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Ricky Martin

Born
December 24, 1971
in San Juan, Puerto Rico 
Active Decades
19001020304050607080902000 
 
by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Ricky Martin was one of the biggest teen idols in Latin America during the '90s and a major figure in American pop music by the end of the decade. A lead singer of Menudo, Martin was blessed with good looks and a nice voice, which helped him become a Latin music star. He also became an actor, earning praise from 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.



Martin (born December 24, 1971) was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. As a child, he sang in the choir and performed in school plays. When he was six, he began acting in television commercials. Shortly afterward, he took professional singing and acting lessons, which paved the way for his auditions for Menudo. 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, where he simply relaxed for several months.

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