50 interesting facts about Madonna: Has an IQ of 140, hates the color orange

Pop legend Madonna is known for her constant reinvention as a performer. Her biggest hits include "Papa Don't Preach," "Like a Prayer," "Vogue," "Secret" and "Ray of Light," among many others.

1. Madonna was born Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone on August 16, 1958 in Bay City, Michigan. Many people might be proud of where they came from, but not Madonna. She once referred to her hometown as "a stinky, little town in Northern Michigan," on national television.

2. Her father is Italian, her mother was French-Canadian.

3. She was raised in Pontiac, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit.

4. Madonna once described her childhood self to Vanity Fair as a "lonely girl who was searching for something. I wasn't rebellious in a certain way. I cared about being good at something. I didn't shave my underarms and I didn't wear make-up like normal girls do. But I studied and I got good grades.... I wanted to be somebody."

5. When she was little, Madonna dreamed of becoming a ballet dancer.

6. Madonna was given the nickname "Little Noni" as a child because she shares the same name as her mother.

7. Madonna was the third of six children: Martin, Anthony, Paula, Christopher, and Melanie. She was the eldest daughter.

8. She was a straight-A student and cheerleader at Rochester Adams High School.

9. Madonna attended University of Michigan on a dance scholarship in 1976.

10. She dropped out of college in 1977 and moved to New York City with only $35 in her pocket.

11. Madonna worked several minimum wage jobs to make ends meet, including one at a Dunkin' Donuts.

12. She performed with several modern dance troupes, and studied dance with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

13. Madonna had her first Top 10 hit in 1984 with "Borderline."

14. Madonna's video in "Like a Prayer" attracted a bit of criticism from certain factions because people saw it in connection with religious beliefs. This outlook made Pespi-Cola cancel their sponsorship with her.

15. Madonna's often-copied signature '80s look was created by stylist and jewelry designer Maripol.

16. Madonna lost her virginity in the back of a Cadillac. It was revealed by her brother Christopher Ciccone in his book, Life With My Sister Madonna.

17. Madonna had her film debut in 1985, first with a cameo as a club singer in Vision Quest, then with a much larger role in Desperately Seeking Susan.

18. She is 5 feet, 44 inches (1.64 metres) tall.

19. Madonna started dating Sean Penn while working on the video for "Material Girl," and they were married on her 27th birthday in 1985.

20. Madonna's 1986 film, Shanghai Surprise, in which she starred alongside her then husband Sean Penn, cost $17 million to make but grossed a measly $2 million. She is the only person to have received the Razzie Awards for Worst Actress (Swept Away), Worst Supporting Actress (Die Another Day) and Worst Screen Couple (Swept Away) in the same year.

21. Madonna dedicated her album "True Blue" to then-husband Sean Penn who she called "the coolest guy in the universe".

22. In 1992 Madonna and rapper Vanilla Ice enjoyed an eight month relationship, during which time she reportedly would phone him in the middle of the night and demand to know if he was with another woman.

23. She also dated Tupac, John F. Kennedy, Jr., Antonio Banderas, Lenny Kravitz, Dennis Rodman, and the artist Jean-Michel Basquiat.

24. Believe it or not but Madonna does not have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She was selected in 1990 to have a star, but turned down the offer. Walk of Fame spokeswoman Ana Martinez-Holler states that in order to receive a star, Madonna would have to be "resubmitted for a nomination," adding, "Since she is not interested, I highly doubt she will give a nominator the permission to do so."

25. Madonna said the "F" word 13 times on Late Night With David Letterman back in 1994. The episode became the most censored in American network television talk-show history, as well as some of Letterman's highest ratings in his late-night career.

26. Madonna beat out acting greats Glenn Close, Frances McDormand, Debbie Reynolds and Barbra Streisand to grab a Best Actress Golden Globe Award in 1997 for her role in Evita.

27. Madonna was named one of People magazine's worst-dressed, in 1999.

28. The color she hates the most is orange.

29. On October 14, 1996, Madonna gave birth to Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon, her daughter with fitness trainer Leon Carlos.

30. Her favorite Britney Spears' songs is "....Baby One More Time."

31. In October 2000, Madonna won her fight against a cybersquatter using the domain name madonna.com to operate a pornography website. The UN World Intellectual Property Organization found that site operator Dan Parisi "lacks rights or legitimate interests in the domain name." Parisi claims that he was in the process of handing over the rights to the domain name to a US hospital, Madonna Rehabilitation, which has the domain name madonna.org, when the case started.

32. Madonna would love to star in "Kill Bill 3" if director Quentin Tarantino "would have me. I'm good with a weapon and I know martial arts." (This was after she answered that her favorite Tarantino movie is "Kill Bill, Pt. 1" and that she wants Tarantino to direct the video for "Gang Bang," an inspired choice if we've ever heard one.)

33. Madonna made her London West End stage debut in 2002 in Up for Grabs.

34. Madonna's first children's book, The English Roses, was published in 2003 and she has since published a total of 10 books.

35. Madonna has been a vegetarian since she was 15.

36. She suffers from brontophobia - a fear of thunder.

37. She cannot control "my attention to detail and my obsessively compulsive need to know everything that is going on around me."

38. Madonna's net worth is $500 million, according to Forbes.

39. Madonna's father, Tony Ciccone, decided to advance his winery business by releasing Madonna Wine, which is available in five varieties: Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir, Gewurztraminer, Cabernet Franc and Chardonnay. Prices range from $25 to $40 per bottle.

40. The Guinness Book of World Records has Madonna listed as the world's most successful female recording artist of all time, having sold over 300 million records worldwide.

41. Gwyneth Paltrow was Maid of Honor at her Scottish wedding in 2000 to Guy Ritchie.

43. Madonna granted her entire music catalog to the Fox TV series Glee.

44. Madonna has been nominated for a total of 18 Grammy Awards; she has won five.

45. Madonna holds the record for the most number-ones on all Billboard charts with a total of 156 number-ones, including 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and 43 on the Hot Dance Club Songs. She has also scored 38 top-ten singles on the Hot 100, more than any other artist in history.

46. She was supposed to play the lead in "Music of the Heart" but dropped out two weeks before filming was set to begin.

47. Her daughter Lourdes was named as a tribute to Madonna's mother, who wanted to visit Lourdes, France, where the Virgin Mary, the Madonna, appeared in 1858, but died before doing so.

48. Madonna is not only a pretty face, but she has an IQ of 140.

49. She bought mansion in the Hollywood Hills originally built for Rudolph Valentino.

50. Madonna and Céline Dion share the same French-Canadian heritage through a common ancestor named Zacharie Cloutier. Also related to Camilla Parker-Bowles and Ellen DeGeneres.