Pop star Madonna sleeps with a purple stuffed octopus

Bang Showbiz on Jun 29, 2026

Published in Women

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Madonna sleeps with a purple stuffed octopus named Octavia.

The 67-year-old pop star was gifted Octavia by her sister after her hospitalisation, and she now sleeps with the stuffed octopus every night.

In a video for Vogue magazine, Madonna - who was placed in a medically induced coma due to a serious bacterial infection -.shared: "This is my do-do. Her name is Octavia. I sleep with her every night.

"A couple of years ago I was really sick in the hospital. I was in a coma and this beautiful nurse that was taking care of me, her name was Olivia."

Madonna explained that Octavia became a source of inspiration for her at the time.

The chart-topping star - who has three sisters, Paula, 66, Melanie, 64, and Jennifer, 58 - said: "She was screaming at me every day, telling me I needed to get up, I needed to get out of the ICU, and she really gave me a lot of courage and hope.

"When I got out of the hospital and came home, my sister gave me this octopus. I looked at her and all I could think about was my nurse who took care of me."

Meanwhile, Madonna recently admitted to being inspired by David Bowie during her younger years.

The pop star is one of the best-selling musicians of all time, and Madonna admitted that her carefree attitude has been inspired by Bowie, who died in January 2016, aged 69.

Madonna told Interview magazine: "I definitely become moods with music.

"I would say the Confessions on a Dance Floor girl is the girl in high school, me, that never got invited to any dances because I scared everybody, boys.

"I'd go to dances by myself, go crazy, and do whatever I wanted. Play whatever character I wanted, whether it was a character in a musical or -- at the time, in high school, I was obsessed with David Bowie. I thought, what would David Bowie do? I'd ask myself that question all the time. And it would be like, he would give zero f****.

"He always said stuff like, 'Don't pander to the peanut gallery,' or, 'When you're in deep water and your feet are barely touching the ground and you think you're going to drown, you're in the right place.' That made a big impression on me."