Madonna's Siblings: All About Her 7 Brothers and Sisters

Mar. 15, 2025

Madonna and Christopher Ciccone after the Golden Globes in 1997.Photo:Gary Friedman/Los Angeles Times/Getty

Gary Friedman/Los Angeles Times/Getty

MeetMadonna’s seven siblings.

The “Vogue” singer grew up in a large family with four brothers and three sisters. Her father,Silvio Ciccone, and mother, Madonna Louise Ciccone, whom theQueen of Popis named after, welcomed six children together: Anthony, Martin, Madonna, Paula, Christopher and Melanie, before the matriarch passed away in 1963 from breast cancer. Madonna was five years old at the time of her mom’s death, a tragedy that is often reflected in her music.

“I’m sure that it has influenced every decision that I’ve made and sort of left me with a feeling of hunger and longing; a feeling of emptiness and growing up afraid to love things because they’re going to leave you,” she previously toldPrimetime.

Her father went on to remarry the family housekeeper Joan in 1966, and the pair welcomed two children together: Jennifer and Mario.

While Madonna became one of the biggest pop stars in the world, her siblings proceeded to lead a quiet life out of the spotlight.

“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,” she once toldRolling Stone.

So, who are the Ciccone siblings? Here is everything to know about Madonna’s seven brothers and sisters.

Madonna and her siblings were raised in Michigan

Madonna (center) practices with the freshman cheerleaders at Adams High School in 1972.Michael Ochs Archives/Getty

Michael Ochs Archives/Getty

Madonna and her siblings grew up in Rochester Hills, Michigan, where Silvio worked as an optical engineer for Chrysler and General Dynamics and Joan operated a daycare out of their home.

After graduating high school, Madonna stayed near her hometown to attend the University of Michigan on a dance scholarship before launching into superstardom. The award-winning musician has spoken fondly of her roots, including whenJeff Bezostweeted that he was looking for philanthropic ideas to financially support.

“@JeffBezos you, me, the motor city. Let’s go and I will show incredible opportunities for almost instant impact in one of the coolest cities in America #Detroit,”she wrote on X(formerly known as Twitter).

They grew up in a religious household

Sonia Moskowitz/Getty

Madonna’s parents were devout Catholics and the religion played a large role in her and her siblings’ childhood.

“I grew up with priests and nuns, and I always looked up to them,” the star toldNPR for Northern Colorado. “I mean, my grandmother’s kitchen was always filled with priests and nuns. And, you know, everything was about the church, while everybody was slugging back the martinis. It was fabulous."

“The theme of Catholicism runs rampant through my album,” Madonna toldThe New York Timesa few years after the song’s release. “It’s me struggling with the mystery and magic that surrounds it.”

Madonna’s brother Anthony died in 2023

Madonna & late brother Anthony Ciccone.getty; splash news

Madonna’s eldest siblingAnthony Ciccone diedearlier this year fromrespiratory failure and throat cancerat the age of 66. The “4 Minutes” singer visited Ciccone shortly before his death on Feb. 24, 2023.

The two siblings had a complex relationship due to his longstanding struggles with addiction, but his younger sister was supportive of him in his final months, a source previously told PEOPLE.

Madonna honored her brother in an Instagram Story after his death that featured the pair posing for a black-and-white photo in the ‘80s alongside their siblings.

“Thank you for blowing my mind as a young girl,” she wrote, adding: “You planted many important seeds,” she captioned the post, crediting him with introducing her to Charlie Parker,Miles Davis, Buddhism, Taoism, Charles Bukowski,Richard Brautigan, Jack Kerouac and expansive thinking.

Her brother Christopher worked as her art director, designer and interior decorator

Madonna and Christopher Ciccone.Jody Cortes/Sygma/Sygma/Getty

Jody Cortes/Sygma/Sygma/Getty

He also migrated into interior design in 1985, when Madonna asked him to buy furniture for her new apartment.

“She had just marriedSean [Penn] and they had a two-bedroom apartment. She needed help buying some furniture, and there’s where my interest began for filling a space, designing a room, and working with a client,” Ciccone toldNorthern Express.

He went on to design Manhattan restaurants, Miami luxury condos and even furniture for sitting presidents.

Christopher died in 2024

Madonna and Christopher Ciccone.Madonna/Instagram

Madonna/Instagram

“My brother Christopher is gone. He was the closest human to me for so long. Its hard to explain our bond. But it grew out of an understanding that we were different and society was going to give us a hard time for not following the status quo,” Madonna wrote on Instagram in an emotional tribute.

She continued: “He was a painter a poet and a visionary. I admired him. He had impeccable taste. And a sharp tongue. There will never be anyone like him. I know he’s dancing somewhere.”

Madonna co-wrote a song with her brother-in-law

Madonna at Billboard Women In Music 2016 ; Joe Henry at the 20th Annual Americana Honors & Awards.Ilya S. Savenok/Getty ; Erika Goldring/Getty

Ilya S. Savenok/Getty ; Erika Goldring/Getty

Madonna’s brother-in-law Joe Henry, who is a singer-songwriter and married to her sister Melanie, helped co-write her second single “Don’t Tell Me” off her 2000 album,Music.

Madonna got the inspiration for the track when Melanie sent her Henry’s demo of a song titled “Stop,” and theEvitastar admired the lyrics.

“My [demo] version was written in about 20 minutes, and I did not revise it. I let it stand for the burst that it was,” Henry toldVariety. He added that “Madonna heard its pop sensibility, and sculpted a chorus out of a passing stanza from my original take. That repetition gave it weight, and expanded it, sharpened a hook that I had barely gestured toward. That evidences her gift of taking something fairly obtuse, and translating into something memorable.”

Madonna’s brother Mario and sister Paula tried their hand in the entertainment industry

Madonna’s siter Paula Ciccone in 1985.Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection/Getty

Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection/Getty

When Madonna dropped out of the University of Michigan in 1978 to chase her dreams in New York, Paula followed a few years later, with ambitions of her own career in showbusiness.

Paula took jobs behind-the-scenes, including serving as an effects coordinator forI Love Trouble(1994) and working in visual effects forSpace Jam(1996), before moving back to Michigan and settling down.

Madonna’s brother Mario, who plays the guitar, also broke into the music industry like his older sister, tellingNorthern Expressthat he became serious about learning to become a songwriter when he hit 20.

“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. I packed up all my stuff and along with a drummer friend moved to L.A.”

He ended up playing in a few bands that first year and landed a demo deal with Warner Brothers.

“I flew to Toronto and went into the studio, redid the two songs I had sent them, and recorded two additional songs,“ he said. “I flew back to L.A. only to learn that the label wanted me to remix them again. Essentially, they wanted me to change my songs, and I was unwilling to do that.”

Mario was simultaneously working at Maverick Records and climbing the corporate ladder in sales and marketing.

“I love to make music and I started to see how the industry worked and I didn‘t want to be on the performer end of it anymore,” he said.

Mario stayed working at Maverick while slowly letting go of his musical ambitions.

“I made a choice to be on the end that I am at now because I wanted to be involved in this industry for the long term, helping bands and breaking new bands.”

Madonna’s dad started a family vineyard where several of her siblings work

Madonna and her father.madonna/instagram

As they ventured into retirement, Silvio and Joan established theCiccone Vineyard and Wineryin Suttons Bay, Michigan, in 1995.

This was a decades-long passion of Silvio’s, who learned the winemaking process from his own father and hoped to one day pass the tradition down to his children.

Three of Madonna’s siblings work in the family business. Madonna’s youngest sibling, Mario, is the manager of the vineyard, her sister Paula is an award-winning winemaker and her sister Jennifer helps oversee the business.

Madonna’s sister Melanie attended Rocco’s christening in London

Madonna and Guy Ritchie at son Roccos Christening ; Melanie Henry at Inverness Airport in Scotland.David Cheskin - PA Images/PA Images/Getty ; Stefan Rousseau - PA Images/PA Images/Getty

David Cheskin - PA Images/PA Images/Getty ; Stefan Rousseau - PA Images/PA Images/Getty

When Madonna and her second husbandGuy Ritchiechristened their sonRoccoin 2000 at the Dornoch Cathedral in Scotland, Melanie and her husband were in attendance.

Madonna and Melanie have remained close over the years, with the entertainment multihyphenate even singing her sister’s praises during a pre-show prayer at The Wiltern in Los Angeles.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I’m so happy to have my sister Melanie in this room right now,” Madonna said in theInstagram video. “No one knows better than her what it’s like to survive our toxic and broken family from Michigan.”

She also showed her appreciation for her brother-in-law saying, “Her lovely, incredibly talented husband Joe Henry, who is an amazing singer, songwriter, human being and who I’ve written a lot of songs with, it’s a pleasure and honor to have with you.”

source: people.com