Madonna is an inspiration at 50

Sure, Madonna may have scandalized the Vatican and shocked nearly every parent in America at some point during her long and provocative career full of shrewd image transformations.

But as the Material Girl hits the half-century mark today, she may be stepping into a role that even she, with all her marketing savvy, might not have dreamed up: poster child for the 50-and-fabulous set.

Who cares about those recent tabloid headlines linking her to the Yankees’ A-Rod? Many women of a certain age look at Madonna and see a wonderfully fit, stylish, vigorous woman who’s made a fortune based on smarts, talent and ambition and who just keeps on going. Her latest world tour kicks off in Wales next weekend.

So how does Madonna feel about the occasion? The pop star is not speaking publicly about it, says her longtime publicist, Liz Rosenberg. “I’m sure she’s happy to be an inspiration to women and men of any age,” Rosenberg wrote in an e-mail. But the birthday, she noted wryly, “is not quite the benchmark for her as it seems to be in the media, who have been talking about her 50th since she turned 40!”