As she turns the big 5-0, Madonna is ready to be cannonized

There've been times when we questioned Madonna. We winced at her acting in Who's That Girl. When she starred in that remake of Swept Away, which was so maligned that it went straight-to-video in Europe, we asked, What was she thinking? Then there was the time when she adopted an African baby whose father claimed (and later recanted) that he'd been told by the government to consent to the adoption. And who can forget that purple, high-cut leotard she wore last year that, let's be honest, no human being should ever be caught dead in.

But that's the thing about Madonna. For every faux-pas, controversial move and poor wardrobe decision, she does something brilliant, beautiful and ground-breaking. She's the world's most successful female musician and, like a good bottle of wine, she gets better and more complex with age. We love her for having more faces than a dodecahedron, for shedding images like dirty shirts, for trying everything once, and doing it with zero fear of criticism. Unlike so many celebrities these days, where you can sense that their persona has been carefully crafted by image consultants wielding market research reports, Madonna is 100 percent herself. And that's admirableeven if being herself includes being an avid drinker of Kabbalah water.

Most of us have heard the story of Madonna's rise to fame. She was born Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone, the third of six children born to Silvio Ciccone, an Italian-American car engineer, and Madonna Louise, who died of breast cancer when Madonna was six. At school, Madonna never fit in. I was a weirdo, she recently told Vanity Fair. I was interested in classical ballet and musicI was one of the people that people were mean to. When that happened, instead of being a doormat, I decided to emphasize my differences.

In 1977, Madonna's passion for dance led her to leave the University of Michigan to try to make it as a dancer in New York City. She arrived with just $35 to her name. It was the bravest thing I'd ever done, she's said.

The gamble, of course, paid off. After a few years of struggle, working in a Dunkin Donuts to support herself, a DJ at Danceteria began playing her demo. Madonna quickly landed a deal with Warner Brothers Records and released her first song, Everybody. Then came Burning Up. Then the pivotal album, Like a Virgin, the title song of which she famously performed at the 1984 MTV Music Video Awards, slithering in faux-ecstasy across the stage in a wedding gown. She quickly became a household name. In fact, a 1985 Time Magazine cover story proclaims, Madonna is the hottest draw in showbiz. Michael Jackson? History. Prince? The Peloponnesian Wars. Cyndi Lauper? Last week's flash, and besides, if you wanna be like Cyndi, you have to dye your hair fuchsia, and your parents freak. No, Madonna is the full moon.

Madonna spent the remainder of the 1980s churning out mega-hits. MTV seemed tailor-made for her. She took the music video to ambitious cinematic heights: Material Girl was a nod to Gentleman Prefer Blondes, Like a Prayer was an epic complete with burning crosses, Express Yourself was inspired by Fritz Lang's Metropolis, and Vogue combined Gershwin-esque flair with the poses of silver screen stars like Marlene Dietrich and Rita Hayworth.

Given her reverence for the big screen, it's fitting that in 1985, Madonna married Sean Penn. The tabloids followed their every move, which visibly shook the relationship. The two separated on New Year's Eve 1988. As Madonna later told Tatler, I was completely obsessed with my career and not ready to be generous in any shape or form.

Sexuality had always been part of Madonna's persona. But after her divorce from Penn, it became flagrant. She released Truth or Dare, a documentary that got pretty raunchy at times; she released a book subtly titled SEX, a collection of provocative images shot by Steven Meisel; and the Girlie Show World Tour promoted her album, Erotica, and featured topless dancers as well as Madonna as a dominatrix. The Catholic church was not amused, but women everywhere admired her for broadcasting her sexual revolution. And for keeping her skin so beautiful while donning all that pleather.