Marc Anthony

From recording studios to Hollywood soundstages, singer/actor Marc Anthony has taken both the music and movie industries by storm. Born in New York City and named after legendary Mexican singer Marco Antonio Muñiz by his musician father, he eventually changed his name to Marc Anthony in order to avoid confusion. As a young talent, he belted out songs in his family's Spanish Harlem kitchen, his R&B influences shining through. In the years that followed, Anthony's reputation grew thanks to English-language performances in many New York clubs, and after teaming with producer "Little" Louie Vega for his record debut (When the Night Is Over) in 1991, Tito Puente asked Anthony to open the Latin jazz legend's Madison Square Garden revue in November of that year. Though Anthony had previously declined suggestions by his manager to record songs in Spanish, it was, ironically, a Spanish-language song that offered the singer his first true taste of success. Emotionally devastated after hearing Juan Gabriel's "Hasta Que Te Conoci" on the radio while driving around Manhattan, Anthony instinctively knew that this song was his destiny. In 1993, he went back into the studio to record his first Spanish track, and a searing performance at the Radio Y Musica Latin music convention shortly thereafter -- followed by a career-defining appearance on television's Carnaval Internacional later that same day -- changed his life forever. In the years that followed, Anthony not only established himself as an electrifying stage presence, but a talented actor, as well. After kicking off his screen career with a supporting role in the 1988 musical comedy East Side Story, he appeared as a performer in director Brian De Palma's acclaimed 1993 crime drama Carlito's Way. Supporting roles in Natural Causes (1994) and Hackers (1995) were quick to follow, and, in 1996, Anthony landed his first major film role in Stanley Tucci's Big Night. Impressive performances in Martin Scorsese's Bringing Out the Dead (1999) and the romantic drama In the Time of Butterflies (2001) followed. Meanwhile, his singing career was still going strong with such albums as Libre (2001) and Mended (2002). Anthony returned to the screen in 2004 with a role in the Denzel Washington vehicle Man on Fire. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide