Full Name: Enrique Martin Morales

Ricky Martin was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico , on December 24, 1971. He displayed talent from a young age. He sang in a choir and often performed in school plays. When he was six, he appeared in several television commercials, and started to improve his skills with acting and singing lessons. In his tenth year, Ricky auditioned with Latin boy band Menudo -- but he was rejected because of his young age. He got his second chance at age 12, when he became the lead singer of the band. For five years Ricky lived a dream with Menudo , they gained international success, and performed at music festivals and sold-out concerts. In 1989 his stint with the band was ended and returned to Puerto Rico to finish high school. After graduation he moved to New York hoping to achieve solo success. After 6 fruitless months, he returned back to Mexico.

Back in Mexico his chances took a turn for the better. For a year he acted on stage in the theater production of "Mama Ama el Rock". Soon after that he became a regular in the Mexican soap "Alcanzar una Estrella II", which lead to a part in the movie "Masque Alcanzar una Estrella", for which he was awarded with a Heraldo (Mexico's Academy Awards). In 1991 Ricky returned to the music industry and released his self-titled, spanish language, debut album, which he co-wrote. With songs like "Fuego Contra Fuego" and "Dime que me Quieres" he paved his way to international fame.

Inspired by his success, he moved to Los Angeles in 1993 and made his american acting debut on the sitcom "Getting by". In the same year he released his second album "Me Amaras", which launched him to superstar status in Latin America. In January 1994, he got a role as bartender Miquel Morez on America's longest running soap "General Hospital". As Ricky's TV character began to work as a nightclub singer, he got the opportunity to show his singing qualities to a worldwide audience. His performing as Miquel Morez was so successful that it landed him a role on Broadway, where he played Marius in the musical "Les Miserables". Just prior to this, he released his third Spanish language album "A Medio Vivir", which kept him on the road for almost three years.

The remix of "Maria" brought Ricky international fame, being a number one single in Belgium, France, Spain and Australia. "Maria" was the second-most selling international single of 1997 according to Billboard Magazine. Worldwide sales of "A Medio Vivir" reached 600.000 within 6 months. He also found the time to dub the voice of Hercules in the Spanish edition of Disney's animated film. He recorded the theme song "No Importa la Distancia" for the Spanish edition of Hercules.

Early 1998 he released his fourth album "Vuelve", which was the number two topselling Latin Record for 1998. "Vuelve" was named Best Latin Pop Album at the 1999 Grammy's. Since his sizzling performance at the Grammy Awards ceremony, his career has been like a rollercoaster. His first English album, also titled Ricky Martin, was released on May 11, 1999. The first single "La Vida Loca" entered at number one on Billboard. "She's all I ever had", his first English ballad, has shown the world a different Ricky, which proves him to be worthy of his star status.