Enrique Martín Morales (born December
24, 1971), better known as Ricky Martin is a Puerto Rican singer, actor and author who is widely
regarded as the "King of
Latin Pop". He holds dual American and Spanish
citizenship, and began his career at age 12 with the all-boy pop
group Menudo. After five years
with the group, he released several Spanish-language solo albums throughout the
1990s. Since the beginning of his solo career in 1991, Ricky Martin has sold
over 70 million albums, making him one of the best-selling Latin music artists of all time. He
also acted on stage and on TV in Mexico, where he achieved modest stardom. In 1994, he appeared
on the US TV soap opera General Hospital, playing a Puerto Rican singer. He
also ranks among the most influential Latin artists of all time. In early
1999, after releasing several albums in Spanish, Martin performed "The Cup of Life" at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards show,
which became a catalyst in bringing Latin pop to the forefront of the U.S.
music scene. Following its success, Martin released "Livin' la Vida Loca",
which helped him attain enormous success worldwide; it is generally seen as the
song that began the Latin pop explosion of 1999 and made
the transition easier for other Spanish-speaking artists to move into the
English-speaking market. His first English-language album (also titled Ricky Martin), has
sold 15 million copies and it's his best selling album to date. His other studio albums include: Me Amarás (1993), A Medio Vivir (1995), Vuelve (1998), Sound Loaded (2000), Almas del Silencio (2003), Life (2005), Música + Alma + Sexo (2011),
and A Quien Quiera Escuchar (2015).
In 2018, he portrayed Antonio D'Amico on The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story for
which he received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series
or Movie.