Throughout her career, Madonna has courted controversy for her mix of sexuality and religious imagery. Her attitudes sparked criticism from the Vatican and the Vatican discouraged people from attending her concerts because of the eroticism. Madonna, generally, remained unapologetic and continued to perform her routines.
After forming her own company – Madonna, produced a book titled ‘Sex’. It featured nude photography and was quite controversial, especially in US; but it sold over half a million copies.
She has acted in a couple of films, without much commercial success – though her appearance in Evita about Eva Peron, the famous Argentinian wife of the President received good reviews.
She has now produced over 10 albums and remains a very influential artist still capable of hitting the top of the album charts. According to Billboard magazine, she is second only to the Beatles in terms of all-time best selling artist.
Her early Catholic roots influenced her music and videos, but, in the early 1990s she embraced Kabbalah a Jewish mystical sect. In 2004, she adopted the Kabbalah name ‘Esther’ which in Persian means star.