Ricky Martin Biography

Enrique Martin IV was born on Christmas Eve of 1971, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. His parents, Enrique III, a psychologist, and Nereida Morales, an accountant, got divorced when Ricky was 2 years old. Although the divorce itself wasn't hard on little Ricky, it was trying to split his time between his parents that had a greater effect on him once he grew older.

Martin attended Colegio Sagrado Corazon grade school, and although he was an average student, was above average when it came to performing and being charming. He would perform on the streets, participate in plays, and sing in the school choir, where it was evident early on that he had the talent and charisma to captivate an audience.

With the encouragement of his parents, Martin enrolled in voice lessons and auditioned for television commercials, and he never had trouble landing roles. In 1982, Kiki (as close family and friends refer to him) discovered the Latino boy band Menudo. He attended the audition with his father, but he was rejected on account of being too young and short (he now stands at 6'2").

Two years later, he finally joined the group, and spent the next 5 years working and touring with the young Latin sensation sweeping the nation. What with extensive traveling, touring, studying (with a tutor), and dealing with incessant fans, Martin grew tired and quit the group. He headed to New York to try his vocals at a solo music career. Unemployment became boring, so after a while, he headed back south to Mexico City.

The latter was more fruitful for Martin, as he was cast as the lead in the musical Mama Ama el Rock, landed roles on television, and even cut a record deal with Sony. His self-titled debut album was released in 1992 and a year later, he followed it up with the album, Me Amaras. They both went gold in several countries, but Martin was still only popular among the Latin community.

That is until he headed to Los Angeles in 1994, to give stardom another try. He was cast as a bartender in the daytime soap General Hospital. He was also toiling with his third Spanish album, A Medio Vivir, which was released in 1995. While Martin was immersed in Latin music thanks to his childhood and his early beginnings in music, he always loved artists such as David Bowie and Cheap Trick, which explains the rock-influences fused with Latin beats, heard on A Medio Vivir.

Martin's star was on the rise; the album went gold and sold more than half a million copies in 6 months. He was also spreading his talent thick while starring as Marius on a Broadway production of Les Miserables for a year and dubbing the Spanish version of Disney's animated feature, Hercules.

His fourth Spanish album, 1998's Vuelve was the clincher of Martin's success. The album was enjoying great international sales, but the release of "La Copa de la Vida" ("The Cup of Life" became the anthem of 1998's World Cup) led to his fame. Martin performed at the Grammys in 1999, where Vuelve took home Best Latin Pop Album, and where Ricky wowed audiences. Following the Grammy ceremony, album sales increased six-fold and Ricky Mania was set to take off.

That year, Martin released Ricky Martin (this self-titled album is his first English one), and after the astounding success of "Livin' La Vida Loca", Martin was one of the hottest new acts to hit the world. He performed the number one hit (it became the single with the highest #1 sales figures in Columbia Records' history) at NBC's Today Show (which drew in record ratings) and he was suddenly leading the slew of Latin performers such as Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony and Enrique Iglesias.

"Livin' La Vida Loca" became the party anthem of the year, and won awards such as MTV Video Music Awards for Best Dance Video & Best Pop Video. Ricky Martin also won the MTV North Latin Viewer's Choice Award, the MTV South Latin Viewer's Choice Award and the MTV Russia Viewer's Choice Award, and was named the World's Best Selling Latin Male at the World Music Awards -- this on top of having one of the best-selling albums of the year and selling out more than 250 concerts during his world tour.

While the other hits Ricky Martin spawned, like "She's All I Ever Had" and "Shake Your Bon-Bon", in addition to "Livin' La Vida Loca", didn't even have a chance to die down on the airwaves, Martin released his second English album, Sound Loaded, in 2000.

Martin was back and right where he left off, with the hit "She Bangs", only this time with even more confidence and a more serene, private attitude. The album has also spawned a duet with fellow Latin artist, Christina Aguilera, "Nobody Wants to be Lonely".

Martin is certainly not lonely. He has a slew of music awards sitting on his mantle, his family and friends surrounding him, and ex girlfriends which he seems to still be friends with, like his former General Hospital co-star, Lilly Melgar, as well as his on again, off again girlfriend of 10 years, Rebecca de Alba, a Mexican TV personality. If that's not enough, he also has both female and male admirers on account of his sexuality, which he is adamant about keeping behind closed doors.

He may be a private person, but on stage, he's a pelvis-thrusting, highly energetic performer that has contributed to his status as a multiple award-winning musician, who has already sold more than 32 million albums and 8 million singles worldwide.

Martin also shares his wealth; he is an active supporter of charitable organizations such as the Pediatric AIDS Foundation, the Carousel of Hope, and the Rainforest Foundation.

RICKY MARTIN PICTURES

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RICKY MARTIN BIOGRAPHY