Mr Viral
Madonna Speaks Out Over Death of Brother Christopher Ciccone
UPDATE: Madonna shared a tribute to her brother Christopher Ciccone after news of his death was made public.
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Madonna’s extended family is in mourning.
The pop queen’s younger brother Christopher Ciccone, one of her seven siblings, has died. He was 63.
The artist and interior designer died of cancer Oct. 4, his rep told People in a statement, adding that he passed away “peacefully” with husband Ray Thacker by his side.
E! News has reached out to Christopher’s rep for comment and has not heard back.
In addition to his partner and his sister Madonna, Christopher is also survived by siblings Martin Ciccone, Paula Ciccone, Melanie Ciccone, Jennifer Ciccone and Mario Ciccone, as well as father Silvio “Tony” Ciccone.
Christopher was preceded in death by oldest brother Anthony Ciccone, who died in 2023 at age 66 of respiratory failure and throat cancer, mother Madonna Ciccone, who passed away from breast cancer in 1963 at 30, and stepmother Joan Ciccone, who died at age 81 Sept. 24, also after a cancer battle.
Madonna, 66, has not publicly commented on Christopher’s death, which comes 16 years after the two had a falling out over his tell-all autobiography Life With My Sister Madonna.
At the time of its 2008 release, Madonna’s rep had told the Associated Press that while the “Vogue” singer had not read the book but found it “very upsetting” that Christopher “decided to sell a book based on his sister.”
“She probably thinks of it as a desperate attempt for attention and money,” Christopher told the Guardian in an interview published in January 2009. “And, ultimately, a betrayal. I think of it as a thesaurus—it’s different ways of defining people and myself—and also as another piece of art.”
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In his memoir, Christopher wrote that he had hoped the book would help him define himself and separate from Madonna “at last.” However, he added, “After getting some perspective on our story, I finally understand and accept that one aspect of my life will never change: I was born my mother’s son, but I will die my sister’s brother.”
Christopher and his siblings were raised in Michigan. He worked with Madonna in the earlier years of her career as her dresser and a director of her Blond Ambition and Girlie Show tours in the ’90s, spearheaded the interior decoration of her houses and also occasionally lived with her, the Guardian reported.
Gareth Fuller/PA Images via Getty Images
In the statement to People, his rep said that following Christopher’s “symbiotic collaboration” with Madonna, he “continued to work: as an interior specialist; a designer of footwear; a memoirist—all the while dedicating himself to painting as his primary mode of personal expression.”
In 2012, Christopher shared an optimistic update about his ties with Madonna.
“It’s been a bumpy road back to a decent relationship between us, and we’ve gotten there,” he told Hollywood Life in an on-camera interview, “It’s a brother and sister thing now, which is great, which is where it needed to go.”
He continued, “After working together for 25 years, it was time to sort of get out of that world, for me anyway, and then figure out and work on other things. But it’ll always be a part of my life and I don’t regret any of that stuff.”
Christopher said he felt “great” about writing his book. “It was something that I needed to do for myself,” he said, “just so I didn’t go crazy trying to crawl out from under that big shadow.”
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