Richard Marx's Real Name: Richard Marx

Quick answer: He records and performs as Richard Marx. AllMusic gives his birth as September 16, 1963, in Chicago, Illinois, and lists him also as Richard Noel Marx. That middle name appears in only one qualifying source. The Chicago Sun-Times calls him a Chicago native who grew up in Highland Park, Illinois.

Real name and early life

His father, Dick Marx, was a jazz musician who ran his own jingle company, AllMusic says, and the Sun-Times describes him as a highly sought-after advertising jingle writer with a studio on Chicago's Magnificent Mile. AllMusic says Richard began singing at five, performing on commercials in the late 1960s, including spots for Arm & Hammer and Nestlé Crunch.

The Sun-Times says his memoir recalls his first time on stage, singing the Monkees' "I Wanna Be Free" in kindergarten at North Shore Country Day School. He began writing songs in his teens, and a demo tape reached Lionel Richie, who encouraged him to move to Los Angeles. The Washington Post published a 1984 photo of Marx with Richie after he sang background vocals on "All Night Long."

Career highlights

AllMusic says Richie hired Marx as a backing vocalist, and Whitney Houston and Julio Iglesias also used his voice. His self-titled debut came out in 1987 and reached the top of the Billboard charts, with singles "Don't Mean Nothing," "Should've Known Better," "Endless Summer Nights," and "Hold On to the Nights." Repeat Offender followed in 1989, and its Grammy-nominated ballad "Right Here Waiting" became his third consecutive No. 1 hit in America. Rush Street (1991) and Paid Vacation (1994) also went platinum. "Now and Forever" became his last Billboard Top 10 single in 1994.

He then found steady success writing and producing for others. AllMusic says he wrote the *NSYNC hit "This I Promise You" and co-wrote Luther Vandross's Grammy-winning "Dance With My Father." The Sun-Times says the Vandross song dates from 2003 and that Marx calls Vandross one of his best friends.

Marx published his memoir, Stories to Tell, in July 2021 through Simon & Schuster. His 13th studio album, Songwriter, followed the next year, with co-writers including Keith Urban, Darius Rucker, and Burt Bacharach. AllMusic says he joined The Voice Australia as a coach in 2025.

The Sun-Times reports that he lives in Malibu with his wife, former MTV VJ and model Daisy Fuentes, after raising three sons with his ex-wife, Cynthia Rhodes, in Lake Bluff, Illinois.

Name notes for searchers

Richard Marx is his birth first and last name; there is no stage surname. AllMusic adds the middle name Noel.