Howard Dwaine Dorough (born August 22, 1973) and better known in the show business plainly as Howie Dorough is a native of Orlando, Florida and a Puerto Rican through his mother. He is a member of world famous boy band, The Backstreet Boys. He declared that his mother is from Puerto Rico at an interview with a teen magazine.

Dorough had a passion for the entertainment business since he was 3 years old, when he would jump on his grandparents bed, singing Baby Face while strumming his tiny guitar. At the age of 6, Dorough participated in a Orlando production of The Wizard of Oz to get his start in show business, this would only be the start of a string of musicals he would do in the local Orlando scene. Throughout high school he was actively involved in theatre and chorus. He rented out the production equipment often, having participated and created a show by the name of Macho & Camacho during his high school years.

He later auditioned for The Backstreet Boys, where he reached worldwide fame along with group mates AJ McLean, Brian Litrell, Kevin Richardson and Nick Carter. After the group reached stardom, Dorough and the rest of the band became staples on the covers of such magazines as Tiger Beat, 16 (magazine) , and Teen Beat.

In 1998, Howie's sister, Caroline Dorough , sadly passed away of the Lupus form of Cancer. After her passing, Howie helped create The Dorough Lupus Foundation , where he still collaborates. His foundation helps raise awareness about the disease, financial support for those who can't afford treatment, and money for research. To date they've raised over half a million dollars towards finding a cure.

External Links

• The Dorough Lupus Foundation

Also see

• List of famous Puerto Ricans