Kevin Scott Richardson born October 3, 1971 is an American singer and a former member of the Backstreet Boys, model, actor, and composer. He was the oldest member of the band during his tenure.
Kevin Richardson was born in Lexington, Kentucky. He is the youngest of three brothers.
As a youth, he was a chess club member and acted in school plays such as "Bye, Bye Birdie" at Estill County High School in Kentucky. He was also a football quarterback.
Also in 1993, Brian Littrell, who is Richardson's maternal first cousin, joined the group. After the joining of Littrell, the quintet officially took shape. Richardson was part of the popular boy band, Backstreet Boys, until 2006, when he announced his departure. He recorded a total of five albums with the group.The group has not ruled out a return for the singer.
On November 14, 2006, he returned to New York City with many Chicago alumni for the 10th anniversary of the show. After that from late November to December 3, 2006 Richardson played the role of Billy Flynn in Toronto, and from February 4 to March 4, 2007 he played the role in Japan.
During the final show of the Backstreet Boys Unbreakable Tour in 2008, Kevin rejoined the group to sing the encore.
Richardson is composing the soundtrack of a forthcoming animated movie, The Spirit Bear, which was due out in 2010.
On the November 4, 2010 episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show, Richardson reunited with the group, appearing first in a pre-taped segment in which they surprised a fan who thought she was merely being flown in to participate in a "Backstreet Boys' Biggest Fan" contest. Moments later, Richardson joined the group live in the Oprah Winfrey Show studio to perform a live rendition of their hit, "I Want It That Way."
In Florida, he landed the role of "Aladdin" and one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles at Walt Disney World, where he met his future wife Kristin Willits, who was playing the character of "Belle" from "Beauty and the Beast." He worked at Walt Disney World until he joined the Backstreet Boys in 1993
