Madonna has become too big a star that many of us get to think she is literally from space and might as well be her own parents and siblings. Nonetheless, she is human too with parents and many siblings, among who is Paula Ciccone.
Paula is the younger sister of the Queen of Pop with whom she started her journey to fame when she was a kid. Both sisters had wanted the limelight as little children, but while Madonna took the path of music and showbiz and was lucky that her stars got to shine, Paula took the path of modeling and painting but unfortunately, it didn’t turn out all well for her.
Due to an interview that she gave many years ago, there has always been the speculation that Ciccone is jealous of her older sister’s success. In fact, that is one of the few things she has come to be associated with. More than this, there is so much about Paula that still remains hidden.
Paula Ciccone – Biography
Paula Ciccone was born on August 22, 1959, in Bay City, Michigan, U.S. as the fourth child of Madonna Louise Ciccone and Silvio Anthony Ciccone. Of Italian, French, and Canadian descent, she was brought up in Michigan alongside her three older siblings and two younger ones.
When she was still a young girl of only four, her mother died of breast cancer in 1963. Her father was left with six kids with the youngest, Melanie Ciccone barely a year old at the time. He then got married to the family’s housekeeper Joan Gustafson.
While her father worked with Chrysler and General Motors as an engineer, her mother was pretty much a housewife.
Paula was also raised like her older sister in a strict Catholic home, but it is not known if she also attended the same schools, St. Frederick’s and St. Andrew’s Catholic Elementary Schools, as her star sister.
When she was young, Paula was interested in becoming a model and because of that, she moved to New York City where she was a roommate with actress and producer, Jorja Fox. At the time, Fox was also an aspiring model. Paula would go on to model, but she did not make the name she hoped from it. Apart from that, the beauty was also a painter and graphic artist.
Paula also had aspirations of becoming an actress and singer but they did not all come to fruition. As a model, she appeared in Rollingstone Magazine and has been involved in some advertisement campaigns.
Family
Paula Ciccone was brought up in a pretty much large family with five siblings and two paternal half-siblings. Her first and oldest sibling is Anthony Ciccone Jr. who was born in 1956, Anthony later fell out with the family and remained homeless for seven years before he patched things up and was accepted back. Her second sibling, Martin Ciccone was born in 1957 and had also battled alcohol abuse like his older brother and also spent some time behind bars like the former.
The next sibling is the Queen of Pop who was born a year before Paula, and then there is a younger brother Christopher Ciccone who was born a year after her. Chris is a dancer, interior decorator, and designer. The youngest member of her family from her mother is Melanie Ciccone who was born in 1962. Since 1987, Melanie has been married to songwriter Joe Henry.
From her father’s marriage to Joan Gustafson, Paula has two half-siblings, Jennifer Ciccone who was born in 1968 and Mario Ciccone, born in 1969.
Other Facts About Madonna’s Sister
1. She is not the greatest fan of her superstar sister. The family of Paula is not one that is very close-knitted. Many family members do not get very much along as siblings and it is the same thing with Paula and her older sister Madonna.
2. In a very old interview with Oprah Winfrey, Paula Ciccone reveals that there is a part of her that suffers some level of emotional trauma with the success of her sister and her own lack of, and how she has been a little envious of her sister.
3. Paula and her siblings did not like their housekeeper who later became their stepmother after the death of their mother. Because of this, the relationship between Madonna and her father remained strained for many years to come.
4. Her family owns a winery known as the Ciccone Vineyard and Winery which is owned by Silvio Tony and Joan. The winery is said to be of the 10 vintners in Leelanau Peninsula. It is managed by the youngest child of the family, Mario Ciccone and that is where Paula works at the moment.
