Madonna on Vogue magazine front covers in the US and UK, dating back to 1989

'Madonna at home' on US Vogue cover, May 1989 (Patrick Demarchelier photo). Editor Anna Wintour was told it wouldn't sell	British Vogue beat the US edition in having a Madonna photograph by Herb Ritts for its front cover four months earlier, February 1989

I've been looking through some old Vogue covers. I reckon above left is the first Madonna Vogue cover in the US edition, dated May 1989.

Fashion Indie noted a while back that editor Anna Wintour says she was told '[Madonna will] never sell', but, in fact, newsstand sales rose 40% with the photo shoot. Strange that Wintour hadn't checked with Liz Tilberis, her successor at the British sister magazine – 'Brogue' – which had run its first Madonna Vogue cover in February

Of course, Madonna has a reputation that has seen her described as having the 'world's most exploited belly button' and she vies with Joan Collins and Kate Moss as the biggest magazine cover star. Vogue itself said in 2021 that 'Madonna remains the ultimate Vogue cover star', for the US edition at least, in marking Madonna's 63rd birthday.

Tilberis seems to have had a knack of picking great covers. As well as the Madonna credit, her first ever Vogue cover was of Naomi Campbell – that model's first appearance on the front of the fashion magazine.

Yet neither of the above Madonna Vogue covers can claim to be the first magazine to carry a Madonna photograph cover, because Madonna Louise Ciccone, to use her full name, had appeared on two magazine front covers as early as February 1984 in Britain. The weekly No1 (February 4) pipped fortnightly Smash Hits to the post by two weeks.

One thing to notice is that Madonna seems to reinvent herself for every cover shoot. Just compare the 1984 No1 and Smash Hits covers below with the Vogue shoots. Her first album, Madonna, had come out in July 1983. Like a Virgin was released at the end of 1984 and the film Desperately Seeking Susan came out in 1985.

No 1 beat Smash Hits to the first Madonna magazine cover (4 Feb 1984). Madonna was 25

This Smash Hits cover came out two weeks after No 1's. Desperately Seeking Susan came out a year later