Madonna’s Younger Brother Christopher Ciccone Dies at 63

Madonna‘s younger brother, Christopher Ciccone, has died at the age of 63.

Christopher passed away after a battle with cancer on Friday (Oct. 4) in Michigan, his representative confirmed to TMZ.

The Queen of Pop has faced many deaths in her family as of late. Christopher’s passing arrives less than two weeks after the death of Madonna’s stepmother, Joan Clare Ciccone, who also had cancer. The pop superstar’s oldest brother, Anthony Ciccone, also passed away in February 2023 of respiratory failure and throat cancer. He was 66.

Madonna hadn’t publicly commented on Christopher’s passing at press time. Billboard has reached out to her reps for comment.

Christopher — one of Madonna’s seven siblings — began his entertainment career as one of his sister’s backup dancers before moving on to direct music videos for such stars as Dolly Parton and Tony Bennett. He also served as the art director for Madonna’s 1990 Blond Ambition World Tour and was the tour director for her 1993 The Girlie Show.

Madonna and Christopher, who was also an artist and interior designer, had a falling out that was documented in his 2008 book, Life With My Sister Madonna, which reached No. 2 on the New York Times best-seller list. He claimed that the singer outed him in a 1991 interview with The Advocate, saying, “My brother Christopher’s gay, and he and I have always been the closest members of my family.”

Christopher later addressed his relationship with Madonna in a 2012 interview with The Evening Standard. “As far as I’m concerned, we’re good. We are in contact with each other, although I haven’t seen her for a long time. We’re back to being a brother and sister. I don’t work for her, and it’s better this way,” he said at the time.

“I couldn’t be more proud of her. She is a force to be reckoned with. Does she have Barbra Streisand’s voice? No,” Christopher added about his sister. “Can she dance like Martha Graham? Probably not. But the combination of her abilities has made her great, and left a huge legacy for her, and through her, for me. So yeah, God bless her.”

Christopher married British hairdresser Ray Thacker in 2016.