Christopher Ciccone | American Artist | Madonna’s Brother

Christopher Ciccone: Christopher Gerard Ciccone was an American artist, interior decorator, and designer in New York, Miami, and Los Angeles. He was the younger brother of singer Madonna. Ciccone began his professional career as a dancer with La Groupe de La Place Royal. He was a dancer for his sister Madonna early in her career.

American Artist Christopher Ciccone, Madonna’s Brother

“He was the closest human to me for so long,” Madonna writes in tribute to her brother. “It’s hard to explain our bond”

The youngest of six Ciccone siblings, Christopher Ciccone collaborated closely with Madonna early in her career, appearing as a backup dancer in the videos for “Everybody” and “Lucky Star.” Ciccone would also serve a variety of roles on Madonna’s tours, including as an art director on the Ambition World Tour in 1990 and as a production designer and tour director on 1993’s The Girlie Show.

“My brother was right by my side,” Madonna continued in her tribute. “He was a painter a poet and a visionary. I admired him. He had impeccable taste. And a sharp tongue, Which he sometimes used against me but I always forgave him. We soared the highest heights together. And floundered in the lowest lows. Somehow, we always found each other again and we held hands and we kept dancing.”

In addition to his time with Madonna, Ciccone was also an interior designer, music video director (he helmed videos for Dolly Parton and Tony Bennett), artist, footwear designer, and author, writing the 2008 memoir Life With My Sister Madonna that detailed his tumultuous relationship with his famous sister.

Madonna’s brother Christopher Ciccone, an artist and interior designer, died Friday at 63 after a battle with late-stage cancer.

Madonna’s Brother Christopher Ciccone Dies after Battle with Cancer

Ciccone died peacefully and surrounded by family, his representative confirmed.

His older sister Madonna, 66, mourned him in a lengthy tribute posted to Instagram on Sunday in which she described him as “the closest human to me for so long.”

“We took each other’s hands and we danced through the madness of our childhood,” the pop legend wrote in her caption. “In fact dance was a kind of superglue that held us together. Discovering Dance in our small Midwestern town saved me and then my brother came along, and it saved him too.”

She went on to write that their dance teacher “created a safe space” for Ciccone to be openly gay at a time when his sexual orientation was socially taboo. …Instagram

Ciccone followed Madonna to New York City when the singer first sought to pursue dance, and he would later support Madonna as her backup dancer as her singing career began to flourish, as well as a creative director on many of her tours.