Madonna Recounts How She Was Raped at Knife Point

In an essay for a magazine, Madonna has revealed she was held at knifepoint and raped at the beginning of her music career after she moved to the Big Apple in the 1970s.

The American pop star, who grew up in Rochester, Michigan, recounts the horrifying ordeal in November's issue of Harper's Bazaar.

She recounts her ordeal after she moved to New York City in the 1970s, "which did not welcome me with open arms".

"The first year, I was held up at gunpoint," she said. "Raped on the roof of a building I was dragged up to with a knife in my back, and had my apartment broken into three times. I don't know why; I had nothing of value after they took my radio the first time."

Though she was lonely and scared, she recounts how she stayed, held on and eventually achieved success. She also recalls the difficulties she experienced in England married to director Guy Ritchie: "It wasn't easy for me. Just because we speak the same language doesn't mean we speak the same language”. She says she stayed the course and grew to love English things including the English countryside.

Her essay ends back in New York: "Ten years later, here I am, divorced and living in New York. I have been blessed with four amazing children.

"I try to teach them to think outside the box. To be daring. To choose to do things because they are the right thing to do, not because everybody else is doing them."

Currently Madonna is the world's top-earning celebrity raking in an estimated £80m ($125m) last year, according to the Forbes rich list.

The pop star, 55, beat second-placed Steven Spielberg (£65m, $100m) to top spot, after her MDNA tour grossed more than £190m ($300m).