She should never have been extraordinary.

Born in Michigan in 1958, Madonna Louise Ciccone was the third of six children in a working-class Italian-American family. No one could have guessed that this little girl would become renowned the world over by a single name. But the history books will say that she did.

Perhaps it was the death of her mother when she was just five years old which lit the fuse of her determination, or a desire to break out of a provincial town and a big family. Maybe she was simply a born show-off. Whatever the motivation, after 60 years, Madonna is the wealthiest woman in the music business and one of its most radical icons.

Madonna’s journey from the American suburbs to the American Dream began in 1978, when she arrived in New York with nothing but a winter coat and $35 – “The bravest thing,” she once said, “I have ever done.” In 1983, after years of hard grit, she appeared before the world fully formed.

As unmistakably 80s as the shell suit and the Walkman, she was also keenly aware of the lineage of immortal stars in whose mould she hoped to be cast. Before evolving into one of history’s most famous blondes herself, she paid tongue-in-cheek homage to Marilyn Monroe.

Madonna unveils her famous blonde look in the 1986 video for Papa Don't Preach (YouTube/Warner Bros. Records)

Female stars are too often beset by tragedy. From Judy Garland to Amy Winehouse, inevitably, a crack appears in the vanity table mirror. But Madonna navigated her own publicity with genius, always speeding off unscathed.

When she did expose her personal life to the world, it was on her terms. Following her divorce from Sean Penn in 1989, she took her traumas and spun them into gold with the Like a Prayer album, a series of totemic hits tackling difficult family relationships, domestic violence and the AIDS epidemic. The sentiment was raw, but the execution was slick.

At the end of a decade in which she was revered as a figure of youth, sex and fun, she delivered a work that demanded to be taken seriously. In this reinvention she was not just a poster girl, but a true artist, representing female empowerment in a male-dominated industry.

On her 1990 Blond Ambition Tour, Madonna had a startling gender-defying image: the hair and makeup of Monroe more explicit than ever, but with the famous Gaultier conical bra exerting a confident, aggressive sexuality. Not unintentionally, she was wearing the trousers.

Madonna – career in pictures Show all 40 1 /40 Madonna – career in pictures Madonna – career in pictures 1984 Mandatory Credit: Photo by SIPA PRESS/REX (109672a) MADONNA 1984 MADONNA 1984 SIPA PRESS/REX Rex Madonna – career in pictures 1984 Madonna on 'Saturday Show', TV Programme Rex Madonna – career in pictures 1980s Madonna performing in the 80s Rex Madonna – career in pictures 1985 Madonna in 'Desperately Seeking Susan' Rex Madonna – career in pictures 1985 Madonna - Material Girl music video Sire/Warner Bros. Records Madonna – career in pictures 1986 Madonna and Sean Penn in 'Shanghai Surprise' Rex Madonna – career in pictures 1986 Madonna - Papa Don't Preach music video Sire/Warner Bros. Records Madonna – career in pictures 1987 Madonna performing at Wembley Stadium Rex Madonna – career in pictures 1987 Griffin Dunne and Madonna in 'Who's That Girl' Rex Madonna – career in pictures 1987 Fans wait for the arrival of Madonna at Heathrow Airport PA Madonna – career in pictures 1987 Madonna performs on stage as part of her 'Who's That Girl World Tour' at Roundhay Park, Leeds PA Madonna – career in pictures 1988 Mandatory Credit: Photo by Araldo di Crollalanza/REX (143774c) Madonna Madonna Portraits - 1988 Araldo di Crollalanza/REX Rex Madonna – career in pictures 1989 Madonna - Like a Prayer music video Sire/Warner Bros. Records Madonna – career in pictures 1990 Madonna performing on the Blond Ambition Tour in Tokyo, Japan Rex Madonna – career in pictures 1990 Madonna strikes a pose in her 1990 video for 'Vogue' Sire/Warner Bros. Records Madonna – career in pictures 1990 Madonna opening her Blond Ambition World Tour Rex Madonna – career in pictures 1992 The Launch of the book 'Sex' by Madonna Rex Madonna – career in pictures 1995 Madonna performs at the Brit Awards PA Madonna – career in pictures 1995 Madonna is joined by actors Jonathan Pryce and Antonio Banderas in London, as music recording began on the film version of 'Evita' PA Madonna – career in pictures 1998 Madonna - Ray of Light music video Maverick/Warner Bros. Records Madonna – career in pictures 2000 Madonna and Guy Ritchie leave Dornoch Cathedral after having their baby Rocco Christened PA Madonna – career in pictures 2000 Madonna with the Best Female award at the MTV Europe Music Awards held at the Globe Arena in Stockholm PA Madonna – career in pictures 2000 Madonna and British film director Guy Ritchie at the Evening Standard British Film Awards, held at the Savoy Hotel in London PA Madonna – career in pictures 2000 Madonna with her MTV Award for Best Female Artist, during the MTV Awards ceremony at the Filaforum near Milan PA Madonna – career in pictures 2001 Madonna celebrates American Independence Day by kicking off the UK leg of her Drowned World tour with a spectacular show at Earl's Court in west London PA Madonna – career in pictures 2002 Queen Elizabeth II meets Madonna at the World premiere of "Die another Day", at the Royal Albert Hall PA Madonna – career in pictures 2003 Britney Spears kissing Madonna at the MTV video music awards in New York Frank Micelotta/Getty Madonna – career in pictures 2003 Madonna at the launch of her first children's book The English Roses held at the Kensington Roof Gardens, London PA Madonna – career in pictures 2004 Madonna performs during the London leg of her 're-Invention' world tour PA Madonna – career in pictures 2005 Madonna appears backstage at the MTV Europe Music Awards in Lisbon PA Madonna – career in pictures 2005 Madonna performing at G.A.Y in London to launch her new album 'Confessions On A Dancefloor' PA Madonna – career in pictures 2005 Madonna - Hung Up video Warner Bros. Records Madonna – career in pictures 2006 Madonna collects her award for Best International Female, on stage at the Brit Awards 2006 PA Madonna – career in pictures 2008 Madonna performs during her 'Sticky and Sweet' tour at Wembley Stadium PA Madonna – career in pictures 2008 Madonna performs during her 'Sticky and Sweet' tour in Cardiff PA Madonna – career in pictures 2015 Madonna performs at the 2015 Brit Awards in London PA Madonna – career in pictures 2016 Madonna and fashion designer Riccardo Tisci attend the "Manus x Machina: Fashion In An Age Of Technology" Costume Institute Gala at Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City Getty Madonna – career in pictures 2017 Madonna at the "Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art Of The In-Between" Met Gala Getty Madonna – career in pictures 2018 Madonna speaks to the press at a news conference in Blantyre, Malawi. She has adopted four Malawian children and was in the country to celebrate the first anniversary of the Mercy James Centre for Pediatric Surgery and Intensive Care, named after one of her adopted daughters AP Madonna – career in pictures 2018 Madonna and Jean Paul Gaultier arrive for the 2018 Met Gala AFP/Getty Images

In her lyrics too, she is never the victim, breaking away from a tradition of disco divas lamenting their broken hearts on the dancefloor. As she was self-created, she remained self-sustained. Through boyfriends and marriages, males were mere appendages – her grandeur could never be matched.

By the time she got to the hyper-sexualisation of the 'Justify My Love' video and the Erotica era, Madonna was still channeling Monroe, but with more artistic purpose.

She was borrowing the physical imagery of the ultimate sex symbol of the 20th century, but where Monroe was demure, coquettish and naive, Madonna was expressing her own sexuality explicitly. People were suddenly uncomfortable.

Madonna performing on her 1993 Girlie Show Tour (Rex)

When topless photos from Madonna’s younger years leaked in 1985, they quickly found themselves in sell-out issues of Penthouse and Playboy. But in 1992, when she photographed herself completely naked for her own coffee table book, opprobrium rained down on her from all sides.

Here, she proved a crucial double standard around women’s bodies and sexuality. It was all fun and games for men to enjoy, so long as they were in control. Once women took charge themselves, their sexuality was deemed unacceptable.

In her defiance of the patriarchy, Madonna also garnered adoration from millions of gay men, who saw her reaching out a hand to them through her music, her imagery, and her vocal activism. For many, she was the accepting mother they never had.

(Madonna poses with her six children Lourdes, Rocco, David, Mercy, Esther and Stella on her 59th birthday last year (Madonna Instagram) (Madonna/Instagram)

When I first became a fan in my mid teens, it was not just a case of enjoying the infectious camp of Confessions on a Dancefloor – in her, I saw a remarkable, powerful advocate.

As I delved back through her career, I discovered that in showcasing her gay dancers, in her ability to enjoy a sexuality that others sought to oppress, and through lyrics of hope and redemption on albums like Ray Of Light, she had also been there for generations of young gay men before me, most of whom faced far greater struggles.

The Madonna of Catholicism is a melancholic figure, imploring people to pray for the state of the world and repent for their sins. But the Madonna of Pop tells her faithful followers to rebel, to be who they are, to survive at all costs. She is the hero of her own story, and of many others’ too. There is no weeping.

Madonna performs on her Reinvention Tour in 2004 (PA)

Just as the 21st century nears its third decade, so Madonna continues to push the boundaries of what is expected of older women in her industry, and in society.

Her world tours remain athletic, stadium-filling affairs. She's still collaborating with contemporary talent while relishing the spoils of being a heritage act. As ever, she dresses (and undresses) as she pleases.

Critics are waiting for an end to Madonna that will never come, because her legacy is secure. She had the good fortune to come of age in an era that allowed the average star to present themselves as superhuman, and that is how she remains.

Madonna ends her 2015 BRIT Award performance triumphant (PA)

While technology and globalisation have made it easier for people to become well known, there has been a dramatic dilution of quality. Of the people who do become household names, few are in any way remarkable.

Madonna remains as discussed in 2018 as she ever was, with her every move still commanding mainstream attention.

As she has indulged in social media and demonstrated a greater sense of humour, we have seen more of her ‘real’ side. But no matter how much she playfully allows the mask to slip, her facade remains untarnished.