celebrate prankster handed the singer-turned-director a bouquet of purple flowers. Madonna then turned to the person next to her to say, "I loathe hydrangeas, but he didn't know that." The comment was caught on tape and became a viral sensation.
Madonna performed at the Super Bowl XLVIII halftime show in 2012, with special guests LMFAO, Cirque du Soleil, M.I.A., Nicki Minaj, and Cee Lo Green. M.I.A. flipped off viewers during the performance and subsequently faced a $16.6 million lawsuit from the NFL. (The suit was later settled out of court.) The halftime show was, at the time, the most-watched in the sporting event's history.
During an interview with "20/20" correspondent Cynthia McFadden in 2012, Madonna was asked if she thought Lady Gaga had written the hit "Born This Way" by copying the music from her own song "Express Yourself." "It feels... reductive," Madonna responded. "Is that good?" McFadden countered. "Look it up," Madonna cooly replied, adding fuel to one of the most buzzed-aboutcelebrity catfights in recent years.
Madonna fanned the controversy surrounding the sonic similarities between her 1989 hit "Express Yourself" and Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" by performing a mashup of the two songs during her MDNA tour in 2012. To hammer home her point, Madonna cheekily included a snippet of her song "She's Not Me" at the end of the mashup.
To promote her album "Rebel Heart," Madonna was added to the 2015 Grammys lineup, performing the new single, "Living for Love," in a grand showcase that rivaled her best TV appearances.
During the 2014 Grammy Awards, Madonna joined Macklemore and Mary Lambert on stage to perform a mashup of their song "Same Love" and her 1986 hit "Open Your Heart," while Queen Latifah officiated dozens of straight and gay weddings on live TV.
Madonna's 2015 Brit Awards performance started off on a rough note. The singer took a tumble down a flight of stairs when her floor-length cape failed to detach from the rest of her costume. Ever the perfectionist, she barely missed a beat, dusted herself off and finished the number.
Madonna made a surprise appearance at Coachella in 2015, popping up during Drake's headlining set to sing a medley of hits, including "Human Nature" and "Hung Up." The Material Girl capped off her performance by planting a full, open-mouth kiss on the rapper, who seemed ... taken aback by the gesture.
The Billboard Music Awards selected Madonna to perform a tribute in the wake of her old friend Prince's sudden 2016 death. She did stately covers of "Nothing Compares 2 U" and "Purple Rain," joined on the latter by Stevie Wonder.
In 2016, Madonna offered "The Tonight Show" a treat when she performed a chill version of her 1984 hit, "Borderline." Audience members included the episode's lead guest, then-President Barack Obama.
In the weeks following the 2016 election, Madonna took to the stage in Miami for her intimate "Tears of a Clown" show, performing a cover of Britney Spears' "Toxic" while distorted images of then President-elect Donald Trump flashed on a screen behind her.
Madonna accepted the Woman of the Year award at the Billboard Women in Music 2016 event by delivering a fiery, emotional speech that touched on sexism, misogyny and the “relentless abuse" she's received over her 35-year career.
Kevin Mazur via Getty Images
In 2016, Madonna opened for pal Amy Schumer during the comedian's sets at New York's Madison Square Garden, where -- among other things -- she jokingly offered to perform oral sex on all audience members who voted for Hillary Clinton in the U.S. presidential election that year. (Madonna and Schumer later appeared at the 2017 Women's March together.)
Madonna delivers an impassioned speech at the 2017 Women's March on Washington, where she controversially admitted to thinking about "blowing up the White House." She later said her remarks were taken out of context.
AFP Contributor via Getty Images
In 2017, Madonna opened a children's hospital in Malawi, the African nation from which she's adopted one son and three daughters. The Mercy James Institute for Pediatric Surgery and Intensive Care at the Queen Central Hospital is the first center of its kind in the country.
Jackson Lee via Getty Images
In recent years, Madonna has become one of the annual Met Gala mainstays, alternatively baring her ass, dressing in camouflage or donning a steampunk-chic blazer. The Catholic theme of this year's gala seemed tailor-made for the star, who also performed an intimate medley of "Like a Prayer," an unheard track, and "Hallelujah."
Ariana Grande has long named Madonna as an influence, and in July 2016, she cast the Queen of Pop as -- what else? -- the voice of God in her music video for "God is a Woman."
AFP Contributor via Getty Images
In August 2018, Madonna reveals she moved her family to Portugal to further her son David’s budding soccer career. She seemed to hint at a desire to escape the Trump presidency, noting, "This is not America's finest hour."

HuffPost’s Cole Delbyck, Matthew Jacobs and Noah Michelson all contributed reporting.

CORRECTION: The original version of this article misstated the year of Madonna’s Super Bowl halftime performance as 2016.

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