Nick Carter facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Nick Carter
Carter at GalaxyCon Raleigh in 2023
Born	(1980-01-28) January 28, 1980 (age 44) Jamestown, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Singer musician actor dancer
Years active	1989–present
Spouse(s)	Lauren Kitt Carter ​ (m. 2014)​
Children	3
Relatives	Leslie Carter (sister) Aaron Carter (brother) Angel Carter (sister) Bobbie Jean Carter (sister)
Musical career
Genres	Pop pop rock R&B dance
Instruments	Vocals guitar
Labels	Jive RCA Zomba 604 Kaotic INC
Signature

Nickolas Gene Carter (born January 28, 1980) is an American singer and a member of the vocal group Backstreet Boys. As of 2015, Carter has released three solo albums, Now or Never, I'm Taking Off and All American, during breaks between Backstreet Boys schedules, and a collaboration with Jordan Knight titled Nick & Knight. He has made occasional television appearances and starred in his own reality shows, House of Carters and I (Heart) Nick Carter.

Early life

Carter was born in Jamestown, New York, where his parents, Jane Eleonora Schneck (née Spaulding, previously Carter) and Robert Carter (d. 2017), owned a bar called the Yankee Rebel in Westfield, New York. His ancestry is primarily North and West European. Several years later, when Carter was four, the family moved to Ruskin, Florida, near Tampa, and managed the Garden Villa Retirement Home, where they added to the family.

Carter's siblings include Leslie Carter (1986–2012), Aaron Carter (1987–2022), Angel Carter (born 1987), and Bobbie Jean Carter (1982–2023). He stated in the Fall 1999 issue of teen magazine J-14 that "...I have lots of siblings. My dad, who's an only child, got all the attention [from his parents when he was a kid], but he had to make friends. I could make friends, but I always knew I had someone to play with and hang out with."

Career

Growing up, Carter began his acting and singing career at a young age when his mother heard him outside and enrolled him in voice lessons with a voice teacher named Marianne Prinkey. She later got him dance lessons in ballet, tap, and hip hop at Karl and DiMarco's School of Theatre and Dance when he was 10. Carter performed in several commercials, talent shows, and the Florida State Fair. He auditioned for several acting roles in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and performed around Tampa Bay, Florida. According to Carter, he played the lead role in the fourth-grade production of Phantom of the Opera at Miles Elementary School. He also did an educational video called "Reach For a Book," a show called "The Klub" and performed at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers home games for two years. He also made a brief appearance in the 1990 Tim Burton film Edward Scissorhands as a child playing on a Slip 'N Slide. He stated, "It would be going too far to say I was actually in Edward Scissorhands because I was so far in the background that you can't tell it's me. It would be better to say I was on the set of the film... I was in the scene when Edward looks out of a window to the neighborhood. For a split second, he sees some kids playing - one of them was me. I was sliding on a yellow piece of plastic we used to call a Slip n' Slide. They were long flat sheets with water coming out of holes and were popular with kids at the time. I had to slide on one in the background of a shot. It was great fun being on the set but it was really cold and they made us do it a lot of times".

One of his dance teachers, Sandy, placed him in his first group, "Nick and the Angels." Between 1989 and 1993, Carter recorded various popular songs, including "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" and "Uptown Girl" and a few original songs that he would perform at events. These recordings appeared on an unofficial release called Before the Backstreet Boys 1989–1993 by Dynamic Discs, Inc., released in October 2002. It was revealed that through several auditions, Carter met AJ McLean and Howie Dorough and they became friends. At age 12, he put in a winning performance on the 1992 New Original Amateur Hour.

Carter has stated that he endured a difficult childhood in a turbulent, high-conflict home. He has added that he was bullied and beaten up during junior high school. Due to the unpleasant experiences he had in school, he left school and was homeschooled instead.

Backstreet Boys

Carter with the Backstreet Boys in 2006

Carter with the Backstreet Boys in 2008

At 12 years old, Carter auditioned for Disney's The Mickey Mouse Club and the Backstreet Boys. He was asked to join the group and was given the choice of either joining The Mickey Mouse Club with a $50,000 contract or this new music group. Carter chose to go with the group rather than the Mickey Mouse Club. After he joined the group, he had his own personal tutor on tour. In 2013 or 2014, Carter received his GED as shown on I Heart Nick Carter. On April 20, 1993, when he was 13 years old, Carter formed the vocal group the Backstreet Boys along with AJ McLean, Brian Littrell, Howie Dorough, and Kevin Richardson. Carter is the group's youngest member. The Backstreet Boys have recorded several albums, beginning in the mid-1990s, the latest being 2019's DNA. In March 2016, the group announced that they would begin an exclusive headlining residency at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas called Backstreet Boys: Larger Than Life. By October 14, 2022, their first-holiday album A Very Backstreet Christmas was released.

Solo career

In 2002, when the Backstreet Boys expressed a strong desire to leave their management company, The Firm, Carter was the first member of the group to choose to remain with them to manage his solo career and work on a solo album. Around then, Carter started writing songs and recording during his downtime when Jive asked him to do a solo album. As the group began recording their new album without him, he started working on his first solo album. In September 2002, Carter released the first single from his solo album, "Help Me" which did well on radio countdowns landing at #1 on various stations including New York City's Z100 and achieved considerable worldwide success while the other single, "I Got You" was a minor hit in Europe. On October 29, 2002, his first solo album Now Or Never was released and sold over 500,000 copies in the first week. It reached No. 17 on the Billboard 200 charts and was certified gold, both in the United States and Canada. The album made the charts in many countries as well. He also launched a worldwide tour in support of the album. ..... He was also featured on the cover of the magazine.

Carter went on tour in early 2003, where he performed at smaller venues like clubs, much smaller venues than what he had been used to with Backstreet Boys. That same year, Carter started working on his second solo album, which was put on hold when the Backstreet Boys returned to the studio to record a new album in 2004. One of the tracks from the earlier recording sessions was used as the theme song to the television series House of Carters in 2006. "Let It Go" was written by Carter, Matthew Gerrard, and Bridget Louise Benenate. It would be eight years before Carter finally focused on another solo album. Carter started to work on the album in 2008, but most of the recording of his second solo album, "I'm Taking Off," took place during any downtime he had in between Backstreet Boys touring in 2010. "I'm Taking Off" was first released in Japan on February 2, 2011, and later released in the U.S. on May 24, 2011, on iTunes only. The album was later released in other countries on different dates. It was Carter's first solo album without the help of a major label. He co-wrote every song released except a bonus track in Japan. In Germany, the album was released by Glor, Canada 305 Records, and in Japan, AMEX.

Carter recorded a duet with pop singer Jennifer Paige called "Beautiful Lie" in 2009. In 2010, Carter started recording new songs for his second solo album, working with Rami Yacoub, Carl Falk, Toby Gad, Josh Hoge, and Claude Kelly, among many others. Carter's new album titled I'm Taking Off was released on February 2, 2011, in Japan, in Germany on June 3, 2011, and in the USA via iTunes on May 24. As of June 2011, Carter's second solo album reached No. 8 in Japan, selling over 20,000 copies.

In January 2014, Carter recorded a duet album with Jordan Knight from fellow boy band New Kids on the Block. They both worked on a duet album and called their collaboration Nick & Knight, which debuted at #24 on the US Billboard 200 and #14 in Canada. The tour to support the album ran from September to November 2014. They announced their album and tour on April 30 on Good Morning America. The self-titled album was released on September 2, 2014. Fans were able to get a taste of the album when they pre-ordered it by receiving a download of the song "Just the Two of Us." The first single, "One More Time," was released on July 15, 2014. The album features a few tracks written by Carter and Jordan.

In 2015, Carter announced he would be working on a third solo album for release later that year. The album was called All American and was released digitally on November 25 via iTunes, Amazon, and Google Play. The CD release was delayed until February 2016 and released in Japan that same month. He worked with Dan Muckala, Natasha Bedingfield, and others for most of the album. This album would see Carter returning to a pop/rock sound like Now or Never. Some tracks on the album also sound like the 1950s and 1960s. The first single from his new album, entitled "I Will Wait", was released on October 1, 2015, on Vevo and is an acoustic ballad. The new CD All American, was released on November 25, 2015. In support of the album, Carter toured in February and March 2016. Canadian pop/rock singer Avril Lavigne is also featured on Carter's album. She sings with him in the song "Get Over Me."

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Carter announced that he would be releasing new solo projects.

Two months after Aaron's death, Carter honored his little brother with a new single, "Hurts to Love You," and the music video featured images of Aaron via photos and home movies. Some of the lyrics to the track include, "It hurts to love you but I love you still/ Miss you with all my heart, you know I always will." On August 18, Carter released a new single, superman, dedicating it to his family after everything they had been through with Aaron's death as well as how his sister Angel got involved with the foundation On Our Sleeves. This foundation works to help children facing mental and emotional health struggles. In conjunction with On Our Sleeves, Nick held an event honoring Aaron at a benefit concert in January.

Acting career

Carter also did some acting, appearing on various TV shows, including the NBC show American Dreams in 2002 and ABC's 8 Simple Rules in 2003. In October 2004, he even starred as a High School football player, Brody, in the ABC Family Halloween special, The Hollow, opposite Kevin Zegers. The film first premiered on ABC Family during their 13 Nights of Halloween in October 2004. The film was edited for TV and younger audiences. It was initially a rated R film. The rated-R movie was later released on DVD. But it would be a few years before Carter did any acting again as the Backstreet Boys worked on their return to music in 2004.

In 2007, Carter filmed the independent movie Kill Speed with Brandon Quinn, Andrew Keegan, Natalia Cigliuti, Greg Grunberg, and Reno Wilson, where he played a character named Foreman. The movie was originally scheduled for release in 2008, but due to issues with the release (some say with distribution), it would years before it was eventually released on DVD. In the US, it was released on June 12, 2012. While in the UK, its release was in 2010, along with some other countries. On May 8, 2012, he made a guest appearance on CW's 90210 and played himself. Carter made his big-screen debut in 2013, appearing in the comedy This Is the End along with the rest of the Backstreet Boys.

Carter has gotten into writing screenplays and filming/directing movies. The first film he directed was a movie he had written called The Pendant in 2010. It was a short 15-minute film and can be purchased on his official website. The only public viewing of the film was at the Royal Theater in Toronto on August 13, 2010. However, fans could see the film by buying tickets through his official site. He also directed another movie in 2012, but there has yet to be a word when that will be released.

Carter in 2011

In July 2013, Carter launched a campaign on Indiegogo.com, a crowdfunding site, to raise money for his movie "Evil Blessings." The goal was to raise $85,000. Instead, the campaign raised $156,214. Carter has said he'll use his money and the money raised to fund the movie. In return for the donations, multiple perks depended on how much you donated. They included chats with Carter on Skype, your name in the movie credits and/or website, movie merchandise (t-shirt, poster, DVD, etc.), acting roles, premiere tickets, BSB concerts, an online concert, and more. Carter wrote the screenplay for the film. Due to a few setbacks, the film was delayed and put on hold. In July 2013, the director of the movie died. The film was said to start filming in June 2014, but the success of the Backstreet Boys' In a World Like This Tour delayed filming and was pushed back to January 2015. That gave Carter some more time to rework the screenplay. In October 2014, Carter announced that this film would be postponed due to the director's death. Instead, he'll film a new movie called "Dead West" in January 2015. The money donated to "Evil Blessings" will be used for this film. Carter hired the production company, the Asylum (the company that produced Sharknado), to help. In July 2015, Carter announced that the movie was renamed "Dead 7" to give it a more global appeal. "Dead 7" includes various members of different boy bands.

At Comic-Con 2015 in San Diego, Carter revealed his plans to film a movie he had written and would be directing and starring in. Entitled Dead 7, the film focuses on a ragtag band of gunslingers operating during a post-apocalyptic zombie plague. The film also stars Carter's wife, Lauren, and his bandmates Howie D. and AJ McLean. Besides NSYNC's Joey Fatone and Chris Kirkpatrick, O-Town's Erik-Michael Estrada, Jacob Underwood, and Trevor Penick, and 98 Degrees' Jeff Timmons will also star in the movie. The film also includes Jon Secada, Geraldo (a rapper remembered for the song Rico Suave), Art Alexakis (Everclear), and Debra Wilson (MadTV cast member), plus many more. The movie was filmed in Butte, Montana, in August 2015 and finished early September. The movie aired on the SyFy network on April 1, 2016.

Reality TV career

In 2006, Carter and his siblings starred in their reality television show, House of Carters, which premiered on October 2, 2006, on E!. The series features all five Carter siblings reuniting to live in the same house in Los Angeles to try to reconnect as a family and get their lives together, as well as in-depth moments of their ups and downs. Their father, Robert Carter, and stepmother, Ginger, also appeared on the show. The series lasted one season, and eight episodes were aired.

In 2014, Carter returned to reality TV, and he and his wife (then fiancée at the time), Lauren Kitt, starred in their VH1 reality show, I Heart Nick Carter, which centered around the planning of their April 2014 wedding and premiered on September 10, 2014, on VH1. The show only had eight episodes. It documented Carter's life as he prepared to get married. This included Carter trying to set the wedding date between the Backstreet Boys touring and footage of Carter working. Recording a new album with New Kids on the Block member Jordan Knight, various events such as a book signing, charity event, touring with Backstreet Boys in Europe (other group members also appeared on the show), his bachelor party, and much more. The wedding aired in a one-hour season finale. Carter announced on Twitter that VH1 did not renew the show for a second season.

On August 26, 2015, it was revealed that Carter would be taking part in the 21st season of Dancing with the Stars which began on September 14, 2015. He was paired with professional dancer Sharna Burgess. Carter and Burgess made the finals of the show and came in second place, behind Bindi Irwin and Derek Hough. He performed "I Will Wait" off his All American album live at the finale.

In June 2017, Carter appeared alongside Emma Bunton and Timbaland as a judge on a new singing competition show called Boy Band.

In 2020, Carter competed as the "Crocodile" on the fourth season of The Masked Singer, finishing in third place.

While the group was touring in Canada, Carter appeared on ‘Chanteurs Masques,’ the Canadian version of the Masked Singer, this time as a Sphynx cat for one episode where he also performed a stellar rendition of Heart's “Alone” and ended the show with a performance of “I Want It That Way,” Nick's appearance on the show broke viewership records, drawing in over 2 million viewers.

Power boat racing

In 2002, Carter got into powerboat racing and started his own team, Nick Carter Racing, which won the National Championship in its first year.

Charity work

Carter started the Oceans Campaign in 2001 to help raise awareness about the ocean. It was a part of the Just Within Reach foundation that fellow group member Kevin Richardson founded.

Carter was announced as the new United Nations Special Ambassador for the Year of the Dolphin (YoD) on May 17, 2007, representing the United Nations Environment Program, the Convention on Migratory Species, and the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society.

Personal life

According to Extra, Carter stated how hard it is for him to go onstage since his brother Aaron's November 2022 death. Carter honored Aaron with a new single, "Hurts to Love You". The music video featured images of Aaron via photos and home movies. On August 18, Carter shared that his sister Angel was getting involved with On Our Sleeves, a foundation that helps children facing mental and emotional health struggles. In conjunction with On Our Sleeves, Nick held an event honoring Aaron at a benefit concert in January.

Relationships

Carter has been reported to have dated Debra Lafave, Willa Ford, and Paris Hilton.

After moving from Tennessee since his recovery, Carter met Lauren Michelle Kitt, a fitness expert/trainer, YouTuber, WBFF fitness competitor, and actress, through his sister and brother on October 20, 2008, at a gathering at his house in California. After dating for five years, Carter proposed to her. They married in Santa Barbara, California, in 2014. Their wedding was featured in an issue of In Touch Weekly and was filmed for Carter's reality show, I Heart Nick Carter. They have three children: a son born in 2016 and two daughters born in 2019 and 2021. Carter told People magazine that even though he loves performing on tour, he had to miss his daughter's third birthday to go to Europe. The couple had also suffered multiple miscarriages.

Discography

Solo albums

• Now or Never (2002)
• I'm Taking Off (2011)
• All American (2015)

• Nick & Knight (2014) (with Jordan Knight)

Awards and nominations

Filmography

See also

• Backstreet Boys