Anthony Ciccone, the eldest sibling of Madonna, died Friday evening at 66 years old. Ciccone’s brother-in-law, Joe Henry, announced his death in an Instagram post on Saturday:
“My brother-in-law, Anthony Gerard Ciccone, exited this earthly plane last evening. I’ve known him since I was 15, in the spring of our lives in Michigan so many years now gone.” Henry also stated in the post, “Anthony was a complex character; and god knows: we tangled in moments, as true brothers can,” Henry wrote. “But I loved him, and understood him better than I was sometimes willing to let on.” Henry is married to Madonna’s younger sister, Melanie Ciccone.
Anthony Ciccone was born May 3, 1956, in Rochester, Michigan, the eldest child of Madonna Louise and Silvio Ciccone. Madonna and other family members were estranged from their brother, who battled alcoholism for years and was also at times homeless, even living under a bridge in Michigan at one point. He blamed Madonna and others in his family for allegedly not caring about him.
Anthony had told the Daily Mail in 2013, “I’m a zero in their eyes – a non-person. I’m an embarrassment. If I froze to death, my family probably wouldn’t know or care about it for six months.” He went on to make a very harsh statement about Madonna: “I never loved her in the first place, she never loved me. We never loved each other.” Madonna, however, had reportedly paid for a two month stay in a Texas clinic, and according to family friends, made repeated efforts to reach out to her to her older brother, according to the Daily Mail.
Anthony’s cause of death is unclear at this time.
