Madonna sparkles in rare 40-year-old behind the scenes video - watch here

11 June 2025, 13:37

Madonna modelled herself on Marilyn Monroe for the iconic short film.

It may seem unbelievable, but Madonna’s ‘Material Girl’ is now over 40 years old.

Released in January 1985, the song was the second single from the Queen of Pop’s sophomore album Like a Virgin, which also featured ‘Angel’ and ‘Into the Groove’.

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To follow ‘Material Girl’’s release, Madonna shot a music video for the soon-to-be hit single in Los Angeles, California – a fitting location for the short film’s old Hollywood theme.

With music videos all the rage in the 80s, MTV was there to record some exclusive behind-the-scenes content of the music video shoot, and clips from this broadcast have since emerged online.

See behind the scenes of Madonna’s ‘Material Girl’ shoot here:

Madonna - Material Girl Behind The Scenes, 1985

While short, this behind-the-scenes clip offers a rare insight into Madonna’s time shooting some of the iconic video’s scenes during its two-day January film shoot.

Madonna – who was 26 at the time – can be seen working on one of the video’s only exterior shots, which saw the singer’s materialistic movie star character arriving at the studios where she would later film a dance scene.

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The setting as well as Madonna’s styling in this video was inspired by Marilyn Monroe and her ‘Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend’ dance scene in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953).

Speaking about her and music video director Mary Lambert’s choice to focus on Marilyn for the theming of the short film, Madonna told the New York Daily News in 1987: “My favourite scene in all of Monroe's movies is when she does that dance sequence.

Madonna - Material Girl (Official Video) [HD]

“When it came time to do the video for the song, I said: ‘I can just redo that whole scene and it will be perfect,’” she revealed.

Explaining why she felt so drawn to the mid-20th century movie star, the artist added: "Marilyn was made into something not human in a way... her sexuality was something everyone was obsessed with and that I can relate to.

“And there were certain things about her vulnerability that I'm curious about and attracted to,” she added.

Like A Virgin’s release skyrocketed Madonna from a popular new musician to a huge star, undoubtedly increasing the ways in which the young singer felt her life (or at least its treatment by the press) mirrored that which surrounded Marilyn.

40 years on, and the ‘Holiday’ singer is still making headlines with her new music.

Recent announcements like her reveal that she’s working on a Confession on a Dancefloor sequel and will finally be releasing her Ray of Light companion album Veronica Electronica have all excited fans as much as the release of ‘Material Girl’’s famous video did in February 1985.