Listen to Madonna on Batanga

Without a doubt, one of the most internationally known and recognized stars of contemporary history, Big has achieved an unthinkable amount in the past 20 years of her career. She has dominated the music charts, she has hit the silver screen, she has entered the publishing industry, and she is probably one of the most publicized celebrities of the 20th century. To say that she is a celebrity would be an understatement; she is a veritable pop icon.

Born Big Louise Veronica Ciccone, the Material Girl was born August 16, 1958, in Bay City, Michigan. The eldest of 8 children, she lost her mother to cancer when she was 6 years old, leaving her engineer father to raise their eight children.

Big's star quality was evident at an early age, which prompted her to participate in school shows, be a school cheerleader, as well as take piano and ballet lessons.

She attended the University of Michigan on a dance scholarship, but she put aside her studies after two years of student life to head for New York City and pursue her dreams of becoming a star.

In the Big Apple with hardly any cash, Big barely earned a living by working several minimum wage jobs, one of which was at a Dunkin Donuts counter at Times Square. She joined the Alvin Ailey dance troupe, where although she gained experience, she was not gaining much exposure as one of many dancers in the troupe. Big was itching to become famous, and this was not the way to achieve her pursuit of stardom.

Developing more of an interest in music, Big joined her then boyfriend's band and had the opportunity to be backup singer and dancer for a well-known disco star. With more of a taste for pop music, Big began writing songs and performing at local dance clubs. She was beginning to receive the exposure she was aiming for and audiences were beginning to take notice of the confident, untamed singer.

DJ Mark Kamins played one of Big's demo singles "Everybody" and it became a popular club hit. Kamins is responsible for the relationship between Big and Warner Bothers, since he introduced the two in 1982. She was immediately signed for a record label and well on her way.

In 1983, Big's debut album was released and spawned the America Top 20 chart hit single "Holiday". The album itself was not a tremendous success on the Top 40 radio stations, but it was a hit in the nightclubs. More singles such as "Lucky Star" and "Borderline" were released and were accompanied by music videos that, if anything, showed off Big's first "look", which has almost come to be representative of 80's pop culture.

While her debut album was still on the charts, Big released her second album in 1984, Like A Virgin. The album, as well as the title track, both reached the number one spots of the music charts.

Already breaking music records in 1985, Big embarked on another dimension of her career -- as an actress. Her manager, Freddie DeMann, who was also pop icon Michael Jackson's manager in his Thriller days, negotiated some film roles for Big. She appeared as a nightclub singer in the film Vision Quest and as the lead in Desperately Seeking Susan.

Susan may have had to be "seeked", but it was clear that the pop star Big had been found. Her single from the Vision Quest soundtrack had become a hit, as was the Desperately Seeking Susan soundtrack, giving Big simultaneous hit singles and hit albums.

Big then tried her hand at stage acting, performing in Goose and Tom-Tom, where she met actor Sean Penn. The couple got married, co-starred in the forgettable film Shanghai Surprise and got divorced after less than four years of wedded misery.

By this point, Big had become a star and had already caused controversy for her "boy toy" image. Now she was causing more controversy with her 1986 single "Papa Don't Preach", about women getting pregnant out of wedlock.

Her video for the 1989 single "Like A Prayer", which featured burning crosses in the background and Big, wearing nothing more than a slip, kissing an African-American eroticized saint. The Vatican censured the video and Pepsi backed out of their endorsement with Big. Still, the album Like a Prayer spawned 5 Top Twenty hits.

In 1990, Big appeared in Dick Tracy with Warren Beatty (who she was dating), released the soundtrack for the film and had hit singles such as "Vogue", which had everyone "voguing" to the song; "Rescue Me"; and "Justify My Love", which was also controversial and initially banned from the MTV airwaves.

The early 90's were marked with scandalous projects by Big, such as the documentary Truth of Dare, a behind-the-scenes account of her Blonde Ambition Tour; the X-rated coffee-table book Sex; her album, Erotica; and her speaking out about the AIDS epidemic.

In 1992, Big sowed her entrepreneurial oats and founded the record company Maverick with her manager, which was part of a $60 million dollar, 7-year deal with Time Warner.

Taking a step away from her scandalous days, Big released a softer, more R&B tinged album, Bedtime Stories, spawning a hit duet with Babyface entitled Take A Bow. She returned to the movies with a role in A League of Their Own, Four Rooms and Blue in the Face.

In 1996, she starred in the title role of the movie version of the musical Evita, which not only earned her a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy, but also made audiences gain a new found respect for her remarkable portrayal of Eva Peron. That same year, Big entered a new stage in her life -- motherhood -- with the birth of daughter Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon.

Big returned to the music scene in 1998 with the introspective, meditative, and electronic-influenced Ray of Light. With the help of producer William Orbit, Ray of Light spawned such hits as "Frozen" as well as the title-track, as the world was introduced to a more relaxed, more spiritually in-tune Big.

We heard Big last summer on the Austin Powers 2: The Spy Who Shagged Me soundtrack with "Beautiful Stranger"; this year with the remix of the 60's hit American Pie (which also caused controversy); and in a starring role in the disappointing film The Next Best Thing, co-starring real-life pal Rupert Everettand Benjamin Bratt

With a new single entitled "Music", her new album of the same title is slated for release this fall, and a second baby is on the way with current boyfriend Guy Ritchie-- we would think that Big has done it all.

From mesh-wearing, fish-net stocking Material Girl, to pointy-cone bra, tuxedo wearing diva, to sex-crazed woman, and finally to Zen and yoga-practicing mother, chances are we probably haven't seen half of what this pop icon has yet to achieve.