Christopher Ciccone, artist and Madonna’s younger brother, dies at the age of 63

Christopher Ciccone, an artist and former dancer who was also the younger brother of singer Madonna, has died, his spokesman Brad Taylor confirmed to CBS News. He was 63.

He died of cancer on October 4, surrounded by his husband, Ray Thacker, Taylor said in a statement.

Born on November 22, 1960 in Pontiac, Michigan, Ciccone was an artist, interior decorator and designer who began his career as a dancer. He joined Le Group de La Palace Royale in Ottawa in 1980 before moving to New York two years later to support his older sister’s music career as a backup dancer.

As Madonna’s career grew, Ciccone became more involved – serving as art director on his sister’s Blond Ambition World Tour in 1990 and as tour director for her The Girlie Show in 1993. He also made music videos for 1990s megastars Dolly Parton and Tony Bennett.

His role expanded beyond music when Ciccone took on the role of interior designer in the homes his sister owned and lived in in New York, Miami and Los Angeles.

In 2012, Ciccone launched his own shoe line, The Ciccone Collection, at London Fashion Week.

He told CBS News at the time His goal is to make the brand “accessible to everyone” and not too expensive.

“The great thing about making shoes is that potentially everyone could have a pair. When you make art, there’s only one thing,” Ciccone said

Ciccone, who was openly gay, claimed his sister outed him during her 1991 interview with The Advocate.

Ciccone published a tell-all autobiography called “Life With My Sister Madonna,” which led to reports that the two were estranged, but Ciccone told CBS News in 2012 that he was glad he wrote the book.

“I don’t regret any of it,” he said. “I think that’s kind of what got me into it. “It gave people the opportunity to see me as a creative person, as an artist, and not just as Madonna’s brother, which is a label I will carry forever,” Ciccone said in 2012. “But I hope so will eventually be Christopher Ciccone. It’s cool… I’m perfectly happy being who I am.”

The two eventually reconciled.

“For me, our relationship is fine,” he told CBS News.

Ciccone and Thacker – a British-born actor – married in 2016.

Ciccone’s death comes less than two weeks after his and Madonna’s stepmother Joan Clare Ciccone died of cancer. His eldest brother Anthony died in 2023.