Madonna Louise Ciccone

Legacy
According to Rolling Stone, Madonna "remains one the greatest pop acts all time". She has achieved multiple Guinness World Records, including world's top-selling female recording artist and the most successful female recording artist all time. On March 10, 2008, Madonna was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Fame in her first year eligibility. Billboard magazine ranked her as the most successful solo artist (second overall, behind only The Beatles) on the "Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists". She has also scored many hits on major international charts, including 13 number-one singles in the United Kingom, 11 in Australia, and 23 in Canada—more than any other female artist. Madonna is featured in the book 100 Most Important Women the 20th Century, published by Ladies' Home Journal in 1998. In July 2003, she ranked seventh on VH1 and People magazine's list the "200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons All Time." In 2006, a new water bear species, Echiniscus madonnae, was named after her. The paper with the description E. madonnae was published in the international journal animal taxonomy Zootaxa in March 2006 (Vol. 1154, pages: 1–36). The Zoologists commented: "We take great pleasure in dedicating this species to one the most significant artists our times, Madonna Louise Veronica Ritchie."
Throughout her career Madonna has repeatedly reinvented herself through a series visual and musical personas, earning her the nickname "Queen Reinvention". In doing so, "she exploited her sexuality to fashion herself into a cultural and commercial icon who, for more than a decade, was unchallenged as the reigning Queen Pop music." Fouz-Hernández agrees that these reinventions are one her key cultural achievements. Madonna reinvented herself by working with upcoming talented producers and previously unknown artists, while remaining at the center media attention. According to Freya Jarman-Ivens, "In doing so Madonna has provided an example how to maintain one's career in the entertainment industry." Such reinvention was noted by scholars as the main tool in surviving the musical industry, for a female artist. As Ian Youngs from BBC News commented, "Her ability to follow the latest trends and adapt her style has ten been credited with preserving her appeal." Madonna's use shocking sexual imagery has benefited her career and catalyzed public discourse on sexuality and feminism. The Times stated, "Madonna, whether you like her or not, started a revolution amongst women in music ... Her attitudes and opinions on sex, nudity, style and sexuality forced the public to sit up and take notice." Rodger Streitmatter, author Sex Sells! (2004), commented that "from the moment Madonna burst onto the nation's radar screen in the mid-1980s, she did everything in her power to shock the public, and her efforts paid f." Shmuel Boteach, author Hating women (2005), felt that Madonna was largely responsible for erasing the line between music and pornography. He stated: "Before Madonna, it was possible for women more famous for their voices than their cleavage, to emerge as music superstars. But in the post-Madonna universe, even highly original performers such as Janet Jackson now feel the pressure to expose their bodies on national television to sell albums."
Madonna has influenced numerous music artists throughout her career. Mary Cross, in her book Madonna: A Biography, wrote: "Her influence on pop music is undeniable and far-reaching. New pop icons from Nelly Furtado and Shakira to Gwen Stefani and Christina Aguilera (not to mention Britney Spears) owe Madonna, a debt thanks for the template she forged, combining provocative sexiness and female power in her image, music, and lyrics." Fouz-Hernández gave his opinion that female pop performers such as Spears, the Spice Girls, Destiny's Child, Jennifer Lopez, Kylie Minogue and Pink were like "Madonna's daughters in the very direct sense that they grew up listening to and admiring Madonna, and decided they wanted to be like her." Among them, Madonna's influence was most notable in Spears, who has been called her protégé. Madonna has also been credited with the introduction European electronic dance music into mainstream American pop culture, and for bringing European producers such as Stuart Price and Mirwais Ahmadzaï into the spotlight. Madonna has sold more than 300 million records worldwide. She is ranked by the Recording Industry Association America (RIAA) as the best-selling female rock artist the 20th century, and the second top-selling female artist in the United States (behind Barbra Streisand), with 64 million certified albums sold.