Ronan Keating

With those dazzling poster boy looks, Ronan Keating became one of Europe's most endearing stars as the leader of the Irish boy band Boyzone. The five Irish lads in Boyzone, who made their debut in 1993, built their charismatic style into one of the biggest European pop/rock acts of the '90s. But before he was winning over the world, Keating was a middle-class kid living in Dublin. Born Ronan Patrick John Keating on March 3, 1977, he was the last of four children in the Keating household. His father Gerry was a pub owner and his mother Marie was a hairdresser, so financially the Keating family was trying to make ends meet. The working trudge instilled the desire to work in the youngest Keating. While working in a local shoe store, he noticed an ad that was searching for an Irish Take That. The 14-year-old beat out 300 hopefuls with his own rendition of the Cat Stevens song "Father & Son" and was onto becoming a celebrity. Boyzone released four albums, every one debuting at number one in the U.K. They released 16 singles, each one also charting in the top three on the U.K. charts. Most notably, Americans will recognize this five-piece as the dashing young men singing behind U2's Bono in "The Sweetest Thing" video.

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