LOVE her or loathe her (and we adore her), no one on the planet can ignore Madonna Louise Ciccone.
As she celebrates her 65th birthday in just 10 days’ time, the global superstar is back on top form – and hell-bent on breaking all the rules around what it means to be the fiercest, most fabulous pensioner in pop.
Just weeks ago, though, she reportedly almost died from a horrific bacterial infection, which saw her collapse at her New York home with suspected septic shock on June 24.
Now, ahead of her much-anticipated world tour, she is determined to show us all she is fitter than ever, despite calls from her family to slow down.
“I’m on the road to recovery,” she said in a statement just days after reports alleged she’d been found unresponsive and had to be “revived with Narcan”, before being rushed to hospital for emergency treatment. “I’ll be back with you as soon as I can!”
According to a friend, who is a regular visitor at her sumptuous Upper East Side home (made up of three interconnecting apartments), Madonna is already back in the gym, focusing on “intelligent strength and low-impact body work” and eating regular meals of high-energy, macrobiotic, alkaline, plant-based food prepared by her vegan chef.
