While his sister is making a world career as Madonna, her brother, who is two years older, is having a hard time in life: Anthony Ciccone is now dying at the age of 66, as his brother-in-law announces. He struggled with alcoholism during his lifetime and was homeless for several years.
Madonna’s eldest brother, Anthony Ciccone, is dead. This was announced by Madonna’s brother-in-law, musician Joe Henry, on Instagram. Henry is married to Madonna’s sister Melanie Ciccone. Her brother Anthony was 66 years old.
“My brother-in-law, Anthony Gerard Ciccone, left this earth last night,” Henry wrote alongside a black-and-white photo of his late family member. “I’ve known him since I was 15, in the spring of our lives in Michigan, which is now many years past.” Anthony was a complex character, he continues, and at times he clashed with him. “But I loved him, and I understood him better than I sometimes wanted to admit.”
Madonna, now 64, was born in Michigan to Catholic parents and grew up in suburban Detroit with five siblings, the eldest of whom, Anthony, was born two years before her. While Madonna later moved to New York and embarked on a world career, Anthony stayed in Michigan, working for their father. He later became addicted to alcohol and was homeless for several years.
Madonna herself has not yet spoken out about the loss of her brother. The two are said to have had a difficult relationship. Anthony had publicly accused his famous sister of lack of support. However, she is said to have offered him help with his alcohol problem several times in the past. In addition, she paid him at least one stay in a rehab clinic, as the “Daily Mail” reported in 2011.
