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Christopher Ciccone, Madonna’s Younger Brother, Dead at 63: 'I Know He's Dancing Somewhere'

Ciccone was a backup dancer in Madonna’s early touring days

Sarah Bricker Hunt

Artist and dancer Christopher Ciccone has died at age 63.

In an emotional Instagram tribute, Madonna described Ciccone, her younger brother, as “the closest human to me for so long.” She reflected on their shared struggles growing up in Pontiac and how their bond grew from their love of dance. “We took each other’s hands and we danced through the madness of our childhood,” she wrote.

For both siblings, dance became a lifeline — “a superglue,” she wrote, that helped them survive and thrive despite societal pressures. Madonna highlighted how this connection to dance saved them both and provided a path to self-expression and liberation, especially for Ciccone, who faced the additional challenges of coming out in an era and environment where being openly gay was far from accepted.

Madonna, who has long been a champion of LGBTQ+ rights, offered Ciccone unwavering support. She recalled how her ballet teacher, Christopher Flynn, created a “safe space” for her brother, allowing him to fully embrace his identity at a time when “gay” was rarely spoken aloud in their town in Michigan. “When I finally got the courage to go to New York to become a dancer, my brother followed,” Madonna wrote.



Together, they embraced the creative explosion of 1980s New York City, living at the intersection of art, music and LGBTQ+ culture. “We defied the Roman Catholic Church, the police, the moral majority and all authority figures that got in the way of artistic freedom! My brother was right by my side,” she wrote.

Ciccone’s early career intertwined with Madonna’s, as he became one of her backup dancers and later directed music videos for Dolly Parton and Tony Bennett. He played a key role in shaping some of the most iconic moments of Madonna’s career, serving as the art director for her 1990 “Blond Ambition” tour — which cemented her status as an LGBTQ+ icon — and directing her 1993 “The Girlie Show” tour. Ciccone’s creative influence was vast, spanning everything from choreography to the interior design of Madonna’s homes in New York, Miami and Los Angeles.

However, like many sibling relationships, theirs was not without complications. In 2008, Ciccone published “Life with My Sister Madonna,” a memoir that documented their falling out and his struggles with feeling overshadowed by her fame. In the book, Ciccone revealed his frustration about Madonna outing him as gay in a 1991 interview, a move that caused him immense personal turmoil at the time. Yet despite the tensions, the memoir was not just a tell-all — it was an honest reflection on the complex relationship between siblings, fame and identity.

In a 2008 interview with Pride Source, he reflected on the process of writing his memoir, noting that therapy had helped him find peace with his past. “It made it easy to see how great it had been — even despite the bad things that had transpired between us,” he told Chris Azzopardi. “The other part was that I really needed to define myself separate from her, and I can’t tell my story without telling her story. It’s impossible. So I think the book does that as well, to sort of not necessarily separate us, but it defines me next to her — not me attached to her hip.”

For Ciccone, the tension between being “Madonna’s brother” and simply being himself was ever-present, but he worked to carve out his own space. As he said in the same Pride Source interview, “Look, I’ll always be her brother... and even though I still get the pre-introduction as Madonna’s brother, it’s fine. It’s not a big deal to me. I know that I’m more than that.”

In 2016, Ciccone married Ray Thacker, a British actor. Despite the pandemic and other challenges that physically separated the couple for long periods, Thacker remained devoted to Ciccone, standing by his side during his final battle with cancer. 

According to an obituary posted to his Facebook page, Ciccone passed away peacefully on Oct. 4, surrounded by his husband and loved ones, leaving behind a legacy beyond his connection to one of the world’s biggest pop stars.

As Madonna noted, "There will never be anyone like him. I know he’s dancing somewhere.”



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