Insanely popular a few years ago, Ricky Martin (whose biography has always aroused the interest of his loyal fans) triumphantly burst into the world music space in 1999. Before that, he already had one recorded album in Spanish, but the hit “Livin La Vida Loka”, which at least once in his life was heard, probably, by every person on the planet, brought him worldwide fame.
Ricky Martin, whose albums were sold all over the world in millions of copies, became incredibly popular in a very short time.
The sultry Latin American handsome man, who danced beautifully to rhythmic music and performed his hits in a beautiful voice, could not leave indifferent virtually any woman. Singer Ricky Martin quickly took off to the top of the most prestigious world charts and confidently won the crowds of devoted fans. There was a period when posters and posters with his images sold out instantly.
Like many other public figures, becoming popular, the singer attracted the attention of the yellow press, and the personal life of Ricky Martin became one of the most discussed issues. When the singer himself made an open statement about his sexual orientation, many fans who had gone crazy for many years, to put it mildly, were slightly discouraged.
Brief biographical information
Ricky Martin, whose biography will be briefly reviewed by us, was born in a family where no one was related to show business. His mother, Nereida Morales, was an accountant, and his father, Enrique Negroni, worked as a psychologist. The future singer was born in December 1971. Those who care about how old Ricky Martin are, can easily calculate that at the moment the singer will soon be 45.
The full name of the artist is Enrique Martin Morales, and his homeland is the small city of San Juan in Puerto Rico. The boy’s parents divorced early when he was 2 years old, and the boy spent most of his childhood with his father and grandmother on his paternal side.
Manifestation of talent in early childhood
The future singer Ricky Martin was brought up in a Catholic spirit. He went to church and served as the little assistant priest during the Mass. For the first time, the boy began to sing at the age of 6, and this talent of his found its application in the children's church choir.
The singer himself recalls that from early childhood he dreamed of the attention of a large audience and always wanted to speak to large audiences. His father saw the talent of his son (in addition, the boy had a pretty handsome appearance) and decided to help the child become popular.
The beginning of a career in show business: shooting in advertising
When Ricky was 9 years old, dad began to take him to various auditions, looking for actors to shoot in children's advertising. Thus, the doors of Puerto Rican television opened wide before the boy. For a very short time, he starred in commercials for fast food chains, soda drinks, as well as in advertisements for toothpaste. In just 1.5 years, the boy managed to star in 11 commercials.
The story of Menudo
Young Ricky Martin (whose biography changes after he becomes a member of a popular teenage group), despite some kind of TV screen popularity acquired after filming in commercials, still continues to dream about a singer’s career. He decides to cast in a popular teenage Hispanic group called Menudo.
The guy was good-looking, he danced well, sang cleanly, but he had one problem - short stature. It was because of this that he was refused 2 times. But Ricky Martin, whose albums in just a couple of years will begin to disperse in ten million circulations around the world, did not intend to give up. He came to auditions three times, and in the end his perseverance won - the producers took him to the group. There he sang for almost 6 years.
A dream that did not bring a child joy
The producers of Menudo, of course, demanded complete obedience from the members of the group and kept them in a very strict discipline. It was necessary to do either as you are told, or simply not to sing as part of this group.
Over time, Ricky realized that he no longer gets as much pleasure from work as before. In addition, he felt like a child from whom childhood was taken away. Such thoughts led to the fact that Martin decides to part with Menudo and go on a solo voyage.
Independent steps in a solo career, acting experience
Ricky Martin, whose biography begins to develop in America after reaching the age of 17, made a strong-willed decision to move independently. Once in the United States, he enters his studies at the Tish School of Art. A beautiful Latino with a sweet voice is noticed right away.
He receives several offers at the same time: to star in the melodramatic series “Reach for the Star”, and then take part in the filming of the already full-length version of “Even closer to the star”. Then he starred in several quite successful films and simultaneously plays in the theatrical play Les Miserables.
Overwhelming success
After moving to the USA, Enrique signs a contract with a branch of the legendary Sony Music Entertainment. In 1999, Martin translated his Spanish album, Ricky Martin, into English, and it became incredibly popular.
He sings a duet with Madonna, Mea, and also with Sertab Erener. His hit "Livin La Vida Loka" holds top positions in the most popular charts of America, Australia and the UK. This album was purchased in the amount of 22 million copies and went platinum as much as 7 times.
The second English-language album, entitled Sound Loaded, saw the world in 2000. In 2005, another English record was released called Life. Also, all this time, Ricky Martin did not stop releasing albums in Spanish, which were incredibly popular in Latin American countries.
A strange novel lasting 14 years
It is quite natural that such a popular singer became the object of fanatical interest of his fans. People were interested in absolutely everything: how old Ricky Martin was, who his parents were, whether he was in love, and whether he met anyone at all. Information appeared in the press that the singer is really in love, and his chosen one is Mexican TV presenter Rebecca de Alba. These relations looked very strange, the couple converged, then diverged, then the young people were going to get married and again parted, in general, nothing was clear about these relations.
Ricky Martin's children
In August 2008, all of the world’s media came up with unexpected news - Ricky Martin became a father. It became known that he had twin boys. A popular singer named them Matteo and Valentino.
In order to avoid further gossip, Enrique told the press that the surrogate mother gave birth to the children and he is engaged in their upbringing independently.
Loud Confession of Homosexuality
Back in 2005, Martin officially announced that his relationship with de Alba was finally completed. At the same time, throughout his long career, the singer has repeatedly spoken out in support of homosexuals, which periodically generated various rumors about his sexual orientation.
For a long time, Martin avoided answering directly posed questions about whether he himself was a homosexual, and replied that this did not concern anyone. Then, in an interview, he stated that he was bisexual.
But after the birth of sons, in 2010, the singer still made a statement on his official website and openly declared that he was gay. Since then, Ricky has not been shy about his orientation and honestly talks about who he really is, even at public events and on such world-famous programs as The Oprah Winfrey Show and The Larry King Show. It is known that since 2016, Martin has been in a relationship with the Syrian artist Javn Jozef