Who is Silvio Ciccone? All about Madonna's dad as singer's stepmother Joan dies at 81 due to cancer

66-year-old singer Madonna's stepmother Joan Ciccone had passed away earlier this week on Tuesday, September 24, 2024. According to her online obituary, she was 81 and battling an aggressive cancer. Joan was married to Madonna's father Silvio for more than 50 years.

The online obituary, as reported by The New York Post, read:

"Joan Clare Ciccone passed away peacefully early in the morning of September 24th, 2024, after a brief encounter with a very aggressive cancer. She will be terribly missed by her family and friends whose lives she enriched with her enthusiasm, joy and love."

The couple got married when the pop singer was only 8 years old, back in 1966. The event took place about three years after her mother passed away in 1963, at the age of only 30.

93-year-old Silvio married Joan, who was a housekeeper. Before that he already had six kids with his late wife: Anthony, Martin, Madonna, Paula, Christopher, and Melanie. Later Silvio and Joan welcomed two more children: Mario and Jennifer.

Born in 1931 in Pennsylvania, Silvio is the youngest of six boys. In 1985, the pop singer told TIME that her dad's family had come to the US from Italy in a boat. She then further added that Silvio's parents settled somewhere outside of Pittsburgh and his dad started working at a steel mill.

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Madonna's dad Silvio Ciccone had previously served in the Air Force, before he began working as an engineer

As had been mentioned before, Silvio and recently deceased Joan had been married for a long time. Silvio reportedly had served in the Air Force before he shifted to Michigan, where he became an engineer. In the interview with TIME, the pop singer explained:

"I think he wanted us to have a better life than he did when he was growing up."

In the same interview, she further spoke about her grandparents and Silvio's parents. According to her, they didn't know English at all and also weren't very educated as well. She continued:

"I think in a way they represented an old life-style that my father really didn't want to have anything to do with. It's not that he was ashamed, really, but he wanted to be better."

Raised a Catholic, Silvio met his future wife Madonna Louise's older brother while serving in the Air Force. According to the pop singer, who had been named after her mother, her parents had love at first sight. She further spoke about her parents in the conversation and said:

"Of course he met my mother, and he fell in love with her immediately. She was very beautiful. I look like her. I have my father's eyes but I have my mother's smile and a lot of her facial structure."

Silvio and his wife shifted to Detroit, where Madonna and her siblings grew up. While the popstar initially opted to get a degree at the University Of Michigan, she later shifted to New York City to pursue a career in dance.

This year, in June, Silvio turned 93, and Madonna penned a heartfelt post on Instagram and shared a number of photos as well.