Ricky Martin

Ricky Martin was born December 24, 1971 and was raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. As a child, he sang in the choir and performed in school plays. In 1984, when he was 12 years old, he became a member of Menudo. For the next five years, he was the lead singer of the group, helping it to become an... More

Ricky Martin was born December 24, 1971 and was raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. As a child, he sang in the choir and performed in school plays. In 1984, when he was 12 years old, he became a member of Menudo. For the next five years, he was the lead singer of the group, helping it to become an international sensation. Once he outgrew Menudo in 1989, he went back home to Puerto Rico, where he completed high school. After graduation, he moved to New York.

Ricky was one of the biggest teen idols in Latin America during the 1990s and a major figure in American pop music by the end of the decade. Besides his musical career, Martin’s good looks and nice voice helped him become an actor, earning praise in the Mexican motion picture industry and starring on the American soap opera “General Hospital,” where he played Miguel Morez, a bartender who sings on the weekends.

In 1991, he released his self-titled debut album. The album became a sizable hit on the Latin charts. Two years later, he followed it with the Juan Carlos Calderon-produced “Me Amarás,” which was an even bigger hit.  In 1995, he released his third album, “A Medio Vivir,” a record that had a harder rock edge yet also featured such Latin styles as flamenco and cumbia. In early 1998, he released his fourth album, “Vuelve.” His first English-language pop album was released in the spring of 1999. He became an international superstar thanks to hit singles including “Livin' la Vida Loca” and “She's All I Ever Had.” A year later, Martin sizzled again with the release of “Sound Loaded.”