What Is Martika's Net Worth?
Martika is an American singer, songwriter, and actress who has a net worth of $1 million. Martika's debut self-titled studio album was released in 1988 and reached #2 in Australia and #15 on the "Billboard" 200. Her second album, "Martika's Kitchen," was released in 1991 and reached #9 in Australia and #15 in the UK. She also released the albums "Violince" (2004) and "Oppera" (2005) with the band Oppera.
Martika's single "Toy Soldiers" reached #1 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 and in New Zealand, and she also had success with the singles "I Feel the Earth Move" and "Love… Thy Will Be Done." As an actress, she is best known for starring as Gloria on the television series Kids Incorporated from 1984 to 1986. She also performed the show's theme song. She had a recurring role as Dahlia Mendez on the TV series "Wiseguy" in 1990.
Early Life
Martika was born Marta Marrero on May 18, 1969, in Whittier, California. Her parents were originally from Havana, Cuba, but relocated to California before Martika was born. She was interested in acting, singing, and the world of entertainment from a young age and began her career in the spotlight when she was 13.
Career
When Martika was 13, she landed an uncredited role in the 1982 film "Annie." She was later cast as the character of Gloria in the long-running children's show, "Kids Incorporated." When the show began its second season, she adopted the stage name Martika Marrero before later shortening it to the mononym Martika. She has used the name ever since. Martika and many of the other cast members from "Kids Incorporated" were featured in the musical numbers from the Mr. T motivational video "Be Somebody…or Be Somebody's Fool!" in 1984.
Following these early roles, Martika landed a contract with Columbia Records. Her first solo release was released only in Japan in order to promote Sony cassette tapes in the Japanese market. In 1987, Martika recorded a version of the song "Bounce Back" by Michael Jay and Gregory Smith. She also recorded a music video for the song, which was aired on "Entertainment 80."
In 1988, Martika released her first album, "Martika." The album reached the 15th spot on the charts in the U.S. and spawned the song "Toy Soldiers." She had co-written the song with her producer, Michael Jay. It became a top-five hit in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, and Australia. In the United States, the song spent two weeks in the #1 position in 1989. It also reached the top spot in New Zealand. Two other singles from the album did well – "More Than You Know" and "I Feel the Earth Move." The latter track was a cover of Carole King's song from her album "Tapestry." "Martika" was certified platinum in the U.K. in 1990 and double platinum in Australia.
In 1990, Martika co-wrote the track "Kiss Me Quick" with Michael Jay and Marvin Morrow. The track was then recorded by pop singer Alisha for her 1990 album "Bounce Back." Martika contributed backing vocals. The same year, she wrote and recorded the song "Blue Eyes Are Sensitive to the Light" for the soundtrack to the film "Arachnophobia." However, the song was re-recorded by Sara Hickman to be used in the film.
In 1991, Martika approached Prince to do some new tracks. These tracks included "Love…Thy Will Be Done." The song reached the top spot in Australia and made the top ten chart in the U.K. Martika had originally written the lyrics to the song as a prayer, which Prince then turned into the resulting track.
The same year, Martika released her second album, "Martika's Kitchen." The album was only a minor success in the U.S. but did better abroad in the U.K. and Australia. Martika then walked away from the music industry for a number of years due to burnout and feeling overwhelmed by fame. In 1997, she released a greatest hits compilation album called "The Best of Martika: More Than You Know."
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A few years later, during the 2000 explosion of Latin pop, Martika began working on music projects again. She primarily contributed lyrics to songs released by other artists and sang backing vocals, not receiving any major attention for herself. In 2003, with her husband, Michael Mozart, she formed the band Oppera. They released their debut album, "Violince," in 2004. The same year, rapper Eminem used a sample of her song "Toy Soldiers" for his track "Like Toy Soldiers," which was featured on his album "Encore." He invited Martika to sing on the chorus of the track. In 2005, Oppera released a self-titled second album. Martika promoted the release with a bookstore tour.
In 2010, Martika began using the stage name Vida Edit and co-produced a web-based television action program called "J8ded." However, she stopped using the stage name the following year and launched a new personal website. The next year, she announced an Australian tour, though it was later canceled. In 2014, she performed alongside Debbie Gibson, Samantha Fox, and Rick Astley at a HitParade Festival in Chile. In July 2016, she joined the "Totally 80's Tour of Australia." The concerts included seven international 1980s acts, including Martika, Berlin, Limahl of Kajagoogoo, Paul Lekakis, Katrina of Katrina and the Waves, Men Without Hats, and Stacey Q. Martika received positive reviews for her performances on the tour.
Personal Life
Martika kept her personal life relatively private throughout her time in the spotlight. She reportedly did have a relationship with Nuno Bettencourt from 1989 to 1990. Sometime in the early 2000s, she met her future husband, Michael Mozart.
