Madonna reinvents herself again -- this time as Esther
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-06-20 14:49

The once wild and rebellious US pop icon Madonna, long the mistress of reinvention, has unveiled her latest incarnation: as a demure Jewish girl called Esther.

US pop superstar Madonna, seen performing 16 June 2004, has won a complex legal battle to prevent hikers from being allowed access to large parts of her country estate in Britain. [AFP]

The 45-year-old music star revealed in an interview with American television broadcast late Friday that she has taken the Hebrew name as part of her immersion in 13th century Jewish mysticism, or Kabalah.

The singer, currently on her "ReInvention" concert tour, said the change in her name -- the Catholic-born Madonna was named after her mother who died of cancer -- was spawned by a desire to seek a fresh new energy source.

"My mother died when she was very young, of cancer, and I wanted to attach myself to another name," she told ABC's 20/20 programme.

"This is in no way a negation of who my mother is. I wanted to attach myself to the energy of a different name," she said, adding however that she had chosen the name but: "I do not go by it."

Madonna, who is one of the most visible practitioners of Kabalah, turned the page on her wild past, saying Kabalah was changing her for the better; teaching her to be less egotistical and selfish and more introspective.

She also blasted critics who claim she is just dabbling in the mystic studies, which are increasingly fashionable in Hollywood circles with stars such as Demi Moore and Britney Spears reportedly studying it.

"I get a little irritated that people think it's a celebrity bandwagon that I'm jumping on -- I'm very serious about it."

The newly self-questioning Madonna also admitted that some of her more outrageous rebellious stunts -- including taking her clothes off for a photographic sex book -- were intended to generate shock for shock's sake.

"The stance of a rebel is 'I dont care what you think'. But if its just for the sake of upsetting the apple cart, you're not really helping people," she told 20/20. "I wasn't that altruistic. I can admit that"

Madonna, who is now married to British film director Guy Ritchie, revealed that during her 1980s and 90s heyday she "ripped through relationships willy-nilly, completely selfish, like what's in it for me?"

The singer and actress had celebrated marriages or liaisons with actors Sean Penn and Warren Beatty as well as basketball star Dennis Rodman.

But as Madonna revealed the more pensive and caring Esther, she also proved that not all the rebel in her has gone, provocatively comparing US President George W. Bush with Saddam Hussein.

She said the two men were "alike" because they both behaved "in an irresponsible manner."

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