Her videos have ruffled feathers in the Vatican, her ability to reinvent herself has proved longevity in the music business is possible and it was her fault I committed my most serious crime against fashion.

In the 1980s, East Leeds seemed a long way from New York, where Madonna had made her first bid for fame and fortune, but following a trip to the nearby Arndale Centre, I became momentarily convinced that with a pair of black leggings, oversized earrings and some lace gloves I too could be a Queen of Pop.

Thankfully no-one living further than the end of my street ever got to see the final result and as far as I'm aware all incriminating photos have been destroyed. There's some comfort in knowing I wasn't the only one and the conical bra years which followed were proof that for most of us corsets should be shown to a limited, sympathetic audience.

Where Madonna led, we followed and while she turns 50 this weekend – way past the music business's usual pensionable age – her influence shows no sign of waning.

Her concerts, while rare, still sell out, her public commitment to Kabbalah has prompted a noticeable rise in those sporting the faith's red string bracelet and rumours of whether she and husband Guy Ritchie are about to go their separate ways continues to fill gossip columns. But just how did a dancer from Michigan become the most iconic female singer in history?

1980s

Born into an ordinary American family, Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone's early years were little different from many other fame-hungry teenagers.

Dropping out of the University of Michigan where she had won a dance scholarship and heading to New York, the woman who would soon be an international pin-up made ends meet working as a nude model and behind the counter of Dunkin' Donuts.

"It was the first time I'd ever taken a plane, the first time I'd ever gotten a taxi cab," she would later say of her arrival in the Big Apple.

"I came here with $35 in my pocket. It was the bravest thing I'd ever done."

While singing in various bands, Madonna was hardly an overnight success and had to wait until the age of 24 for her big break and the release of her first single Everybody.

From there she didn't look back and by the time her eponymous debut album went gold in 1984, Madonna had already stamped her mark on the music business.

Marrying actor Sean Penn the following year and making her film debut in Desperately Seeking Susan showed the world she wasn't content with just a mere 15 minutes of fame. However, while teenagers were busy pinning posters of her to their wall, not everything went her way. Her follow up film Shanghai Surprise was an out-and-out flop, her marriage to Penn was similarly disastrous and her past came back to her haunt her when Playboy and Penthouse announced they had nude photos of the singer. When legal action to prevent the magazines publishing the pictures failed, Madonna decided on a different tack.

While more sensitive souls may have retreated into the shadows, the soon-to-be-crowned Queen of Pop emerged both defiant and unapologetic. By the time the magazines went to print, the music business had a brand new icon who was more than prepared to court controversy. As the decade drew to a close, the Like A Prayer video featuring stigmatas and burning crosses made its presence felt in the Vatican with the Pope telling Italians not to attend her concerts.

1990s

Having learnt a valuable lesson in just how much sex sells, Madonna spent much of the 1990s trusting the well-worn formula. When her video for Justify My Love was banned by MTV for its depiction of bondage and sadomasochism, the singer remained in the headlines and her appearance as Breathless Mahoney opposite Warren Beatty in Dick Tracey was just a warm-up for the decade's main event.

When Madonna announced she was going to publish a book, most surmised it was unlikely to be a political thriller, but few bargained for the hype which surrounded Sex. Sealed in a silver bag, the explicit photographs sparked an international debate and while many branded it immoral, fans weren't listening. Three days after the launch, all 1.5 million copies of the first edition were sold.

The publicity did the release of her album Erotica little harm, but the 1990s were proof that Madonna was much more than a singer with a talent for taking her clothes off. While her film career has been less than consistent, her portrayal of Eva Peron in the film Evita won her a Golden Globe for best actress and left many critics eating their words.

Having taken centre stage for much of her 20s and 30s, the late 1990s also saw a new Madonna emerge. At the age of the 38 she gave birth to Lourdes – her daughter with Cuban personal trainer Carlos Leon – became a member of the Kabbalah faith, but also proved she still had what it took to be at the top of the music business. Ray of Light, released in 1998 was widely described as her most adventurous album and it picked up three Grammy awards as well as a new generation of fans.

2000s

Another decade, another baby – and another husband.

It always seemed an unlikely pairing, but having given birth to his son Rocco, Madonna and British film director Guy Ritchie married in December 2000 and the singer reinvented herself as the Lady of the Manor.

Regularly spotted wearing a flat cap and Wellingtons, Madonna waxed lyrical about her new found love of real ale and many thought she was preparing for an early retirement in a suitably historic pile.

Not so. Although it perhaps wasn't the best idea to join her husband on the set of his latest film. Swept Away was both a commercial and critical failure, but she fared better with her second foray into publishing, bring out her first children's book, The English Roses, in 2003.

Given that controversy has never been far from her door, her decision to adopt a 13-month old Malawian baby boy named David Banda during her trip to one of the country's orphanages two years ago was never going to run smoothly.

There were accusations about the rights and wrongs of the case, but 18 months later the adoption was officially approved and yet another new chapter in the life and times of Madonna, the highest earning female singer of all time, began.