Biography

Born May 8, 1975 in Madrid, Spain, Enrique Iglesias has followed in his father's large footsteps with even larger footsteps of his own. The hot singer that just released his first English language album has had a long history in the music industry and already is the best selling Latin recording artist in the world, though Ricky Martin may claim the same distinction. Enrique released his first album in 1995 although secretly had been planning the release since the age of 16. Although he was the son of a famous musician, Enrique and Julio are not very close, as during his childhood his father was mostly away from home busy with his own music career. His mother also was distant as well, being a Madrid journalist. Enrique counted on the guidance of his nanny, Elvira Olivares, during his childhood in Miami. He moved from Spain to Miami when he was only 7, mostly because of terrorism threats in his home country, where his grandfather had been kidnapped just prior. Before you think Enrique used his father to gain acceptance as a musician, think again, as he kept his musical aspirations a secret, saying "I never wanted to tell my parents. It felt funny. I respected it so much, and I wanted it so much. Like, if you're eating dinner with your parents and you tell them, "Dad, I want to be a pilot," he's like, "Shut up and keep on eating." I never wanted to hear that." His first album was a huge success and to date has sold over 6 million copies and his second album, Vivir, has also sold multi-millions. Enrique's talent stretches across several languages, having recorded in Italian, Portugese, English, and his native Spanish. He recently told MTV "Yeah. I just have the best of both worlds. I can do English and I can do Spanish. In 1995, he released his first album in Spanish. Titled Enrique Iglesias, this was a collection of light rock ballads, including such mega-hits as "Si Tú Te Vas", "Experiencia Religiosa", and others. The record sold half a million copies in its first week, a rare accomplishment then for an album recorded in a language other than English. His song "Por Amarte" was included in Televisa's telenovela Marisol, but with a twist: instead of Por amarte yo moriría (To love you, I'd die), the words were Por amarte Marisol, moriría (To love you, Marisol, I'd die). The CD also yielded Italian and Portuguese editions of the album, with most of the songs translated into those languages. Five singles released from this album, such as "Por Amarte", "No Llores por Mí" and "Trapecista", topped the Latin charts. The album went on to win Iglesias a Grammy award as Best Latin Artist. What I used to do in Spanish was mainstream, mainstream pop music. That's what I wanted to do in English. When I was doing this album, that's what I wanted to create: a mainstream pop album. Because that was mainly my influence growing up, as a little kid. That kind of music." But don't label Enrique a crossover artist, as he says "Everyone is talking about this whole Latino movement and this "crossover." I hate that word, "crossover." I don't know if it's because it puts too much pressure... not really, in a way, but I just don't like that word." Before the dreaded crossover, Enrique enjoyed his greatest success as in 1996 Enrique won a Grammy for Best Latin Performer, and in 1997 Billboard awarded him Album of the Year. He did recently get awarded as the Favorite Latino Artist at the Sixth Annual Blockbuster Awards as well. Enrique's career is not without controversy though, as in 1999 two executives from his label Fonovisa, pleaded not guilty in Los Angeles to charges related to illegally paying radio stations to play songs by their artists, which included Enrique. It also is known that Enrique and Ricky Martin are very competitive rivals, much in the same way as Jennifer Lopez and Salma Hayek are on the big screen. In fact, Enrique was recently dumped by model Adriana Beiga supposedly in favor of Martin. Although Adriana says in a recent interview that she is seeing neither since both do not have time for relationships because of the workload involved in their careers. It also was reported that Enrique's longtime lover Sofia Vergara also ended her relationship with him. Most recently he was seen grinding on the dance floor with Christina Aguilera after their performance in VH1's Men Strike Back. It is interesting to note though that Enrique has claimed to many to be a virgin, though interviews with Beiga and Vergara seem to dispute that. If it is the case, likely it is due to the messy divorce between his parents when Enrique was growing up. That being said, don't feel too bad for Enrique, as he is one of the most desired men on the planet, even being awarded People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People distinction in 1998. He reponded to MTV's questioning about women on Miami chasing him all the time by saying "That's a good side of my job." His video, Be With You, features a kissing scene with hot young actress Shannon Elizabeth, although its unclear what if any the two's relations are off the camera (it should be noted though that Shannon is engaged and says the two are only friends). Enrique also played the part of an evil Roman emperor in an ambitous TV commercial for Pepsi, which sponsored his last world tour. He starred alongside Britney Spears, Beyonce and Pink, who turn the tables on him in the commercial. Enrique has been linked to a number of women, from former Miss Universe Alicia Machado to teen queen Christina Aguilera. He currently dates Russian tennis star and model Anna Kournikova. More recently, Enrique has been a guest on Oprah Winfrey's talk show, surprising one of his fans and spending the day with her. Enrique will soon appear in a commercial for the Tommy Hilfiger fragrance called "True Star Men", which Enrique is endorsing. As the son of a singing legend, Enrique Iglesias has some mighty big shoes to fill. But he has walked his own path admirably. Born into incredible privilege, he has not let it consume him. Instead, he has pursued his dreams with the same hard work that made his father a star. Of course, as is the case with his handsome dad, Enrique's natural good looks haven't gone unnoticed; in 1998, he was named one of the world's sexiest men by People magazine. It is this winning combination of good luck and talent that has helped Enrique sell over 40 million albums to date, and turned him into a Latin music superstar.