[10] His musical education began at home, where he learned to sing in both Spanish and English under the guidance of his father, Felipe, himself a professional guitarist.

As a child, Anthony listened to a variety of musical genres and performers, including rock, rhythm and blues, pop stars José Feliciano (Puerto Rico), Air Supply (Australia), as well as salsa legends Héctor Lavoe (Puerto Rico), Willie Colón (United States), and Rubén Blades (Panama), among others.

According to Anthony, renowned Puerto Rican percussionist and bandleader Tito Puente in particular wielded a profound personal and professional influence throughout his life.

After changing his name to avoid confusion with his namesake,[11] Anthony worked as a songwriter and backing vocalist for pop acts Menudo and the Latin Rascals.

Anthony was initially reluctant to become a salsa musician; he declined an offer to make an album in this genre when Ralph Mercado, president of RMM Records, asked him.

Anthony was in a taxi when he heard Juan Gabriel's hit song, "Hasta Que Te Conocí", which influenced him to change his mind and ask Mercado if he could record it as a salsa tune.

[12] Inspired by the music of Tito Puente, Héctor Lavoe, Rubén Blades, and Juan Gabriel, Anthony released his Spanish-language debut, Otra Nota, in 1993.

The album's song "Y Hubo Alguien" became Anthony's first number-one single on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks and the first by a salsa musician.

[citation needed] Otra Nota, Todo a Su Tiempo, and Contra La Corriente established him as the top-selling singer in the history of the genre, able to sell out Madison Square Garden and prestigious venues internationally.

Anthony subsequently recorded the duet "No Me Ames" with Jennifer Lopez on her album On the 6, giving her an assist in her Spanish language crossover attempt.

He also recorded a duet "I Want to Spend My Lifetime Loving You" with Tina Arena, written by James Horner for the latter's soundtrack for the 1998 swashbuckling movie The Mask of Zorro.

In 1999, riding the crossover wave of Ricky Martin and Enrique Iglesias in the Anglophone market, Anthony, working with producers Walter Afanasieff, Cory Rooney, Dan Shea, and Rodney Jerkins, released an English-language, self-titled album with the US Top 5 single "I Need to Know", and the Spanish version, "Dímelo".

In 2001, he debuted another salsa album, Libre, which was certified gold with songs like "Celos", "Este Loco Que Te Mira", and "Viviendo".

[17] Vivir Mi Vida, a Spanish adaptation of Khaled's song "C'est la vie", was released as the lead single on April 25, 2013.

Anthony sang "God Bless America" at the 2013 Major League Baseball All-Star Game at Citi Field.

In September 2016, part of his tour "Marc Anthony Live" included 5 dates at Radio City Music Hall.

He appeared with Rubén Blades and Puerto Rican pop singer Ednita Nazario in Paul Simon's 1998 stage musical, The Capeman, which ran for 68 performances.

In Man on Fire (2004), Anthony, opposite Denzel Washington, played a wealthy businessman who hires a former U.S. Special Forces Soldier to protect his daughter from kidnappers in Mexico City.

In 2007, Anthony starred in El Cantante, a biographical drama about the life of salsa music legend Héctor Lavoe, who died in 1993 from AIDS complications.

In 2010, Anthony guest-starred in two episodes of the TNT medical drama HawthoRNe as a detective and the title character's (Jada Pinkett Smith) love interest.

[21] Anthony worked with ex-wife Lopez and director-choreographer Jamie King in late 2011 on a Latin talent series created by Simon Fuller, called Q'Viva!

Marc Anthony has sold over 12 million albums worldwide, receiving numerous gold and platinum certifications from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) along the way.

He has been recognized by New York magazine as one of the Ten Most Influential New Yorkers,[23] was inaugurated into the Billboard Hall of Fame in 2012, and was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute in Washington, D.C., in September 2009.

With momentum from that hit single, Marc Anthony, his eponymous English-language album debut, went triple-platinum in the US, and helped usher in the Latin pop explosion of 1999–2000.

[29] In 2017, Anthony teamed-up with his ex-wife Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez to host One Voice: Somos Live!, a telethon supporting efforts to aid Puerto Rico's recovery in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.

While Anthony is an American of Puerto Rican descent, a controversy sprang up on social media due to some viewers' mistaken impression that he is Mexican.

They joined several personalities in buying small stakes in the club, including Gloria and Emilio Estefan, Venus and Serena Williams, and Fergie.

[54] Anthony and model Shannon De Lima (born January 6, 1989)[55][56] married on November 11, 2014 in La Romana, Dominican Republic.