Martika was born in Whittier, California, United States, to Cuban parents from Havana. She entered mainstream show business in an uncredited role as one of the girls in the 1982 motion picture "Annie". This led to her being cast as Gloria on the long-running children's show "Kids Incorporated" as one of a group of neighborhood children who rise to local fame by singing staged productions at a corner malt shop. Once the second season began, she formally adopted the stage name of Martika Marrero before shortening it to just "Martika", which she has used ever since. Martika and many other "Kids Incorporated" cast members were featured in the musical numbers from the Mr. T motivational video "Be Somebody... or Be Somebody's Fool!" in 1984.