Chayanne

Chayanne married Venezuelan former beauty queen Mariana Elizabeth "Marilisa" Maronesse. The couple has two children, a son named Lorenzo Valentino and a daughter named Isadora Sofia. Their daughter Isadora is also a musical artist, earning a nomination in the Best New Artist category at the 2025 Latin Grammy Awards.

The family resides in Miami Beach, Florida. Through his extended family, Chayanne is the uncle of Venezuelan singer and internet personality Lele Pons.

Born Elmer Figueroa Arce in San Juan, Puerto Rico, he was raised in San Lorenzo as the third of five siblings. His mother gave him the nickname "Chayanne" in honor of her favorite 1950s American television western series, Cheyenne.

In the late 1970s, he auditioned for the popular Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, but producers rejected him after deciding he was too young. He instead joined the rival boy group Los Chicos in 1978. With Los Chicos, he produced popular recordings such as "Puerto Rico Son Los Chicos" and "Ave Maria", touring extensively throughout Latin America until the group disbanded in 1984.

Following the breakup of Los Chicos, Chayanne launched a solo career with RCA Víctor, releasing his debut album Es mi nombre in 1984 and Sangre Latina in 1986. He subsequently signed with Sony Music and achieved breakthrough mainstream success with his 1987 self-titled album, establishing his signature sound combining energetic dance rhythms and romantic pop ballads through hits like "Fiesta en América" and "Peligro de Amor".

His 1988 follow-up album, also titled Chayanne, yielded major singles including "Tu Pirata Soy Yo" and "Este Ritmo Se Baila Así". During this period, he became a commercial spokesperson for Pepsi, appearing in an advertisement during the 1989 Grammy Awards telecast that marked the first Spanish-language commercial broadcast coast-to-coast on national television in the United States.

Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Chayanne released a succession of commercially successful albums, including Tiempo de Vals (1990), Provócame (1992), and Atado a Tu Amor (1998), which brought him Grammy nominations and number-one hits such as "Dejaría Todo". In 2000, he released Simplemente, featuring the hits "Yo Te Amo" and "Candela", followed by Sincero in 2003 with the chart-topping singles "Un Siglo Sin Ti" and "Cuidarte el Alma".

In addition to solo international concert tours across the Americas and Europe, he took part in joint arena tours. In 2005, he toured alongside Alejandro Fernández and Marc Anthony. In 2012, he joined Marc Anthony and Marco Antonio Solís for the GIGANT3S tour.

Chayanne began acting in the 1980s in Puerto Rican telenovelas, including Sombras del Pasado and Tormento. In 1994, he starred alongside Dayanara Torres in the Jacobo Morales film Linda Sara, and played himself in the television series Volver a empezar opposite Yuri.

He made his Hollywood debut in 1998 starring as Cuban dancer Rafael Infante in Dance with Me opposite Vanessa L. Williams, earning two ALMA Award nominations. He later guest-starred on two episodes of the American television series Ally McBeal as Sam Adams, headlined the Argentine telenovela Provócame, and portrayed a vampire in the 2008 television series Gabriel: Amor Inmortal. In 2010, he provided the Latin American Spanish voice for the character Flynn Rider in the animated Disney film Tangled.