The singer of “Like a Virgin” comes from a family of seven children.
Like the rest of her family, Madonna is mourning the death of her older brother, Anthony Ciccone. He was 66.
Joe Henry, the pop star’s brother-in-law, broke the terrible news over the weekend with a moving tribute on Instagram. Melanie Ciccone, Madonna’s younger sister, is Joe’s wife. The singer-songwriter also wrote a touching tribute.
She grew raised in a family of seven siblings, including two elder brothers, Anthony and Martin, and three younger siblings, Paula, Christopher, and Melanie. Madonna Louise (née Fortin) and Silvio Anthony “Tony” Ciccone are their parents. However, Madonna Sr. died.
Madonna paid tribute to her brother on Instagram a few days after his death, posting a black and white flashback photo of the two seated around a table with a group of pals.
“Thank you for blowing my mind as a young kid,” she said, praising her older brother for introducing her to Charles Bukowski, Jack Kerouac, Miles Davis, and other artists. “You planted many crucial seeds,” she continued endearingly.
Joe, also a singer, stated on Instagram, “My brother-in-law, Anthony Gerard Ciccone, exited this earthly plane last evening,” adding, “I’ve known him since I was 15, in the spring of our lives in Michigan, so many years now gone.”
Madonna and her siblings were born in Michigan and grew up in the Detroit suburbs of Pontiac and Rochester Hills, the latter of which was once known as Avon Township.
“Anthony was a complex man, and god knows: we tangled in moments, as true brothers can,” the star’s brother-in-law continued. Yet I liked and understood him better than I would admit.”
Madonna’s best friend, Debi Mazar, said, “I admired him when we were younger.”
“But adversity fades, and family remains,” he continued, reaching across the table. So, brother Anthony, farewell.”
“I’d like to believe that the god your blessed mother (and mine) believed in has her waiting for you. “At least for now, no one will be able to discourage me from this idea,” he said.
Madonna, a middle child, rose to prominence in her early twenties during the early 1980s.
Anthony Ciccone, the eldest of seven children, had a turbulent relationship with Madonna and his siblings.
He struggled with addiction and alcoholism, becoming homeless at one point, and despite telling The Daily Mail in 2011 that “if I froze to death, my family probably wouldn’t know or care for it for six months,” it has been reported that he underwent rehabilitation and eventually reconnected with his family.
