Madonna is one of the most important female icons of the last 20 years. She is the most popular female singer-songwriter of all time, a film star and a successful businesswoman. But it isn't always easy for her. Her last film, The Next Best Thing, was not successful. Critics don't like her new album, Music. 'It's simple-minded disco music,' they say. 'Madonna's not exciting any more. She's boring.'

Madonna has always had enemies, but she knows how to fight. She was the third of eight children in a large Italian family in Michigan, USA. At the age of 19, she went to New York with $35 in her purse and became a dancer. After a few years, she decided to sing. She had a weak voice, but her music was exciting and young people loved it. Her first album, Madonna, was in 1983, and she had many top ten hits. Then she decided to be an actor. Many of her films – Shanghai Express (1986), for example – were unsuccessful. Critics laughed. 'She can't act,' they said. But Madonna became more and more popular. Men thought that she was sexy. Women thought that she was strong. 'If Madonna can be strong in a man's world,' they thought, 'we can be strong, too.'

The 1990s were Madonna's best years. In 1997, she won a Best Actress award for her part in Evita. Even her critics liked her 1998 album, Ray of Light. In 2000 she won two awards for her song Beautiful Stranger.

Madonna is now 42 years old. She became a mother for the second time in August this year. She is happy with her boyfriend, the film director, Guy Ritchie. Perhaps she doesn't want success as much as before, but she still has many plans for the future. This month, she's singing in a small London theatre. Next year, she has agreed to act in a serious Peter Greenaway film, The Pulse Luper Trilogy.

And there's her new album, Music. Do her fans agree with the critics? Is it just boring disco music for old people? In September, Music went straight to the top of the charts! Young people still think that she's 'cool'. To people who don't remember the 1980s, Madonna is like a princess. Pictures of her are in all the popular magazines. Pop stars like the Spice Girls and Britney Spears think she is wonderful. Most young people don't care what the critics say about her. Madonna doesn't either.

Love her or hate her, we can all be sure of one thing: Madonna's a star, and she's here to stay. She will never be boring!