The Woman Fighting For Global Media Diversity

After losing her three daughters in a house fire, leading advertising executive Madonna Badger found new purpose championing women in a male-dominated industry. She speaks to Charlotte Philby about spearheading See It Be It, an initiative helping young women break into advertising

- Charlotte Philby

You are one of the most influential women in advertising. How did your career begin?

‘I started at Calvin Klein, where I organised the Marky Mark and Kate Moss campaign. At 29, I set up my own company, Badger & Winters, and worked on beauty and fashion accounts with almost every major designer. I married and had three girls: Lily, born in 2002, then twins Sarah and Grace, born in 2004. In 2009, I divorced my husband amicably and bought a beautiful Victorian house on the water in Stamford, Connecticut. However, in the early hours of Christmas morning in 2011, the house caught fire. My three girls, who were asleep on the top floor, died almost instantly. My parents, who were staying with me at the time, also died trying to save them. When I finally woke up, I climbed out of the window on to the scaffolding outside to try to get to the girls, but the smoke was so awful I couldn’t get in their room. After living with a friend for a year, I went back to the agency in 2013. I was trying to find a reason to be here. I kept thinking, “Why did I get left? Why am I here and what am I going to do?”’