MADONNA is celebrating 25 years in pop - a far cry from her arrival in New York in the late Seventies as a teenage dancer with just Û35 in her pocket.

The singer later said it was the bravest thing she'd ever done - she had to resort to nude modelling and serving coffee in Dunkin' Donuts to make ends meet at first.

She is now the most successful female artist of all time, with more than 200 million album sales under her belt and a fortune worth more than £172million.

1982 Madonna signs a deal with Sire Records and releases her first single, the self-written Everybody. Despite being a club hit, it fails to impact on singles charts.

1983 The dance chart success of Madonna's second single, a double A-side 12 inch of Burning Up and Physical Attraction, convinces Sire Records to put up the cash for an album. Simply called Madonna, it sells three million copies worldwide and young girls everywhere start to copy the singer's style.

1984 The Madonna album spawns three hit singles - Holiday, Lucky Star and Borderline - then the star cleans up with her follow-up album, Like a Virgin. She also sparks controversy by appearing at the first MTV Music Video Awards in a bridal bustier and stockings.

1985 Madonna receives mixed reviews of her acting in the film Desperately Seeking Susan, but one of her songs from the soundtrack, Into The Groove, becomes her first UK No1. She marries actor Sean Penn.

1988 The Vatican urge fans to boycott the Italian leg of the Who's That Girl tour declaring Madonna an unfit role model, but residents of Pacentro want to honour her with a 13-foot statue of her dressed in a bustier.

1989 The singer divorces Penn, but signs an endorsement deal with Pepsi which sees her debuting new single Like A Prayer in an advert for the drinks giant.

1990 She appears as Breathless Mahoney in a film adaptation of comic book series Dick Tracy. The Thirties feel of the film inspires her fifth album, I'm Breathless, and November sees the release of The Immaculate Collection, her first greatest hits compilation.

1993 The Girlie Show World Tour saw Madonna dress as a whip-cracking dominatrix surrounded by topless dancers and caused yet more outrage around the world.

1994 With all the sex out of her system, Madonna turned to amore R'n'B flavoured sound for her seventh album Bedtime Stories. This was also the year she starts a relationship with fitness trainer Carlos Leon.

2003 She releases her 10th studio album American Life to mixed reviews. Selling only five million copies, it is the lowest selling of her career.

2007 Madonna is named the fourth wealthiest woman with an active career in entertainment by Forbes magazine. She is currently working on a new album, to be released in November.

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