Birthday lurve goes out today to the AMAZING Madonna … musical pop icon of our time … as she turns an incredible 50 years old today. Now, I don’t usually make a habit of announcing the ages of ladies who are older than me on the blog but I have to make an exception in this case … Madonna is a Queen, y’all … and she’s now half a century old:

Sure, Madonna may have scandalized the Vatican and shocked nearly every parent in America at some point during her long and provocative career full of shrewd image transformations. But as the Material Girl hits the half-century mark this weekend, she may be stepping into a role that even she, with all her marketing savvy, might not have dreamed up: poster child for the 50-and-fabulous set. Who cares about those recent tabloid headlines linking her to the Yankees’ A-Rod, or that tell-all book by her brother? Many women of a certain age look at Madonna and see a wonderfully fit, stylish, vigorous woman who’s made a fortune based on smarts, talent and ambition — no “Blond Ambition” puns, please — and just keeps on going. Her latest world tour, “Sticky & Sweet,” kicks off in Wales a week after her Aug. 16 birthday. Talk about your New 50 … Madonna’s milestone should inspire men as well as women, says David Zinczenko, editor in chief of Men’s Health magazine. “I was in high school when she hit it big,” says Zinczenko, who’s in his late 30s. “Now that her first young fans are in their 30s, we look at Madonna as sort of a harbinger of the future for us. And the future looks pretty good.”

Oh yeah, Maddy is showing no signs that she plans to slow down by any means … which is a good thing for all of us. Here is a pic of Madonna and her hubby Guy Ritchie steppin’ on on the town together last night for a little pre-birthday churchin’ at The Kabbalah Centre in London … the key is that they were together:

It’s pretty remarkable to be talking about Madonna, the Like a Virgin Material Girl from the 80’s, being 50 years old but here we are. Again, we all know that Madonna still has many years of fierceness ahead … I can’t wait to see what the next 50 years will be like.

[Photo credit: Bauer-Griffin; Source]