Ricky Martin

Ricky Martin biography

Enrique "Ricky" Martí­n Morales (born December 24, 1971), better known as Ricky Martin, is a Spanish-Puerto Rican pop singer and actor who achieved prominence, first as a member of the Latin boy band Menudo, then as a solo artist since 1991. Throughout his career, he has sold more than 60 million albums worldwide. He is the founder of the Ricky Martin Foundation (in Spanish Fundación Ricky Martin), a non-profit charity organization aimed at human trafficking.

Martin got his start at age twelve with the all-boy pop group Menudo; after five years with the group, he released his Spanish-language solo album, Ricky Martin, in 1991. He also acted on stage and on TV in Mexico, becoming a modest star in the country. In 1994 he starred on the American TV soap opera General Hospital, playing a Puerto Rican singer. In 1999, after several albums in Spanish, he released his first English-language album (also titled Ricky Martin), which included "Livin' la Vida Loca". The album sold 22 million copies and brought Martin international fame. His other studio albums include: Me Amarás (1993), A Medio Vivir (1995), Vuelve (1998), Sound Loaded (2000), Almas del Silencio (2003), Life (2005), and Míºsica + Alma + Sexo (2011).

On the edge of the new millennium, Martin-almost by himself-gave Latino music an international face. An acclaimed performance at the 1999 Grammy Awards launched Martin into worldwide super-stardom. As Entertainment Weekly's Andrew Essex reported, "his leather-pants, electro-pelvis version of 'La Copa de la Vida' single-handedly goosed a very dull Grammy telecast, earning him a standing ovation." In 2010, Martin announced that he was a "fortunate homosexual man", ending years of fan speculation on the topic. His twin sons, Matteo and Valentino, were born via a surrogate mother in 2008. Martin also co-owns a Miami restaurant, Casa Salsa, and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2007.

Early life

Martin was born on December 24, 1971, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the son of Nereida Morales, an accountant, and Enrique Martí­n Negroni, a psychologist. His parents divorced when he was two; his father remarried. Martin has two maternal half-brothers, Fernando and í�ngel Fernández, and two paternal half-brothers, Eric and Daniel Martí­n, and a paternal half-sister Vanessa Martí­n. Martin grew up in a Roman Catholic home and was an altar boy until he joined Menudo. Martin has Spanish ancestry through his grandmother who was born in Spain and some Corsican ancestry as his paternal fourth great-grandfathers were born in Rogliano, Cap Corse, Corsica, and Vilanova i la Geltríº, Catalonia (Spain).

Ricky Martin was a member of Puerto Rican boy band Menudo between 1984 and 1989. After completing high school, Martin left San Juan and moved to New York City. Later, Martin moved to Mexico City where he attended the national school of space. He played lead role in a 1989 musical-theatre release named Mis Tennis Rojos (My Red Tennis Shoes) next to Angélica Vale and then followed another theater production Mama Ama el Rock (Mom Loves Rock).

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