Madonna

by Barbara Victor

Goddess is the book that Madonna and her entourage did not want published. Long before the star could instruct her family and friends not to talk to the author, Barbara Victor spent more than eighteen months in Michigan, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, California, New York, and Florida, interviewing Madonna's father and stepmother, her grandmother and other family members, as well as friends, neighbors, business associates, and former lovers and colleagues, some of whom knew the Ciccone family from the time Madonna was a young child, many of whom have never before spoken either on or off the record. In this extraordinary biography, Barbara Victor taps into previously unexplored sources to unmask the privet person behind the public image. As a result of her extensive research, Victor casts new light on every aspect of Madonna's career and private life — from her childhood in Michigan to her early years in New York, from meteoric ascent to stardom to her most recent incarnation as an English wife and mother. After almost two decades, since she first appeared in the international music scene, Madonna continues to fascinate and challenge both her fans and her detractors. With her remarkable ability to reinvent herself — from diva to provocateur, from artist to mogul — she continues to command more attention and arouse more controversy than any other public figure of our time. Alternately criticized and revered, Madonna consistently and dramatically sets style, social, sexual, and musical trends and yet she remains an enigma to her public, keeping her most intimate identity hidden from all but her closest friends. Goddess offers explosive newrevelations about Madonna's life, her career, and the fact or fantasy of her lesbian and heterosexual relationships. Barbara Victor has written the definitive biography about a woman who gives new meaning to the term superstar.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Music

Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Barbara Victor, a former Middle East specialist for the U.S. State Department, has worked in television and radio for many years.
Currently a freelance journalist, she has interviewed such Middle Eastern leaders as Menachem Begin, Ariel Sharon, Yitzhak Rabin, Colonel Muammaer Quaddafi and Abu Lyad (sic) of the PLO. She lives in Paris.
Penguin has published her novels Lovers and Enemies (later republished as Friends, Lovers, Enemies), Absence of Pain and Misplaced Lives.

Reviews

[Jaidee · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 "Like a Virgin" Stars

2015 Honorable Mention Read





Madonna tends to elicit very strong reactions from people.....adoration, dislike, scorn, envy, ambivalence, disgust, admiration etc. She is a mirror to our id and our own sense of integration with the darker and selfish part of ourselves. I do not mean this lightly. She is psychologically simple and represents pure infantile immature emotion. Because of this she is able to emulate and recreate fashions and art from the past in a new, fresh and accessible way. Madonna has always been "low art" but it is art nonetheless and it can be addictive and scrumptious in its own particular way.

I have had a minor and ambivalent relationship with Madonna over the years and here are some of the high and lowlights:

-In grade six I was sent to the hallway to settle down after a heated argument with a classmate about whether or not Borderline was a better song than Holiday. (Borderline is still in several of my playlists)
-I was grounded at age 14 for lying to my parents and sneaking in to the "Like a Virgin Tour" concert
-Madonna made it fun and OK for me at age 16 to kiss both girls and boys (sometimes both genders in the same evening)
-Madonna bought me groceries at age nineteen (I was completely broke but on a whim entered a karaoke contest and sang Crazy for You and won second prize as well as fifty bucks)
-Listened to the album Erotica full blast (my fave album by Madonna) at least a hundred times with an ex-girlfriend that I lived with to the point that two sets of neighbours put in complaints against us

This unauthorized biography was extremely well written. It covers her life in vignettes from birth to the year 2001 or so through the eyes of others (family, friends, colleagues, lovers etc.) Ms. Victor wrote this book with a lot of understanding and compassion and was able to insightfully see through Madonna's selfishness and arrogance to the vulnerability and hard work ethic she has. Madonna has used a lot of people but she has also been widely used and maligned by others.

I really like Ms. Victors attempts to understand Madonna through her psychological conflicts and family of origin issues. Ms. Victor also interviewed Catholic clergy, psychoanalysts and feminists to give their take on the phenomenon of Madonna.

Madonna and I haven't had much to do with each other for the past twenty years. I will however from time to time pull out her Something to Remember cd (all her ballads) and reminisce about the fun we had in our youth.

Favorite song My Madonna :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EP-3U...

[Andrea Picariello · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ambiziosa, determinata, talvolta senza scrupoli ma diretta. Non tanto certa della strada da percorrere, ma sicura della destinazione da raggiungere. Madonna incarna appieno lo spirito di una persona pronta a tutto per lasciare il segno.
Patrick Hernández di lei ha detto: «Aveva deciso le sue priorità sin dall’inizio e questo la rendeva più forte, anni luce avanti rispetto alle altre per quanto riguardava la determinazione a sopravvivere e a essere la migliore». Non a caso in una delle tante audizioni prima del grande successo, Madonna disse: “Io non mi metto in gioco se non posso vincere. Per me la perfezione è la regola numero uno!”.

In questa bella biografia - non autorizzata - di Barbara Victor, datata 2001, ci si concentra molto di più sulla carriera cinematografica, non sempre florida, e teatrale di Madonna, mettendo in ombra tutta la parte musicale, a volte buttando nel calderone tanti progetti e avvenimenti che ne rendono a tratti un po’ ostica la lettura e comprensione degli avvenimenti. Spazio anche alle storie amorose, sia quelle più importanti - il tormentato matrimonio con Sean Penn e quello con Guy Ritchie - ma anche le relazioni temporanee e leggere. Aspetto di cui Madonna s’è spesso servita:

“Sebbene fosse fondamentalmente onesta, non si fece problemi a piegare le regole dell’amicizia, estorcere favori, infrangere promesse e ignorare i sentimenti altrui. Scaricava i propri manager e i propri mentor senza la minima esitazione. […] Madonna si disinteressava dei sentimenti degli amici e scaricava gli amanti che entravano e uscivano dal soletto, ma solo raramente gli accadeva di mentire”

Il profilo dell’artista è affascinante per molteplici aspetti. Soprattutto è un esempio di determinazione che per certi versi - così come per altri no - sarebbe da tenere a mente nei propri piani di vita. Qualunque essi siano.

“Madonna sapeva che il segreto del rock’n’roll non stava più nel restare giovani per sempre, nei sogni e negli eroi. Il segreto stava nell’essere sempre un passo avanti rispetto alle tendenze, nel mescolare con le condizioni sociali, nel toccare le corde giuste per far sentire sicure le ragazze, far fantasticare i ragazzi, far sognare gli uomini e far ricordare le donne. La musica di Madonna e la sua presenza sul palco erano una ricetta per sentirsi bene senza sensi di colpa”.

[Adam Zakeriya · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️ GOOD

One of those biographies that feels both fascinating and slightly intrusive at the same time, which is very much part of its identity. Barbara Victor sets out to pull back the curtain on Madonna the icon and reveal Madonna the person, and she does so through an unauthorised, insider driven lens that clearly aims for intimacy rather than reverence.

The book covers Madonna’s rise, her relationships, her control over her image, and her intense drive, often focusing on moments that feel deliberately humanising. Some passages are striking, especially where Victor explores Madonna’s desire for motherhood, her need for autonomy, and her insistence on shaping her life on her own terms. These sections help frame Madonna not just as a provocateur or pop figure, but as someone deeply strategic about her body, her choices, and her legacy.

At the same time, the book never quite escapes the limitations of its format. Because it relies heavily on second hand accounts, rumours, and unnamed sources, it can feel more like a mosaic of perspectives than a fully grounded portrait. You’re often aware that you’re reading about Madonna rather than truly hearing her, which creates a sense of distance even when the subject matter is extremely personal.

As a result, this is a solid but not definitive Madonna biography. It’s engaging, revealing in places, and undeniably compelling if you’re interested in the mythology surrounding her private life, but it doesn’t fully capture the interior voice or artistic philosophy that many readers might be searching for. Worth reading for context and curiosity, especially if you already know her story, but it feels more like a snapshot taken from the sidelines than a portrait painted from within.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Madonna is a very determined woman that worked hard to get where she is but above all she was very ethical in her tactics.

[Pandora · Rating 3 out of 5]

nowhere good as Lucy Stone's Like An Icon, this is stil fun for the averavge Madonna fan.

[Chris Bateman · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book contains a significant amount of information I would classify as somewhat removed from the subject matter.