Christopher Ciccone (born November 22, 1960) is an American

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, t ...

interior decorator Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordin ...

, and

designer A designer is a person who plans the form or structure of something before it is made, by preparing drawings or plans. In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, products, processes, laws, games, graphics, services, or exp ...

in New York, Miami, and Los Angeles. He is the younger brother of singer Madonna. Ciccone began his professional career as a dancer with La Groupe de La Place Royal. He was a dancer for his sister Madonna early in her career. He eventually became the art director for Madonna's

Blond Ambition World Tour The Blond Ambition World Tour (billed as Blond Ambition World Tour 90) was the third concert tour by American singer Madonna. It supported her fourth studio album '' Like a Prayer'' (1989), and the soundtrack album to the 1990 film ''Dick Trac ...

in 1990 and he was the tour director for her tour, The Girlie Show, in 1993. Ciccone has also directed music videos for

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

and

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his bir ...

among others. In 2008, he released ''The New York Times'' Best Seller book, '' Life with My Sister Madonna''. In 2012, he launched a footwear line, Ciccone Collection.

Life and career

Ciccone was born on November 22, 1960, in

Bay City, Michigan Bay City is a city and county seat of Bay County in the U.S. state of Michigan, located near the base of the Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 34,932, and it is the principal city of the Bay City Metrop ...

, to

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

parents Madonna Louise Ciccone (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth ...

Fortin) and Silvio "Tony" Ciccone. His father's parents were Italian emigrants from Pacentro while his mother was of

French-Canadian French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fren ...

descent. In 1963, Ciccone's mother died from

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or ...

at age thirty. His father remarried Joan Ciccone (née Gustafson) in 1966. His siblings are Anthony (b. 1956), Martin (b. 1957), Madonna (b. 1958), Paula (b. 1959), Melanie (b. 1962), Jennifer (b. 1968), and Mario (b. 1969). After graduating from high school, Ciccone attended

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a Public university, public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the tr ...

and then transferred to Oakland University where he took dance classes. In 1980, he began his career as a dancer with Le Groupe de La Place Royale in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

. In 1982, he moved to New York to support his sister Madonna's career as her backup dancer. Ciccone appeared in the music video for her single "

Lucky Star Lucky Star, The Lucky Star or Lucky Starr may refer to: Art, entertainment, and media Anime and manga * ''Lucky Star'' (manga), a manga, anime, and video game series * "Lucky Star", one of the Angel Frames from the anime and manga series ''Galaxy ...

" in 1984 and performed on her early television performances. Around this time, he worked at the Italian boutique, Fiorucci. Ciccone always had an interest in art and in 1984, he was hired as a receptionist at the Diane Brown Gallery in

SoHo, Manhattan SoHo, sometimes written Soho (South of Houston Street), is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, and has also been known for its varie ...

. As Madonna's fame grew and she embarked on arena tours, Ciccone was her "dresser". He created the artwork for the 12" version of her single " Like a Prayer" in 1989. Ciccone was the art director for Madonna's

in 1990. He also was the tour director for her The Girlie Show tour in 1993. Ciccone stated that Madonna demeaned and underpaid him throughout their working relationship. Ciccone ventured into interior design when Madonna asked him to buy furniture for her new apartment in 1985. He also designed Madonna's

Upper West Side The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper West ...

apartment in Manhattan, which was featured on the cover of ''

Architectural Digest ''Architectural Digest'' is an American monthly magazine founded in 1920. Its principal subjects are interior design and landscaping, rather than pure external architecture. The magazine is published by Condé Nast, which also publishes internat ...

'' in 1991. In November 1991, he had his first solo New York art show at the Wessel + O'Connor Fine Art gallery in SoHo. He exhibited seventeen paintings with prices starting at $3,500. In 1994, Ciccone moved to Los Angeles where he indulged in the partying lifestyle and he began using cocaine. Ciccone directed the music video for Dolly Parton's single "

Peace Train "Peace Train" is a 1971 song by Cat Stevens, taken from his album ''Teaser and the Firecat''. The song climbed to No. 7 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart during the week of November 6, 1971, becoming Stevens' first US Top 10 hit. The song also ...

" and

's rendition of " God Bless the Child" in 1997. That year, he formed a friendship with actress

Demi Moore Demi Gene Moore ( ; née Guynes; born November 11, 1962) is an American actress. After making her film debut in 1981, Moore appeared on the soap opera '' General Hospital'' (1982–1984) and subsequently gained recognition as a member of the B ...

and he was her date to the

Gucci Gucci (, ; ) is an Italian high-end Luxury goods, luxury fashion house based in Florence, Italy. Its product lines include handbags, ready-to-wear, footwear, accessories, and home decoration; and it licenses its name and branding to Coty Inc., ...

evening for AIDS Project LA. Ciccone is

openly gay Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

. He stated that Madonna outed him in her interview with ''

The Advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. The Advocate, The Advocates or Advocate may also refer to: Magazines * ''The Advocate'' (LGBT magazine), an LGBT magazine based in the United States *''The Harvard Advocate'', a literary magazin ...

'' in 1991. Their relationship became strained when she married English director Guy Ritchie in 2000. According to Ciccone, he didn't get along with Ritchie, who he claimed is

homophobic Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitude (psychology), attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, h ...

. "It was...very apparent at the wedding in Scotland, just in the way that his friends made their toast with his gay references. I mean had it been any other word, you know Jew or a black person...anyone would find if 'sic''offensive and I have a thick skin", said Ciccone. However, Ciccone's biggest rift with Madonna was over finances. In addition, Madonna appointed a different director and choreographer— Jamie King—for her Drowned World Tour 2001 and didn't tell Ciccone. Ciccone befriended actress

Farrah Fawcett Farrah Leni Fawcett (born Ferrah Leni Fawcett; February 2, 1947 – June 25, 2009) was an American actress. A four-time Primetime Emmy Award nominee and six-time Golden Globe Award nominee, Fawcett rose to international fame when she played ...

and they bonded over their love of art. They attended '' Vanity Fair'''s Oscar party together in 2002. In 2008, Ciccone released his autobiography, ''Life with My Sister Madonna'', which debuted at No. 2 on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list. The book fractured their relationship and Ciccone asserts that Madonna had him

blacklisted Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist (or black list) of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list. If someone is on a blacklist, t ...

from Hollywood. Ciccone also filmed a pilot for an interior design show called ''Pardon My Decor'' in 2008. He also made an appearance on the reality show, ''

The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency ''The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency'', or ''TJDMA'', was a reality television series that debuted on Oxygen on June 6, 2006. The show completed four seasons, through which it followed the self-proclaimed world's first supermodel Janice Dickins ...

'', to design a new sleeping quarter. In September 2012, Ciccone debuted a footwear line, Ciccone Collection, during

London Fashion Week London Fashion Week (LFW) is a clothing trade show that takes place in London twice a year, in February and September. Showcasing over 250 designers to a global audience of influential media and retailers, it is one of the 'Big Four' fashion wee ...

. While doing press for his shoe collection, Ciccone revealed that he and Madonna are on "personable" terms. "We're back to being a brother and sister. I don't work for her, and it's better this way", he said.

Bibliography

References

External links

Official website

Christopher Ciccone
on

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, p ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ciccone, Christopher 1960 births Artists from Michigan Gay artists American interior designers American fashion designers LGBT fashion designers People from Bay City, Michigan American art directors American male painters LGBT people from Michigan American music video directors Living people Western Michigan University alumni Oakland University alumni American people of French-Canadian descent American people of Italian descent American male dancers Madonna