Selena, Ricky Martin, Shakira. Who would be the next Latin star to score huge crossover success in America? If you had to make the prediction in the summer of 2003, odds are you'd place your money on Thalia, a stunning show-biz veteran who began her career at the mere age of nine in the Mexican group Din Din. From there she became a star on a Mexican soap opera, performed "Moderna Chica Del Rock" at the Juguemos A Cantar festival; starred in Vaselina, the Latin version of Grease; and joined the group Timbiriche, but she also had her sights on America. By the '80s, while still a teen, she relocated to Los Angeles where she connected with producer Alfredo Diaz Ordaz. Under the guidance of Diaz Ordaz, Thalia recorded three hit Spanish-language albums in the late '80s and early '90s. Her fortunes rose considerably by the mid-'90s when she collaborated with another noted Latin producer, Emilio Estefan Jr. on a trio of albums from 1995-2000. Her self-titled effort, released in 2000, included a cover of Dead Or Alive's '80s club hit "You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)," as well as collaborations with producers/songwriters Estefan Jr., Estefano, Steve Morales (Christina Aguilera, Celine Dion, Marc Anthony, Enrique Iglesias), and Cory Roony (Jennifer Lopez, Destiny's Child). Thalia again showed her knack for connecting with the right people in late 2000 when she married then-Sony Music chief Tommy Mottola. He's the man who married Mariah Carey after making her a star, but their relationship--and Carey's career--fizzled by the late '90s. In September 2002, Thalia grabbed headlines again, but this was no happy occasion. Her sisters, Laura Zapata and Ernestina Sodi, were kidnapped as they left a Mexico City theater where Zapata was starring in a play. Although both were eventually freed, the ordeal kept Thalia away from Mexico for nearly a year. Flanked by a team of bodyguards, Thalia returned to Mexico in June 2003 to speak out against terrorism. The appearance took place only weeks before the release of her self-titled crossover effort, which again featured collaborations with Rooney and Morales, as well as rapper Fat Joe.