Dulce María / Dulce Maria

A veteran of the Mexican entertainment scene by the time she reached her twenties, Dulce Maria made the tricky transition from child star to accomplished adult singer and actress look effortless thanks to a series of high-profile TV shows and music projects. Born Dulce Maria Espinoza Savinon in Mexico City, 1985, she began appearing in TV commercials at a young age, and in 1993, became a regular on both Plaza Sesamo, Mexico's answer to Sesame Street, and the Discovery Kids Channel. After appearing in several soap operas on the Televisa network, she had the chance to show off her vocal talents when she joined pre-teen pop outfit K.I.D.S. in 1996, who scored two hit singles ("La Mejor de Tus Sonrisas," "Prende el Switch") before splitting up three years later. After stints in the short-lived duo D&D (with former bandmate and rumored boyfriend Daniel Habif), and Latin pop group Jeans, she landed roles in telenovelas Clase 406, El Juego de la Vida, and most famously Rebelde, where she played Roberta Pardo, the daughter of a famous singer who joined a group of students to form a pop band. In a case of life imitating art, the fictional group, RBD, became a real-life pop sensation, releasing nine studio albums and selling 20 million records worldwide before disbanding following their 2008 Gira del Adios world tour. In 2009, she signed a solo deal with Universal, and collaborated with Akon on a remix of "Beautiful" and Tiziano Ferro and Anahi ("El Regalo Mas Grande") before recording two songs for the novela Verano de Amor. After announcing her debut album was to be split into two parts, she released Extranjera Primera Parte in 2010, and the Segunda Parte a year later. ~ Jon O'Brien, Rovi