Born: August 17, 1969 in Boston, MA Donnie Wahlberg, whose full name is Donald Edmond Wahlberg Jr., is one of nine children in a family from Dorchester, MA. He became a member of Risk, a local group, at the age of ten, and later joined the Kool Aid Bunch. He soon got his lucky break and spent a decade as the black sheep of the squeaky-clean and wholesome New Kids on the Block. When the group disbanded in the mid-'90s, he kept a hand in the music business by writing and producing the work of others, including brother Marky Mark and former New Kids Joey McIntyre and Jordan Knight. He also began an acting career, delivering memorable performances in Ransom and The Sixth Sense.