Actor and singer Tom Beck was born on February 26, 1978 in Nuremberg, and from 1999 to 2003 studied musical theater at the Bavarian Theatre Academy in Munich. Starting in 2004, he appeared in various television productions, most notably the series Alarm für Cobra 11: Die Autobahnpolizei (Alarm for Cobra 11: Highway Patrol), in which he starred from 2008 to 2013. Beck also mastered several instruments, distinguished himself in 2001 in the national Bundeswettbewerb Gesang singing competition, and was subsequently seen in various musicals. His debut single, "Sexy," in March 2011 was followed in the same month by his first album, Superficial Animal, which made it to number 36 on the German album charts with its radio-friendly rock. His second album, Americanized, followed in October 2012. ~ John D. Buchanan