MADONNA’s younger brother Christopher Ciccone has died aged 63, his publicist has revealed.
The two worked closely together throughout the star’s career, but had a falling out in 2008 with Christopher’s comprehensive book “Life with My Sister Madonna.”
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Madonna and Christopher Ciccone during the 70th Academy Awards Credit: Getty – Contributor
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Madonna and Christopher at the 67th Annual Academy Awards Miramax Party 1995 Credit: Rex Features
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Madonna with her brother Christopher Ciccone at a Disney party Credit: Getty
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Christopher Ciccone has died at the age of 63 Credit: Getty
His death on October 4 after a battle with cancer comes after their stepmother died on September 24 – also of cancer.
Christopher has worked as a designer, artist and director.
He was once Madonna’s closest brother and began his career as her assistant, fashion designer, stylist and art director.
They grew up together in Michigan, learning to dance with each other.
Christopher then followed the star to New York, where she began her journey to world fame.
But when Christopher wrote his New York Times bestseller about his relationship with his sister, it caused conflict between the two.
Brat called the Material Girl hitmaker “a middle-class girl who’s propagating the story that she landed in Times Square with nothing but a pair of ballet flats and $35 to her name.”
But he asserted that it is “pure mythology and the more she progresses, the more mythological her life story becomes.”
Like their other brothers, Christopher also struggled with alcohol and drug abuse – and Madonna even paid for some of his rehabs.
In 2003, she dismissed him as tour director.
Madonna turns heads in a corset-style mini dress as she leaves the Dolce and Gabbana afterparty in Milan
And in 2012, it seemed that his relationship with his sister, the performer, was improving.
He told the Evening Standard at the time: “[We are] at a perfectly decent level right now. As far as I’m concerned, we’re fine.
“We are in contact, although I haven’t seen her in a long time.
“We’re brother and sister again. I don’t work for her and it’s better this way.”
Christopher also expressed pride for his sister, unlike his 2008 book.
He gushed: “I couldn’t be more proud of her. She’s a force to be reckoned with. Does she have the voice of Barbra Streisand? No.
“Can she dance like Martha Graham? Probably not. But the combination of her abilities made her great and left a great legacy for her and through her for me. So, God bless her.”
One friend said Christopher was “an extremely talented man with a wicked sense of humour”.
In 2016, he married British hairdresser Ray Thacker.
In 2017, Christopher gave an exclusive interview to The Sun and accused the pop queen of blacklisting him in Hollywood – and says he could write another book about how “terrible” she is.
He said: “I could have written that book, a book about how horrible she is or could be, but I didn’t write that book.
“I was just looking for a little recognition for the work I did for 20 years with her, that it wasn’t one person.”
In his 2008 book, Christopher described how his sister was controlling, sweaty, moody and, above all, mean.
Both still deeply scarred by their mother’s death in 1963, Madonna brought Christopher to New York and hired him – but also humiliated and underpaid him and, he claimed, even outed him as gay on television.
Reflecting on that feud, Christopher says, “When I got back to LA, my 500 acquaintances suddenly turned out to be four friends.
“She’s pretty powerful in Los Angeles, in the industry. I was working in the industry doing music videos and tours and it was hard, if not impossible, to find a job.”
In his book, Christopher also wrote wildly about Madonna’s sexual partners – actor Sean Penn was “tense”, former personal trainer Carlos Leon was “fat”, and British film director Guy Ritchie was “a poser”.
He adds: “I haven’t spoken to any of those guys and I don’t want to.
“There is not a single word in that book that is not true. If not, I would be sued.”
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The couple had a time when they were very closeCredit: Getty
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Christopher Ciccone attends Howard Bragman’s “Where’s My Fifteen Minutes?” Book release party 2009. Credits: Getty – Contributor
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