Life with My Sister Madonna

by Christopher Ciccone and Wendy Leigh

Book Overview

Christopher Ciccone's extraordinary memoir is based on his forty-seven years of growing up with, working with and understanding the most famous woman of our time. Throughout most of the iconic star's... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1416587624
• ISBN13: 9781416587620
• Release Date: July 2008
• Publisher: Simon Spotlight Entertainment
• Length: 342 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.5" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

A little respect goes a long way Madonna

Maybe if Madonna had shown her brother Christopher a little respect, he wouldn't have wrote this book about her. Her treatment of him is poor to say the least. I hope by 2023 you have patched things up with her Christopher. I enjoyed the book.

Buy this book for cat please if you run out of litter

This book is pure toilet paper. I could tell the images were altered. The content was fabricated and it painted a very demeaning picture of Madonna. Buy this book to use as cat litter so we can save unfortunate souls from the horror within. The author clearly needs some therapy for their childhood traumas.

Great book, fun read, and no fact-checker in sight.

I really enjoyed reading this book book very much. It's fun, interesting, and a little catty, but I expected that because of the topic. Granted I am not a fan of Madonna's music or her as a person, I don't know her but with this book I feel like I have an idea of what she's like. There is one in every family! If I had to choose between having a drink with Madonna or her brother Chris the author I would pick Chris. At least I know he won't yell at me for something stupid. My only gripe is some of the fact checking, or lack thereof. It stated that the Charlie Chaplin studios were built "in the thirties" when in reality it was 1919. Formerly A & M RECORDS, now HENSON PRODUCTIONS located at 1416 N. La Brea Avenue, Hollywood, California. Am I being petty? Sure some may say I am, but if this fact isn't actually factual what else got overlooked?

Be Cautious in the Divas You Support....

I identified with most every page in this book. I live in Hollywood and have worked with--and been very close to- THREE worldwide famous Divas, and two of those "relationships" ended up disasteroulsy for all of the same reasons mentioned in this book. Even the third Diva, whom I am still close with, has been hurtful to me more times than I can ever count. The problem starts, when they begin to believe their own publicity. They begin to BELIEVE they are immortal and that the rest of us are "mere mortals." Where 'we' must we must be held accountable for any bad behavior, cruelties and occasional thoughtlessness, THEY are magically forgiven, thus living by a completely different set of social rules. They feel they are ABOVE the rules in society that the rest of us must follow. Often their egos and demands go far beyond the norm, and that is when their more personal relationships fail. Often....they don't even notice (or care). How does this happen? It happens because of you. The sychophants that forgive any and all bad things a famous person may say or do, because you can DANCE to their music, or sadly, because you may be an admirer of bitchiness. The person I saw in the vile "Truth or Dare" film is NOT someone I would admire. I saw a shallow, demanding, thoughtless, totally self-centered brat who managed to make every young gay guy aspire to be rich and bitchy, yet DEVOID of any substancial talent. It looks as though things haven't changed much. TWO of the Divas I mentioned above have a LEGION of gay fans and LET ME TELL YOU, they are not nearly as supportive of YOU, as you are of them. YOU PAY THEIR BILLS and keep their names in the papers! I am dying to reveal their names, but I won't. The gay community is easily used. Indeed Madonna is gay friendly. But why then, does she let her current husband chronically say homophobic remarks and not defend her obvious supporters? Or even her own brother! BELIEVE ME---gay guys will defend Madonna TO THE DEATH (I have been witness to it!) but she will not do the same for them. This needs to be exploited and I am happy that aspect is included in this book. As of 2008, we live in a very celebrity obsessed culture. It gets a little dangerous when we begin to think of them as Gods and Godesses and imortals and p@%#$ on those who are not "famous." This book shows you the REAL Madonna, as a human being, one on one. If she were at all talented (which in her case is EXTREMELY arguable) one might be able to back her up to some degree. But as it is---she was always bratty--always got what she wanted by whatever means possible, often at other's expense--thus leaning on very, very limited talent. Now before these young queens bash me and continue to aspire to be brats, bitchy and rich with limited talent---consider this: Madonna is a HETEROSEXUAL FEMALE, in a HETEROSEXUAL MALE dominated world. She can get away with this for obvious reasons. Can a gay man get the same results? NOT BY A LONG SHOT. No

An eye-opener, but ultimately quite depressing . . .

I felt sad for both Chris and his sister Madonna after reading this book. Despite all of the joy she brings to the world as an artist through her spectacular music and exuberant shows, the private Madonna makes every single person around her miserable with her ruthless insensitivity. The only person she can't push around is her husband, Guy. Christopher can't blame Guy for the deterioration of his relationship with Madonna. They had numerous disturbing issues long before Madonna even met Guy. Christopher became just another enabler for Madonna, reinforcing her bad behavior by succumbing to it. They are both emotionally scarred individuals, stemming from the loss of their mother at an early age. Still, that is no excuse for Madonna to be a heartless sadistic monster (is it any surprise that she wore a fur coat made from hundreds of animals and once hunted birds for sport as an excuse to wear her "stylish" new hunting gear?); nor does it excuse Christopher for being a doormat. He would have been better off putting her in her place, abandoning the ostensibly glitzy lifestyle, and finding his own path in life. The book is plainly written in an odd, present-tense narration. Christopher continuously interrupts the storytelling with his own negative opinions about Madonna (he clearly has very little esteem for her artistry). Many facts have been mixed up (e.g., Madonna was NOT singing "Holiday" while wearing the blonde afro wig in the Girlie Show; she was in a military costume for that song). But this was never meant to be an accurate historical account. Rather it is Christopher's redemption after a lifetime of humiliation and emotional abuse at his sister's hands. And on that level, he succeeds brilliantly. Madonna will never dare to hurt her little brother again.

Most riveting, accurate book on who Madonna is personally

Fairly, extraordinary tale of what it's like growing up and being close to one of the most famous female entertainers in the world. It's a voyeuristic view, one sided, naturally. If we all wrote a book about someone we were close to for 47 years, it would be pretty darn accurate. It's not a slanderous book despite what the press or Madonna fans might say. It's a truthful memoir and a fascinating one, probably the closest information that anyone may ever find out in getting to know about one of the world's most incredible performers, Madonna. Christopher Ciccone is Madonna's younger brother by two years. He looked up to her growing up, has, and had been her best friend up until recently. The falling out wasn't on Madonna's end or Christopher's, but rather Madonna's husband Guy Ritchie. The book explains in detail. I've wrote a postive review on this book and I am a strong supporter of Madonna as well.

Insight Into an Icon

Life with My Sister Madonna, by Christopher Ciccone, is a revealing look into the life of Madonna, the "global icon". It is also about Christopher, their relationship, family, friends and fans. The book begins with a prologue that takes place in London in 1993 and portrays the good times between brother and sister. Christopher explains that Madonna is an insomniac: "unbridled desire for fame and fortune, you see, is incompatible with sleep." Madonna is portrayed as someone with both a massive ego and riddled with insecurities. She was very nervous about performing for the 1991 Academy Awards, because it was in front of established actors, "whose respect she desperately wanted to win." Those who worked for her--including Christopher--knew to praise her during and after performances and movie premiers--no matter how poorly she acted, no matter what. When Madonna hired a new person to dress her between performances, for example, Christopher told him to keep quiet, except when Madonna asked, How do I look?" The reply: "Wonderful Madonna, wonderful." Ciccone writes that Madonna wanted to be a great movie star: "I wish her well, but secretly believe that the only part that she is truly capable of playing is that of herself, Madonna, a part that she has created and curated." Ouch. The first chapter begins with their childhood in Rochester, Michigan. Tragically, their mother died when Christopher was 3 years old and Madonna, 5. The father remarries and there are 8 children. The children are expected to do daily chores and are punished for transgressions; all save Madonna. Christopher writes that she rarely had to do chores and was virtually never punished. He wrote that Joan, his step mom, even seemed a bit afraid of Madonna. Turns out, Madonna looks like their mother and is dad's favorite. The book progresses though their lives. In high school, Madonna secretly took ballet classes and got Christopher involved as well. He explains that it was not for his company--which he desperately wanted; rather, the instructor, who Madonna adored, needed a male dancer. Christopher believes that the disputes between brother and sister come with the addition of Guy Richie into Madonna's life. Richie is portrayed a homophobic jerk and it is obvious that there is no love between the author and Richie. Ciccone writes that in 2001, Madonna: "treats me as if I am nothing other than a serf paid to decorate her house." He writes about how cheap Madonna is, especially in light of how much money she makes. In 2001, Richie and Madonnas worth were said to be worth $260 million. And Madonna had the highest female annual income in Britain of $43.8 million dollars. Ciccone writes that Madonna perpetually underpaid him, disputed payments and blackmailed Christopher over money. For example, he would not get paid unless he took Kabbalah classes with her. No matter how badly Madonna treated her brother, he always came back for more, incapable of stopping himself. Madon