Birth name Enrique Martin Morales Born December 24, 1971 Origin Hato Rey, San Juan, Puerto Rico Genre(s) Pop, Latin Years active 1990–Present   Ricky Martin is a successful Latin American pop singer who rose to fame, first as a member of the Latin boy band Menudo, then as a solo artist since 1990.

He is considered a major star in the world of Latin pop, and is considered to have opened the doors for some of his fellow Latin American singers like Enrique Iglesias, Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, and Juanes. Livin' La Vida Loca made Ricky the first Latin American singer in history to have a U.K. number one hit. Ricky has sold over 55 million albums around the world.
Born to now-divorced parents Nerieda Morales and Enrique Martin Snr., Ricky Martin has five siblings: Fernando, Vanessa, Eric, Daniel and Angel. As a child he participated in school extra-curricular activities and sang in the school choir, where he began to realize that his talent captivated the audiences. Through the encouragement of his dad, he began to take voice lessons, and auditioned for television advertising spots.

Martin first achieved worldwide success with his selection to replace Ricky Melendez in the Latin boy band Menudo from 1984 until 1989. His meteoric ascent to fame started in Menudo's homebase, Caguas, site of his first concert. He signed with Sony in 1990.

After he left Menudo, he decided to continue his career. He moved to Mexico City where he started acting, first in theater in productions like Mamá ama el rock, with Angélica María and Angélica Vale. He starred in telenovelas such as Alcanzar una estrella II and performed in the music group Muñecos de papel of that production with Sasha Sokol, Pedro Fernández, Erick Rubín, Angélica Rivera and Bibi Gaytán. He recorded his first Album, Ricky Martin, in 1991 - which included the still popular single "Fuego Contra Fuego". The album had sold over 500,000 copies worldwide.