As of 2022, who is the best-selling female recording artist of all time?

Madonna Louise Ciccone, born on August 16, 1958, in Bay City, Michigan, to Catholic parents, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer, director, producer and businesswoman.

Madonna's father put her up to attending classical piano lessons but later allowed her ballet lessons during which her teacher pursuaded her to seek a career in dancing. After graduating from the Rochester Adams High School, she received a dance scholarship to the University of Michigan and studied at the American Dance Festival in Durham, North Carolina.

Selling around 300 million records worldwide, Madonna was certified by the 'Guinness Book of Records' as the "best-selling female recording artist of all time". She is considered one of the most influential figures in popular culture and is referred to as the "Queen of Pop". She is the most successful solo artist in the history of the U.S. 'Billboard' Hot 100 chart and holds the record for the most number-one singles by a female artist in Australia, Canada, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom. In 2008, her first year of eligibility, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She was ranked as the greatest woman in music by VH1, and as the greatest music video artist of all time by MTV and 'Billboard'. 'Rolling Stone' listed her among the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time and the 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time.

Madonna has a daughter and son from a previous relationship and marriage and adopted four children from Malawi.