Madonna August 16, 1958 is an American singer, songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Madonna has sold more than 300million records worldwide and is recognized as the world's top-selling female recording artist of all time by the Guinness World Records. Considered to be one of the "25 Most Powerful Women of the Past Century" by Time for being an influential figure in contemporary music, Madonna is known for continuously reinventing both her music and image, and for retaining a standard of autonomy within the recording industry. Critics have praised Madonna for her diverse musical productions which have also served as a lightning rod for religious controversy.