Bruno Mars

He was once romantically linked to singer and actress, Rita Ora whom he first met in 2009. The couple however split up in 2011 owing to work pressures.

He started dating model Jessica Caban in 2011.

He was born as Peter Gene Hernandez on 8 October, 1985, in Honolulu, Hawaii. His father Peter Hernandez was a Latin percussionist while his mother Bernadette "Bernie" San Pedro Bayot was a singer cum dancer. He was nicknamed “Bruno” as a child. He has five siblings.

His parents exposed him to a diverse variety of music from childhood. He was naturally inclined towards the performance arts since both his parents were professional performers. One of his uncles, an Elvis impersonator, encouraged Bruno to perform on stage when he was a three-year-old. He soon started performing with his family band and gained popularity in his hometown for his impersonation of Elvis Presley.

He attended the President Theodore Roosevelt High School from where he graduated in 2003. While at school, he used to perform in a group, called, The School Boys.

Bruno Mars moved to Los Angeles, California, shortly after his graduation to pursue a musical career. It was at this time that he adopted the stage name “Bruno Mars”.

He signed to Motown Records in 2004 and though this deal turned out to be fruitless, he got the opportunity to meet the songwriter and producer Phillip Lawrence who was also signed to the same label.

Lawrence introduced Mars to his future A&R manager at Atlantic Records, Aaron Bay-Schuck, in 2006. Soon he was signed to Atlantic Records and from there his career took off.

In addition to his career as a singer, Bruno Mars collaborated with Philip Lawrence and Ari Levine to establish the songwriting and record production team, The Smeezingtons, in 2009. The team became very popular and has been much in demand since its inception. The team has worked with various artists and received mainstream awards including the ASCAP Pop Music Awards for Songwriters.

In July 2010 he released his first solo single, “Just the Way You Are”, from his debut studio album, ‘Doo-Wops & Hooligans’, released after a few months in October. The single peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was named "the year's finest pop debut” and catapulted Bruno Mars to international stardom.

His debut album ‘Doo-Wops & Hooligans’ has been certified 39x platinum worldwide and has sold over 45 million singles worldwide. It featured the hit singles “Just the Way You Are”, “The Lazy Song”, and “Count On Me”.

His second album ‘Unorthodox Jukebox’, which explores a variety of styles such as reggae rock, disco and soul music was also a huge hit like its predecessor. The album debuted on the US Billboard 200 at No. 2, eventually peaking at No.1. It also received positive reviews from music critics.