Howard Dwaine Dorough was born on August 22, 1973 in Orlando, Florida to Hoke, a police officer, and Pauline, a housewife. He was the youngest of five children, including Angie, Caroline, Pollyanna, and John. There was ten years between Howie and his next youngest sibling, John. When Howie was about 3 or 4 years old, he used to sing 'Baby Face' and play his little guitar on his Grandma's bed and perform for his family.

A few years later, he took his act to the masses thanks to his sister Pollyanna. When she was a senior in high school, she played "Glenda the Good Witch" in a production of 'The Wizard of Oz'. She took Howie along and he was selected as a member of the "Lollipop Guild". This experience ignited his passion for performing. Throughout elementary school, Howie took acting and voice lessons.

When Howie was in high school, and after graduating, he began landing roles on Nickelodeon and in feature films. Howie appeared as an extra in 'Parenthood' at age 14 along with various Disney commercials. He then got a starring role in "Welcome Freshmen" which failed to get picked up by Nickelodeon. He also had a small role in the movie 'Cop and a Half'. At age 19, he met AJ through a mutual vocal coach. Then they met Nick because they kept running into each other at auditions for Disney, Nickelodeon, and MGM. They discovered they all had an interest in music, so they formed a small group and took it to a record label in Orlando.

There, they soon found a manager, and through auditions they picked up Kevin, who then suggested his cousin Brian, and there Backstreet Boys were formed. The rest, as they say, is history! A Few Howie Facts: Favorite Color: Purple Favorite Actor: Tom Hanks Favorite Food: Asian Favorite Book: Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory Favorite Group: Boys II Men Favorite Movie: 'The Outsiders' Howie once owned 30 rabbits!!!