Madonna‘s younger brother Christopher Ciccone, an artist, dancer and interior designer, has died. He was 63.
After reports that Ciccone died on Friday in Michigan following a cancer diagnosis, his 7x Grammy winning sister shared a heartfelt statement on social media, mourning his loss.
“My brother Christopher is gone. He was the closest human to me for so long,” she captioned the post in part. “Its hard to explain our bond. But it grew out of an understanding that we were different and society was going to give us a hard time for not following the status quo. We took each other’s hands and we danced through the madness of our childhood.”
Ciccone grew up dancing and joined the Montreal company La Groupe de La Place Royal before serving as a backup dancer for Madonna early in her career, appearing in the video for her 1983 track ‘Lucky Star’. He also art directed her Blond Ambition World Tour in 1990, in addition to directing music videos for Dolly Parton and Tony Bennett.
In 2008, Ciccone released his memoir Life with My Sister Madonna, detailing how their relationship became strained over the years.
Madonna acknowledged in her statement that the last few years with her brother had “not been easy,” but “we found our way back to each other” after his cancer diagnosis.
Ciccone is survived by his husband, actor Ray Thacker, whom he married in 2016.
Read Madonna’s full statement below:
“My brother Christopher is gone. He was the closest human to me for so long. Its hard to explain our bond. But it grew out of an understanding that we were different and society was going to give us a hard time for not following the status quo.
“We took each other’s hands and we danced through the madness of our childhood. In fact dance was a kind of superglue that held us together. Discovering Dance in our small Midwestern town saved me and then my brother came along, and it saved him too.
“My ballet Teacher, also named Christopher- created a safe space for my brother to be Gay. A word that was not spoken or even whispered where we lived. When I finally got the courage to go to New York to become a Dancer. My brother followed. And again we took each other’s hands, and we danced through the madness of New York City!
“We devoured Art and Music And Film like hungry animals. We were in the epicenter of all of these things exploding. We danced through the madness of the AIDS epidemic.
“We went to funerals and we cried, and we went dancing. We danced together on stage in the beginning of my career and eventually, he became my the Creative Director, of many tours. When it came to good taste, my brother was the Pope, and you had to kiss the ring to get his blessing.
“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. He was a painter a poet and a visionary. I admired him. He had impeccable taste. And a sharp tongue, Which he sometimes used against me but I always forgave him.
“We soared the highest heights together and floundered in the lowest lows. Somehow, we always found each other again and We held hands and we kept dancing. The last few years have not been easy. We did not speak for sometime but when my brother got sick, we found our way back to each other.
“I did my best to keep him alive as long as possible. He was in so much pain towards the end. Once again, we held hands. We closed our eyes and we danced. Together. I’m glad he’s not suffering anymore. There will never be anyone like him. I know he’s dancing somewhere.”
