Christopher Ciccone, an artist, interior designer and former backup dancer for his older sister, Madonna, died on Oct. 4 at 63 after a battle with cancer.
Madonna paid respects to her little brother in an Instagram post on Sunday, writing, “My brother Christopher is gone. He was the closest human to me for so long.”
The pop singer went on, “[It’s] hard to explain our bond, but it grew out of an understanding that we were different and that society was going to give us a hard time for not following the status quo. We took each other‘s hands, and we danced through the madness of our childhood. In fact, dance was a kind of superglue that held us together.”
Born on November 22, 1960, in Pontiac, Michigan, Ciccone started his career as a choreographer and dancer. He frequently collaborated with Madonna during her rise to fame in the 1980s.
As her fame grew, Ciccone served as an art director for the singer, providing artwork for her hit single “Like A Prayer” and 1990 Blond Ambition World Tour.
In 2008, Ciccone released his bestselling autobiography, Life With My Sister, in which he wrote about their childhood and time spent together. The book caused a rift between him and his sister. Madonna found it “very upsetting” that her brother would sell a book “based on his sister.”
In line with his artistic career, Ciccone became an interior designer and launched a footwear line called Ciccone Collection in 2012.
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In 2016, Ciccone married actor Ray Thacker, who was by his side – along with Ciccone’s family – when he died.
In addition to his husband, Ciccone is survived by his father, Silvio, and siblings Madonna, Martin, Paula, Melanie, Jennifer and Mario.
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