Madonna's brother Christopher Ciccone dies after battle with cancer
Madonna's brother Christopher Ciccone, an artist and interior designer, died Friday at 63 after a battle with late-stage cancer.
Ciccone died peacefully and surrounded by family, his representative confirmed.
His older sister Madonna, 66, mourned him in a lengthy tribute posted to Instagram on Sunday in which she described him as "the closest human to me for so long."
"We took each other's hands and we danced through the madness of our childhood," the pop legend wrote in her caption. "In fact dance was a kind of superglue that held us together. Discovering Dance in our small Midwestern town saved me and then my brother came along, and it saved him too."
She went on to write that their dance teacher "created a safe space" for Ciccone to be openly gay at a time when his sexual orientation was socially taboo.
Ciccone followed Madonna to New York City when the singer first sought to pursue dance, and he would later support Madonna as her backup dancer as her singing career began to flourish, as well as a creative director on many of her tours.
"We defied the Roman Catholic Church, The Police, the Moral Majority and all Authority figures that got in the way of Artistic freedom!" Madonna wrote, adding that she admired him for his "impeccable taste" and "sharp tongue."
He also designed homes for Madonna in New York, Miami and Los Angeles — including a Manhattan apartment that was featured in Architectural Digest.
Aside from interior decorating, Ciccone furthered his artistic career as a footwear designer and a painter.
In 2008, Ciccone published a memoir, "Life With My Sister Madonna," that caused a rift between the siblings amid an already deteriorating relationship.
In her Instagram tribute to her brother Sunday, Madonna shared that the two "did not speak" for some time but that after Ciccone was diagnosed with cancer, they both "found our way back to each other."
"He was in so much pain towards the end. Once again, we held hands," Madonna wrote. "We closed our eyes and we danced. Together. I’m glad he’s not suffering anymore. There will never be anyone like him. I know he’s dancing somewhere."
Angela Yang
Angela Yang is a culture and trends reporter for NBC News.
