Madonna has long been known as the Queen of Reinvention, but behind the glittering stage lights and boundary-breaking performances is a devoted daughter who still calls her father her rock.
This week, the superstar took a tender pause from her whirlwind life to celebrate a major milestone—her father Silvio Ciccone’s 94th birthday—with a deeply personal tribute.
The “Vogue” singer, 65, shared two touching photographs of her father to X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, accompanied by a message brimming with admiration, nostalgia and the kind of humour only a daughter can share with the man who raised her.
“Happy Birthday to my Father. Silvio Ciccone, 94 and going strong!!” Madonna wrote. In one sweet snapshot, she’s seen standing beside her father as he tucks into a slice of birthday cake, balloon strings hanging festively in the background and a shimmering silver ‘94’ display marking the occasion in style.
In her caption, Madonna paid tribute not just to her father’s age, but to the strength of his spirit. “He has survived many wars and many losses in his life,” she reflected, “and he still has a sense of humor and a strong desire to get out of bed every morning and make the most of his day.”
© InstagramThe second photo was a candid moment of Silvio sitting outdoors, casually dressed in jeans, a t-shirt and suspenders, the sun casting a warm glow as he relaxed on patio furniture. A baseball cap perched atop his head, his look was unmistakably that of a man with decades of wisdom—and a healthy dose of sass.
“Whenever people ask my father when he’s going to retire, his answer is always the same,” Madonna shared. “I’m going to go until the wheels fall off!!’” The pop icon added cheekily, “S.A.M.E.”
But the moment was about more than cake and cap-tossing wisdom. Madonna used the occasion to reflect on the value of age and experience in a world often obsessed with youth.
© @madonna“It’s a shame we do not live in a world that celebrates knowledge and experience and the wisdom that we can only learn from our elders who have survived for many decades on this planet”” she wrote.
She added: “We are fixated on youth and physical beauty that ironically teaches us nothing and gives us only momentary gratification.”
“Good job, Dad!! I’m proud of you and I know Mom is smiling and happy wherever she is,” Madonna added, referencing her late mother, also named Madonna Louise, who tragically passed away from breast cancer in 1963 when the singer was just five years old. “Thank you for giving me your zero F—- mentality!”
© Instagram MadonnaBorn in Bay City, Michigan, Madonna was the third of six children and the only girl in the Ciccone clan. Over the years, she’s spoken often about her close relationship with her father and the influence he had on her ironclad work ethic and rebellious spirit.
“My mother is the only other person I have ever heard of named Madonna,” she told TIME in a 1985 interview, where she recalled her Catholic upbringing. “I never had trouble with the name … I went to Catholic schools. And then when I got involved in the music industry, everybody thought I took it as a stage name. So I let them think that … It’s pretty glamorous.”
Later, in an interview with Rolling Stone in 1989, Madonna opened up about her deep need for paternal approval, confessing, “More than anything, I want my father’s approval, whether I want to admit it or not. But he’s always been very affectionate with me.”
Silvio, who has run the Ciccone Vineyard & Winery in Michigan, has largely stayed out of the limelight over the years, choosing the tranquillity of winemaking over celebrity.
