Christina Maria Aguilera was born on December 18, 1980, in Staten Island, New York. Her parents divorced when she was young and she lived with her mother, although they moved around quite a bit. Christina's goal almost since birth was to be a singer, and at age 12 she was invited to audition for "MMC" (1989). She wound up getting the part and stayed there for a few years, until the show ended. In 1999 she had her breakthrough hit, "Genie in a Bottle". Since then she's made millions of fans, sold millions of records and has won many awards, including a Grammy for best new female artist. She has even made a Latin album and will be working on a second one. A Christmas album has also been released. Christina Aguilera is a bilingual singer mixed with Irish and Ecuadorian roots. Her self titled debut album went 10x platinum. She has received many honors including 6 Grammy Nominations and one win for Best New Artist. 2 MTV Video Music Awards, a Radio Music Awards, 2 VH1 Awards, and a Teen Choice Award with Lil'Kim, Mya and Pink and the smash hit "Lady Maramalade". She was on "MMC" (1989) with Nsync's Justin Timberlake and J.C. Chasez, Britney Spears, Ryan Gosling and Keri Russell. Her musical influences included Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston and Janet Jackson.