Madonna’s older brother, Anthony Ciccone, has died, a family member said Saturday.
The 66-year-old died Friday night, the singer’s brother-in-law Joe Henry, who is married to Madonna’s sister Melanie Ciccone, posted on Instagram. He was one of her seven siblings.
“As Brother Dave Henry (who took this photo) notes here, Anthony was a complex character; and God knows: we have erred momentarily, as true brothers can. But I loved him and understood him better than I was sometimes willing to say,” Henry wrote. “But the problems go away; and the family remains – with their hands on the table.”
Anthony Ciccone’s cause of death has not been shared. He had reportedly struggled with alcoholism and had become estranged from his family.
In 2011, he told London’s Daily Mail that he was “homeless” and living under a bridge in Michigan, where his family grew up. He accused his family members of abandoning him, although his family denied it.
Madonna’s representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday.
