Madonna’s youthful brother, Christopher “Chris” Gerard Ciccone, has died. He was 63.
A consultant for Christopher confirmed to PEOPLE that he died of most cancers on Friday, Oct. 4. He died “peacefully” with husband Ray Thacker by his facet, the rep stated in an announcement.
Christopher is survived by Thacker; his father, Silvio Ciccone, and siblings Martin, Madonna, Paula, Melanie, Jennifer and Mario.
Christopher’s dying comes shortly after that of his stepmother, Joan Gustafson Ciccone, who died of most cancers at age 81 in September. Final 12 months, his eldest brother Anthony died of respiratory failure and throat most cancers at age 66.
His mom, Madonna Louise Ciccone, died shortly after his beginning in 1963 from breast most cancers.
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Like his siblings, Christopher was raised in Michigan. He studied dance in faculty earlier than transferring to New York Metropolis to work with Madonna, 66, in her rising profession as a musician in a number of capacities.
He labored side-by-side along with his singing sibling in the course of the early levels of her profession, showing as a backup dancer in a few of her early movies, together with these for “Everyone” and “Fortunate Star.”
The late inventive additionally served because the artwork director of the singer’s iconic Blond Ambition World Tour in 1990, in addition to the manufacturing design lead for 1993’s The Girlie Present.
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Along with his artwork course and manufacturing design duties, Christopher additionally labored as a dresser and artistic advisor for his older sister, and even branched into inside design in 1985 after the “Materials Woman” singer requested him to purchase furnishings for her new residence.
“She had simply married Sean [Penn] and so they had a two-bedroom residence. She wanted assist shopping for some furnishings, and there’s the place my curiosity started for filling an area, designing a room, and dealing with a consumer,” Christopher later informed Northern Specific of his first foray into inside design.
Following his “symbiotic collaboration” with sister Madonna, “Christopher continued to work: as an inside specialist; a designer of footwear; a memoirist — all of the whereas dedicating himself to portray as his main mode of private expression,” his consultant stated in an announcement.
He went on to design for different high-profile purchasers, together with Manhattan eating places and luxurious condos, and direct music movies for artists together with Dolly Parton and Tony Bennett.
In his later years, Christopher returned to his dwelling state “for work and to be nearer to household,” his rep stated.
He married Thacker, a British-born actor primarily based out of Los Angeles, in 2016.