She was at the zenith of her stardom, but still, she had to fight for a film role. Madonna was known by then as the “Material Girl,” named after one of her songs. Other mega-hits such as “Like a Virgin” and “Like a Prayer,” in addition to film roles in Desperately Seeking Susan (1985) and Dick Tracy (1990), had catapulted her to the heights of the female pop superstar of the time.
For years she had her eyes fixed on the life of Eva Perón, a politician and activist who was for a brief time Argentina’s First Lady. A musical adaption of Perón’s story started with a concept album by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Later, in 1978, it became a successful musical, retelling her humble but ambitious beginnings, her rise to fame, her association with powerful men, her political aspirations, her adoration by the people of Argentina, and her untimely death at the age of 33.
It was a powerful story. And Madonna wanted to be at the center of taking it to the big screen. As early as 1986, she appeared in producer Robert Stigwood’s office, dressed in a gown and 1940s-style hairdo to show her interest in playing Perón. It must have impressed Stigwood.

But the cinematic adaption of the musical was a case of pure development and production hell, a statement easily confirmed by just a selection of names more or less involved or mentioned as potential participants over the course of almost two decades: directors Ken Russell (due to his success with 1975’s Tommy), Oliver Stone, Francis Ford Coppola, Herbert Ross, Richard Attenborough, Alan J. Pakula, and Héctor Babenco, and, for the lead role, Barbra Streisand, Liza Minnelli, Karla DeVito, Glenn Close, Meryl Streep, and Michelle Pfeiffer.
Once Alan Parker was established as the director in 1994, Madonna sent him a four-page letter pointing out that she would be a perfect Eva, and fully committed to the role. She also sent him a copy of her “Take a Bow” music video.
Finally, she got the role, and in February 1996 filming started in Argentina with a then enormously high budget of $55 million. During the exhausting shoot, Madonna had to stop several times — not only because she found out that she was pregnant midway through production, but because of the intense emotional effort required with the singing and performing.

In Vanity Fair, Madonna was quoted at the time explaining her passionate pursuit of the project: “This is the role I was born to play. I put everything of me into this because it was much more than a role in a movie. It was exhilarating and intimidating at the same time… And I am prouder of Evita than anything else I have done.”
For her efforts, in 1997 the Hollywood Foreign Press Association awarded Madonna the Best Actress – Musical or Comedy Golden Globe, to go alongside Best Original Song and Best Musical or Comedy wins for the film.