Madonna sleeps with stuffed octopus Octavia after 2023 coma
Synopsis
Madonna sleeps every night with a purple stuffed octopus named Octavia — and the story behind it is far more moving than the headline suggests. The toy is a tribute to the ICU nurse who screamed her back to life during her 2023 coma, a detail the Queen of Pop shared in a rare, unguarded Vogue video that reveals just how close the world came to losing her.
Key Takeaways
Madonna, 67 , revealed she sleeps nightly with a purple stuffed octopus named Octavia , gifted by her sister after her 2023 hospitalisation.
The singer was placed in a medically induced coma due to a serious bacterial infection and treated in the ICU .
Octavia is named in honour of a nurse called Olivia , who Madonna credits with giving her 'courage and hope' to recover.
Madonna shared the story in a video for Vogue magazine.
In a separate Interview magazine feature, she cited the late David Bowie (died January 2016 , aged 69 ) as a formative influence on her fearless artistic identity.
Madonna, the 67-year-old pop icon, has revealed a deeply personal bedtime ritual — she sleeps every night with a purple stuffed octopus named Octavia, a gift from her sister following her near-fatal hospitalisation in 2023. The singer shared the story in a video for Vogue magazine, offering a rare and candid glimpse into her recovery and the emotional anchors that sustained her.
The Story Behind Octavia
Madonna was placed in a medically induced coma after contracting a serious bacterial infection that landed her in the intensive care unit. Speaking to Vogue, she recalled a nurse named Olivia who played a pivotal role in her recovery. '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,' she said.
After being discharged, one of her three sisters — Paula, 66, Melanie, 64, or Jennifer, 58 — gifted her the stuffed octopus. Madonna said the toy immediately reminded her of the nurse who fought for her survival. 'I looked at her and all I could think about was my nurse who took care of me,' she explained.
How the Nurse Gave Her Courage
Madonna described the nurse as a fierce, motivating presence during her darkest days in the ICU. '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,' the singer said. The stuffed octopus, named in the nurse's honour, has since become an enduring symbol of that resilience.
David Bowie's Influence on Her Identity
Separately, in an interview with Interview magazine, Madonna opened up about how the late David Bowie — who died in January 2016, aged 69 — shaped her fearless public persona from her high-school years. She recalled attending dances alone and channelling Bowie's defiant spirit. '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,' she said, quoting Bowie's philosophy: 'Don't pander to the peanut gallery.'
Bowie, one of the best-selling musicians of all time, also reportedly told her: '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.' Madonna said that outlook made a lasting impression on her artistic identity.
What This Reveals About Madonna's Recovery
The disclosures offer a more vulnerable portrait of an artist long associated with reinvention and control. Her 2023 hospitalisation forced the postponement of her Celebration Tour, and her public references to the experience have been relatively sparse. The Vogue video marks one of her more detailed accounts of what she endured — and what helped her endure it. As she continues performing and creating, Octavia, it seems, remains a nightly companion.
Point of View
But the detail underneath it is genuinely significant: Madonna came close enough to death in 2023 that a nurse had to scream her out of the ICU. That she has spoken about it this openly — in a Vogue video, no less — suggests a deliberate shift in how she wants to be seen, less the untouchable icon, more the survivor. Combined with her Bowie remarks, what emerges is a portrait of an artist whose fearlessness was never innate — it was learned, borrowed, and, at least once, fought for in a hospital bed.
NationPress
1 Jul 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Madonna sleep with a stuffed octopus?
Madonna sleeps with a purple stuffed octopus named Octavia as an emotional keepsake from her 2023 hospitalisation. Her sister gifted her the toy after she was discharged, and it reminds her of the ICU nurse named Olivia who encouraged her recovery.
What happened to Madonna in 2023?
Madonna was hospitalised in 2023 after contracting a serious bacterial infection and was placed in a medically induced coma. She was treated in the ICU before recovering and eventually resuming her Celebration Tour.
Who is Olivia, the nurse Madonna mentioned?
Olivia was the nurse who cared for Madonna during her ICU stay in 2023. Madonna credits her with providing the motivation to recover, saying she 'screamed' at her daily to get up and leave the ICU.
How did David Bowie influence Madonna?
Madonna told Interview magazine that Bowie's fearless, genre-defying attitude shaped her identity from her high-school years. She said she would ask herself 'What would David Bowie do?' and his philosophy of ignoring critics gave her the confidence to perform on her own terms.
Where did Madonna share these personal revelations?
Madonna discussed Octavia and her hospitalisation in a video for Vogue magazine, while her remarks about David Bowie appeared in a separate interview with Interview magazine.
