Stars & their Cars: Madonna
Since moving to London in 2001, Madonna has run up against one of the biggest problems that afflict car-owners in the capital city: where to park your car – or cars in her case.Stars & their Cars: Madonna
The singer, who is worth an estimated £235 million, has had a practiced routine starting last year of attending an exclusive gym in the up-market St John’s Wood area for twice weekly sessions. She is taken there from her home in a chauffeur-driven limousine, which waits for outside – whereupon the parking wardens pounce. Although the driver does his best to keep moving, this is not always enough. Her cars are thought to have received over fifty tickets since, racking up fines of a minimum of £2,500 – £50 per ticket. If tickets are not paid within 14 days, the fines rise to £100, potentially doubling Madonna’s outlay. A spokesman for Westminster City Council, the local authority, was unapologetic however.
"If our attendants are aware that a certain person is parking illegally regularly, they will be targeted. Whether that person is you, or I, or Madonna, they will get fined. By keeping the car moving the driver is skating on very thin ice. The warden could easily argue that although he is moving, he is actually occupying the same space over a period of time."
Madonna’s father was a successful motor engineer, and cars-wise Madonna owns – or has owned – the usual plutocratic coellection you might think, including a BMW 7-Series, an Audi A8, and a £270,000 Maybach super-limousine. What is less well known that he is a great fan of the new Mini – she owns a Cooper S, complete with sat-nav to guide her around her new adopted town. In homage to the car, in her song "American Life" she sings "I drive my Mini Cooper and I feel Super Dooper." Other celebrity Mini owners include Sting, Goldie Hawn and Elijah Wood.
