Madonna has lengthy been often known as the Queen of Reinvention, however behind the glittering stage lights and boundary-breaking performances is a devoted daughter who nonetheless calls her father her rock.
This week, the famous person took a young pause from her whirlwind life to rejoice a significant milestone—her father Silvio Ciccone’s 94th birthday—with a deeply private tribute.
The “Vogue” singer, 65, shared two touching pictures of her father to X (previously Twitter) and Instagram, accompanied by a message brimming with admiration, nostalgia and the form of humour solely a daughter can share with the person who raised her.
“Pleased Birthday to my Father. Silvio Ciccone, 94 and going sturdy!!” Madonna wrote. In a single candy snapshot, she’s seen standing beside her father as he tucks right into a slice of birthday cake, balloon strings hanging festively within the background and a shimmering silver ‘94’ show marking the event in fashion.
In her caption, Madonna paid tribute not simply to her father’s age, however to the power of his spirit. “He has survived many wars and plenty of losses in his life,” she mirrored, “and he nonetheless has a humorousness and a powerful want to get off the bed each morning and take advantage of his day.”
© InstagramThe second photograph was a candid second of Silvio sitting outdoor, casually wearing denims, a t-shirt and suspenders, the solar casting a heat glow as he relaxed on patio furnishings. A baseball cap perched atop his head, his look was unmistakably that of a person with a long time of knowledge—and a wholesome dose of sass.
“At any time when folks ask my father when he’s going to retire, his reply is at all times the identical,” Madonna shared. “I’m going to go till the wheels fall off!!’” The pop icon added cheekily, “S.A.M.E.”
However the second was about greater than cake and cap-tossing knowledge. Madonna used the event to mirror on the worth of age and expertise in a world typically obsessive about youth.
© @madonna“It’s a disgrace we don’t reside in a world that celebrates information and expertise and the knowledge that we will solely be taught from our elders who’ve survived for a lot of a long time on this planet”” she wrote.
She added: “We’re fixated on youth and bodily magnificence that mockingly teaches us nothing and offers us solely momentary gratification.”
“Good job, Dad!! I’m happy with you and I do know Mother is smiling and glad wherever she is,” Madonna added, referencing her late mom, additionally named Madonna Louise, who tragically handed away from breast most cancers in 1963 when the singer was simply 5 years outdated. “Thanks for giving me your zero F—- mentality!”
© Instagram MadonnaBorn in Bay Metropolis, Michigan, Madonna was the third of six youngsters and the one lady within the Ciccone clan. Over time, she’s spoken typically about her shut relationship along with her father and the affect he had on her ironclad work ethic and rebellious spirit.
“My mom is the one different particular person I’ve ever heard of named Madonna,” she advised TIME in a 1985 interview, the place she recalled her Catholic upbringing. “I by no means had bother with the title … I went to Catholic colleges. After which once I bought concerned within the music trade, everyone thought I took it as a stage title. So I allow them to suppose that … It’s fairly glamorous.”
Later, in an interview with Rolling Stone in 1989, Madonna opened up about her deep want for paternal approval, confessing, “Greater than something, I would like my father’s approval, whether or not I wish to admit it or not. However he’s at all times been very affectionate with me.”
Silvio, who has run the Ciccone Winery & Vineyard in Michigan, has largely stayed out of the limelight over time, selecting the tranquillity of winemaking over superstar.
