Exclusive: Ricky Martin Reflects on 40-Year Career and Why He's Not Slowing Down After 50

It's been a long and fruitful career for Ricky Martin since he first graced the cover of People en Español's Los 50 Más Bellos in 1997.

Since then, the Puerto Rican artist and activist has released countless global hits, found love with Jwan Yosef and became un papá orgulloso to 13-year-old twins Valentino and Matteo, his only daughter Lucía, and his youngest son, Renn.

Upon reflecting on his nearly 40-year career, Martin shares, "Each stage of my career has left me with a great lesson. I've been working since I was 12 years old, I've practically grown up in front of the cameras and on stage—so I had no choice but to learn from my experiences, correct what didn't work for me and pay close attention to what was around me."

He continued, "After almost a 40-year career, some of the most important lessons that I have taken with me are to take care of myself physically and mentally. If you are not well yourself, you cannot be well for anyone else."

Martin also credits his immense success to "surrounding" himself with folks who aren't "afraid" to tell him when he is wrong or bring him to opportunities that may prove to be incredibly beneficial to him careerwise like his upcoming show Mrs. American Pie alongside Laura Dern, Kristen Wiig and Allison Janney.

He affirms, "The truth is that I am very excited about this project. My agent sent me the script just as I finished [work on my upcoming EP] Play a couple of months ago. I sat down and read it in one sitting. I thought it was brilliant, different and not to mention the actresses that are part of this production are goddesses! I think it was the fastest "yes" I've ever given. I feel like all this time I was preparing for a role like this."

On what it was like to lead People en Español's Los 50 Más Bellos list after 25 years, Martin notes, "Well, I am very grateful to People... because they have always given me such genuine love for so many years. How would you describe this moment? An important one, full of very rewarding professional challenges both in music and acting and personally grateful that my children continue to grow up happy and healthy. It sounds simple, but it is the most important thing for me."

Martin credits the influence of his children as the driving force that helps him create balance in his life.

"My children...are everything to me and everything I do is for them," he affirms.

But despite turning 50 years old, Martin shows no sign of slowing down.

He explains, "As long as I'm healthy and passionate about what I do, I'm not going to stop. Age is just a number, it is your attitude that determines what your future will be like. What if I'm different? If I told you that I am the same as before, it would be a real shame. Of course, I have changed, my priorities are not the same, but the passion for what I do is intact."

"I keep learning and accepting challenges that help me grow as an artist. I would say that I have been able to find that balance in my life that allows me to continue evolving personally and professionally. Only with what we lived in these two years of the pandemic, it has been enough to see very closely what is really worth it and what is not," the Livin' La Vida Loca artist says.

Check out the full interview with People en Español here.