Julio Iglesias is the best. Biography

JULIO IGLESIAS IS ALWAYS IN FASHION

I could become not a famous singer, but a famous athlete. There would be no happiness, but misfortune would help. This statement probably suits this person best of all. Just think that if the car accident had not happened, we would not have an artist who is one of the world's ten best-selling musicians. – music record holder not only in the number of cassettes and discs sold. The number of his concerts goes beyond all reasonable limits: over 5 thousand performances on five continents of the globe. “I missed human warmth and communication, and I began to look for them in music. “I just wanted to have fun,” the singer once shared his memories, “but the music hit me like a storm. She completely changed everything around me."

The person assumes...

A son was born in the family of the famous gynecologist Puga and his wife Maria del Rosario in 1943 in Madrid. He was named Julio.

When the time came, the boy went to Sagrados Cosasones School and St. Paul's College. From 16 years old Julio played soccer. He was considered one of the most talented football players of his generation and played for Real Madrid. Iglesias predicted a great future. Since childhood Julio was a remarkable athlete and stood out among the members of the football team, in which he played as a striker and dreamed of becoming a professional football player. After graduating from high school, Julio entered the university to study law. He wanted to become a lawyer.

Many dreams and plans were not destined to come true. Late September night 1963, on the eve of the 20th anniversary, when Julio I was returning to Madrid by car with friends when a car accident occurred, leaving the young athlete semi-paralyzed for almost a year and a half. There was no hope that he would walk again. Only the hands moved. Lying in a Madrid hospital Julio for insomnia, I listened to the radio at night and wrote poetry - sad and romantic poems about the meaning of life and the purpose of man. One day the young nurse caring for him brought a guitar. Before Julio and never dreamed of becoming a singer.

The hidden talent of Julio Iglesias

Back in Catholic college, the choir director tested the boy’s vocal capabilities and strongly advised me to do anything but singing. And the fifteen-year-old boy happily switched to football. Perhaps after a while another good football player would have appeared in Spain, and we would never have heard the songs, but...

He started singing in the hospital to distract himself and not think about those happy days when he could run and play football. Gradually, the guitar began to be covered with scratched numbers - Julio I learned chords and set my poems to music.

After being discharged from the hospital, he did not continue his studies at the University of Madrid, but entered the University of Murcia. To improve his English, the future singer went to England. On weekends he performed at the Air Port Pub club with songs by then famous artists: Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck and. It was in Cambridge that he met Gwendoline Bollore, a girl who became his close friend and brought him his first musical success. It was to her that he dedicated his famous song “Gwendolyne”.

Hoping to find a singer who would perform his songs, Julio took them to one of the recording studios companies in Madrid and was very surprised when the manager asked why he didn’t want to sing. Julio replied that he was not a singer, but nevertheless agreed to take part in the competition for the best performance of a Spanish song.

And on July 17, 1968, an unknown newcomer won three awards: “For Best Performance,” “For Best Lyrics,” and “For Best Song.” And the winning song bore a very symbolic name for the young singer - “La Vida Sique Igual” (“Life Goes On”). This is how a singer appeared in Spain, completely different from the public idols of the late 1960s. Julio went on stage in a dark suit, white shirt and black tie. He gestured very little while singing, which caused reproaches and even ridicule from journalists. However, the listeners, and especially the listeners, were from Julio excited. His creative career developed upward.

Career of Julio Iglesias

It only took a few years Iglesias to become the No. 1 Spanish singer and by far the most famous Spanish-speaking artist in the world. He starts tours abroad for a long time and performs triumphantly at the most prestigious European venues. Participates in competitions and many other music festivals. His name does not leave the first lines of music charts around the world - from Mexico to Argentina and from Spain to Japan.

He received the first and only Diamond Record prize in the world in 1983 in Paris. He was awarded this award for the largest number of records sold in the world in the largest number of languages. The following year he became one of the few Spanish artists awarded his star on the Hollywood Walk of Stars, and in 1992 the singer was awarded the honorary title of “Great Spaniard” in Florida and “Ambassador of Galicia” in Spain. Iglesias became the first foreigner in the history of China to be awarded the prestigious Golden Record Award.

1997 was marked by receiving the Monaco Music Prize as the best Latin American singer. won't forget Julio and September 8 of the same year. He was presented with the main and most prestigious ASCAP (American Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers) award. In the past, it was received by such famous performers as, and. In addition to this, the establishment of Miami Day was announced.

Awards did not “come” to the artist just like that. Iglesias He is very meticulous in his work - not a single detail escapes his attention. In the recording studio Julio works on every note, every word of the song, and as a result something is born that not only he, but every listener can hear - the sound of a soul trembling with feelings, achieved by iron discipline.

Eternal Lover

Perhaps it's fate Julio Jose Iglesias de la Cueva is one of the most intriguing in history. On stage, he always portrays a passionate lover during songs. Never talks about his real age. You may get the impression that this man changes women quite often. Nevertheless…

On January 20, 1971, Julio married Isabel Preysler in Toledo, Spain. The newlyweds honeymooned in the Greater Canary Islands and later had three children: daughter Chabeli (Shabeli), a younger son, and the famous son Enrique. In 1978, the couple separated and filed for divorce a year later.

Then he became friends with a young and beautiful Danish woman, Miranda (Miranda Joanna Maria Rinisburger, born in 1965. According to other sources, she was a Dutch model.) So, at the age of 63, the singer and his girlfriend had their fifth child together. The boy was named Guillermo in honor of his maternal grandfather. Miranda and Julio, in addition to the newborn Guillermo, have two sons, Miguel Alejandro and Rodrigo, as well as two twin daughters: Victoria and Cristina.

son Enrique

At the age of 57 he became a grandfather. His eldest daughter Chabeli (Shabeli) gave birth to his grandson.

On August 28, 2010, he announced his marriage to Miranda Rijnsburger, with whom he had lived in a civil marriage for the last 20 years. The wedding took place in the city of Marbella in Andalusia. It was attended by only five children aged from three to 13 years old, of whom the couple Iglesias I managed to have one during our life together, and two witnesses.

Julio Iglesias is always “on horseback”

In one of the interviews, when asked why you continue to work so hard? - the famous singer said: “Believe me, I haven’t needed anything for a long time and could easily not perform or record, but as soon as I sit at home for at least a couple of days, I start to go crazy. That’s why I continue to give so many concerts around the world that many young performers may envy me.”

with his wife Miranda and children

As for women, they will always listen, because he incomprehensibly manages to create such an atmosphere in the hall and, what is most surprising, on the discs, that every listener is sure that the romantic Spaniard sings only for her. One music critic wrote: “Musical fashions and tastes often change, but fashion never goes away, and the famous Spaniard, like a good wine, gets better with age.”

This is how a great singer was born in misfortune, who years later received popular love and worldwide fame. “I was not born a singer, I became one,” he likes to repeat Iglesias. The main thing is that the golden voice of Spain is not going to retire.

DATA

Sold more than 300 million of his records and became the most the most commercially successful Spanish-language artist in history. Most songs are recorded in the native Spanish, as well as English and French.

The repertoire includes songs in Italian, Portuguese, Hebrew, German, Neapolitan, Japanese and other languages. For some time he performed with the legendary American singer Diana Ross. Repeatedly participated in the competition and received a Grammy Award. Some of his sons followed in their father's footsteps, the most famous of them being Enrique Iglesias.

In 2007, Meilland introduced the rose variety “Julio Iglesias”, dedicating it to the great.

Updated: April 14, 2019 by: Elena

Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva (this is the singer's full name) was born on September 23, 1943 in Madrid, in the family of a doctor. He graduated from a Catholic college, where the choir director, having tested the boy’s vocal capabilities, strongly advised him to do anything but sing.

And the fifteen-year-old boy gladly switched to football, where success was obvious, and was soon invited to the youth team of the most famous club in the country - Real Madrid. Perhaps, after a while, another good football player would have appeared in Spain, and we would never have heard the songs of Julio Iglesias, but there would have been no happiness, but misfortune helped."
At the age of 19, while a law student at the capital's university, Julio gets into a terrible car accident and spends almost two years semi-paralyzed in a hospital bed. The singer recalled that time like this: “When I realized that I would live, I began to think about how to live further... I missed human warmth and communication, and I began to look for them, writing songs and playing along with myself on the guitar.” .

Having found his feet, Julio, on the advice of friends who liked his soulful songs, decided to try himself on the professional stage and take part in a national competition in the resort town of Benidorm. And immediately a great success! An unknown newcomer won three awards: “For Best Performance”, “For Best Lyrics” and “For Best Song”. And the winning song bore a very symbolic name for the young singer - “La Vida Sique Igual” (“Life Goes On”). This is how a singer appeared in Spain, completely different from the public idols of the late 60s. Julio went on stage in a dark suit, white shirt and black tie. He gestured very little while singing, which caused reproaches and even ridicule from journalists who were accustomed to a more temperamental style of performance. However, the listeners, and especially the female listeners, were delighted with Julio. They liked his pronounced romantic image. His creative career has been developing upward: Iglesias successfully represents Spain at the Eurovision Song Contest, his songs become national hits: “Gwendoline”, “Un Canto A Galicia”...

It only took Iglesias a few years to become Spain's No. 1 singer and by far the most famous Spanish-language artist in the world. He begins to tour abroad for a long time and triumphantly performs at the most prestigious European venues: at the Olympia in Paris, at the Odeon in London.

In 1978, Julio Iglesias decides to move to Miami, where he buys a luxurious villa with several swimming pools, a private pier and two snow-white yachts. Iglesias' albums are beginning to be released in English. He records songs with such superstars as country singer Willie Nelson, Stevie Wonder, the Beach Boys, but his collaboration with Diane Ross was especially successful. Subsequently, Julio Iglesias continued this tradition in his work on the super-successful album "Crazy", where he sang along with Sting, Art Garfunkle and Dolly Parton. And after the patriarch of American pop music, Frank Sinatra, invited Iglesias to sing a duet with him on a disc called “Duets,” the Spaniard achieved his goal and conquered the American Olympus. During his long creative career, Julio Iglesias has released more than 70 discs, the total circulation of which has exceeded 250 million copies, he is the winner of almost all the most prestigious music awards, including the Grammy, and he has millions of listeners all over the world. Iglesias is, by the way, a record holder of the Guinness Book of Records, which awarded him a unique diamond disc as “the musician who has sold the largest number of albums in different languages of the world.”

In terms of the number of concerts he has worked, Julio Iglesias is also not far from the main workaholic of world show business, James Brown. Iglesias performed about 4,600 concerts on five continents of the globe. One music critic wrote: “Musical fashions and tastes often change, but the fashion for Julio Iglesias does not go away, and the famous Spaniard, like good wine, gets better over the years.”

It’s hard to believe, but fate could have turned out that Julio Iglesias would have been known to us for his sporting achievements, and not as a famous singer and composer. A fatal coincidence of circumstances influenced the fact that he became the record holder for the number of studio albums sold worldwide. The geography of his tours covers five continents of planet Earth, and the number of organized concerts breaks all imaginable and unimaginable records: this is more than five thousand performances. As Iglesias himself recalled, after the car accident he felt a lack of communication and a lack of human warmth. Music became the source of their search. It was just entertainment, which over time changed the whole world around the singer.

Biography of Julio Iglesias

It all started when, on September 23, 1943, the famous Spanish gynecologist Julio Iglesias Pugo and his wife Maria del Rosario became happy parents. A son was born into their family, who was named after his father - Julio.

Growing up, the boy became a student at the Sagrados Cosasones school, then entered St. Paul's College. At the age of 16, Julio Iglesias began playing football and showed great promise in this sport. He was considered the most talented player among his peers. He studied at the Real Madrid youth school. From a very early age, Julio had excellent physical shape and stood out compared to the rest of the team, in which he was a striker. His dream was to become a professional football player. After graduating from high school, he became a law student at university and began to consider a career in law.

However, on an autumn night in September 1963, just before his 20th birthday, the fate of Julio Iglesias took a sharp turn. On the way to Madrid, the car in which the young football player and his friends were in was involved in a car accident, after which Julio was partially paralyzed for almost a year and a half. Doctors did not make any positive predictions that he would be able to move independently, much less return to sports.

The only thing that was not damaged and moved were the arms. While in one of the hospitals in Madrid, until recently, a young guy who was almost a hope was left alone. Suffering from insomnia, Julio was entertained only by the radio turned on at night and the process of writing sad and romantic poems, the main themes of which were the meaning of life and the destiny of man. One day, a guitar appeared in Julio’s room, brought by a young nurse who was caring for him. Never before had Julio Iglesias even thought about connecting his life with music and starting to sing.

First steps on a new path

While still in college, Julio Iglesias was encouraged to be anything but a singer. Then he began to devote even more time to sports. Maybe over time there would be one more brilliant football player in Spain, but history doesn’t know

He started playing music while in a hospital bed in order to think less about football. Gradually, Julio learned to play the guitar and write poetry to music.

After leaving the hospital, he leaves the University of Madrid. Improving his English, he went to England, where he sang in clubs, performing compositions by the Beatles and other popular musicians of that time.

While in Cambridge, he meets Gwendoline Bollore, who later became his close friend. It is about her that he is sung in his song “Gwendolyne”, which became his first musical success.

For a long time he has been looking for an artist for his songs. Having taken them to one of the recording studios in Madrid, he receives a surprising offer to sing on his own and for the first time becomes a participant in a music competition for Spanish song performers.

In 1968, the unknown singer Julio Iglesias won three awards: for best song, best lyrics and best performance. The title of the song became symbolic in the fate of the young performer - “La Vida Sique Igual” (“Life Goes On”). He was very different from the idols of the audience of that time, appearing on stage in a black tuxedo with a bow tie and a white shirt. His singing was not accompanied by active gestures; his behavior on stage caused both reproaches and ridicule. But the public was delighted with the new singer who appeared on the stage, and Julio’s musical career took off.

The Rising Star of Julio Iglesias

Within a few years, Julio Iglesias had won the title of the most famous singer in Spain and the most popular Spanish-speaking artist in the world. Long-term foreign tours to the most prestigious European venues begin. Iglesias takes part in many music festivals, including the Eurovision Song Contest, where he takes 4th place, which is a very good result for a novice performer. The music charts of countries around the world are topped by his songs: Mexico, Argentina, Japan, and his native Spain.

The work of Julio Iglesias has received many different awards. In 1983, he received a Diamond Record for the most number of albums sold worldwide. He is also one of the few artists in Spain whose name was unveiled on the Walk of Stars in Hollywood. Julio is the holder of the honorary titles “Ambassador of Galicia” in his homeland, Spain, and “Great Spaniard”. Julio Iglesias is the only foreigner in Chinese history to date to receive the prestigious Golden Record Award. In 1997, he was recognized as the best Latin American singer and received the Monaco Music Prize. Then he became the owner of the main and most prestigious award in his life from the American Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers. Its past laureates included Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra, and Ella Fitzgerald.

However, it should be noted that all awards go to Julio Iglesias with sweat and blood. He is a very meticulous person in everything related to his work, and does not miss a single detail in the process of recording songs. The result of this painstaking work is what all the singer’s fans listen to today: iron discipline gives birth to a melody of the soul, overflowing with a variety of feelings, running like a red thread through each composition.

Family ties of Julio Iglesias

Throughout his creative career, Julio Iglesias creates the image of a passionate heartthrob and lover. He doesn’t like to talk about his age, although he is already 70. Sometimes it seems that such a man has a lot of women. However, his family life is not as stormy as it might seem at first glance.

In 1971, Julio married Isabel Preysler. From this union three children were born: daughter Shabeli (Chabeli), son Julio Iglesias Jr., and Enrique, who later became no less popular and famous than his father. In 1978, Julio separated from Isabel, and an official divorce was later filed.

Then the singer was paired with the Danish Miranda, who was 22 years younger than him. From this union five children were born, who in 2010 attended the wedding of their parents in Andalusia.

At the age of 57, Julio Iglesias became a grandfather. His eldest daughter gave birth to a son, so far the only grandson of the famous singer.

Young in both soul and body

Answering questions about why he continues to work so hard, Iglesias Sr. always says that he is going crazy from idleness, and he needs work like air.

The beautiful half of humanity will always listen to his songs. The reason for this is simple: when Julio Iglesias sings, every woman thinks that he sings only for her, and the whole atmosphere of his concerts creates this feeling. All fans are sure that each of them is the only muse of the romantic Spaniard, and all his songs are dedicated only to her.

Iglesias often talks about the fact that he became a singer, and was not born one. The reason for this is an accident, which later turned out to be the “hand of heaven”, which gave Julio worldwide fame and popular love. The most pleasant thing for the many fans of Iglesias Sr. is that the main Spanish romantic does not plan to leave the stage.

Some interesting facts about Julio Iglesias

Julio Iglesias is the most commercially successful Spanish-language singer of all time. His records have sold a total of more than three hundred million copies. The albums are recorded mainly in three languages: French, English and his native Spanish.

Iglesias Sr.'s repertoire is replete with Italian, German, Neapolitan, Portuguese, Japanese songs, compositions in Hebrew and many other languages. For some time, his stage partner was the legendary Diana Ross. He was a Eurovision participant and a Grammy Award winner.

In 2007, Meilland introduced a variety of roses named “Julio Iglesias” in honor of the famous Spanish singer.

At the age of 19, while a law student at the capital's university, Julio gets into a terrible car accident and spends almost two years semi-paralyzed in a hospital bed. The singer recalled that time like this: “When I realized that I would live, I began to think about how to live further... I missed human warmth and communication, and I began to look for them, writing songs and playing along with myself on the guitar.” .

Julio Iglesias (full name Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva) is a Spanish singer and artist, one of the world's legendary musicians. Thanks to his creative activities and the sale of over 300 million records, he achieved the status of a successful commercial artist in Spain. The biography of the great personality is filled with bright events that arouse extraordinary interest among his fans.

Childhood and youth

Julio was born in Madrid (year of birth - September 23, 1943). The musician's father, Julio Iglesias Puga, was a famous gynecologist in the country, and his mother, Maria del Rosario, was the homemaker of a happy family (housewife). Another boy grew up in the family of the future singer - his younger brother Carlos; the age difference between the children was very small.

According to Iglesias’s childhood dreams and plans, he was supposed to become a diplomat, a lawyer, or build a sports career, because while studying after school at St. Paul’s Catholic College, he became seriously interested in football. From the age of 16, a young and promising young man played for the Real Madrid club as a goalkeeper, he was distinguished by excellent athletic abilities, and high hopes were placed on the guy.

But life decreed otherwise. On September 22, 1963, Julio was in a terrible car accident and lay in a hospital bed for 2 years. The lower limb was crushed, the spine was damaged, there was practically no hope that Julio would walk again. Fortunately, the hands of the would-be football player turned out to be uninjured, therefore, in order to somehow distract the young man, the attending physician allowed him to play the guitar.

Here in the hospital, a young guy discovered a new talent - composing music and songs. At night, suffering from insomnia and body pain, he often listened to the radio and wrote poems on high topics (romanticism, human destiny).

Iglesias did not give up, first he stood on crutches, diligently developed his legs, read a lot of books on neurology and defeated the disease. Now only a minor scar on his face and a slight limp remind him of that terrible period.

After being discharged from the medical institution, Iglesias returned to university, and after graduation he moved to England to study English. He studied in London and Cambridge, returning to Madrid and enrolled in the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, where he received an education in opera (tenor). But even at St. Paul's College, the choir director, having heard the boy's vocal abilities, recommended that he choose any profession in life with the exception of musical activity.

Music

Julio decided to study English deeply for a reason. Friends liked his songs, so they invited the future musician to take part in a national competition, which was to be held in the resort town of Benidorm. To participate, you had to choose an English song.

In England, Julio Jose had the first impromptu concert in his life. The singer accidentally visited the Air Port Pub in the company of friends. There, in the hands of a stranger, he saw a guitar and asked him to perform a song. The Spanish composition “Guantanamero,” which tells the story of the unhappy love of a Cuban girl, was magnificently performed by a young man and shocked the audience present here. On this day, Julio received his first musical fee.

Later, the talented guy began performing in the pub on weekends, performing songs by popular musicians of that time: The Beatles, Engelbert Humperdinck, etc.

In Cambridge, Julio met one person - a French student Gwendoline Bollore. It was she who became his muse and close friend. Julio dedicated a song to her, which became a worldwide hit (“Gwendolyne” - 1970) and brought the singer a future fourth place at Eurovision.

Returning from England to his hometown, the aspiring musician and composer began searching for performers for his songs. Having donated several musical products to one of the Madrid recording studios, Julio soon receives a lucrative offer - to sing on his own and become a participant in a Spanish song competition.

Then, performing a song under the symbolic title “La Vida Sique Igual” (“Life Goes On”), the still unknown singer managed to win three awards simultaneously in the following categories:

"For the best performance."
"For the best text"
"For the best song."

It was a success. After a short period of time, Julio Iglesias worthily represents Spain at Eurovision (1970), participates in long foreign tours, and performs at prestigious European venues.

The talented musician stood out among the idols of those years. Julio always appeared on stage in a black tuxedo, a white shirt with a bow tie, and while singing he actively gesticulated, which aroused both admiration and ridicule among the audience. This manner of behavior was liked by the public, and his career quickly took off.

Within a few years of the Spanish Song Contest, Iglesias had won the title of his country's most famous and successful singer, as well as the most popular Spanish-language artist on the planet.

In 1969, Julio recorded his first disc. The musician’s hard work and unique talent led to the release of more than 80 albums performed by him. Over 300 million Julio Iglesias records have been sold worldwide. He has performed more than 5,000 concerts in various cities around the world, including Moscow.

The musician performed in a duet with the most famous performers of our time: maestro, and other celebrities. The big name of Julio Iglesias is included in the Guinness Book of Records.

Among the singer’s best compositions are: “Amor Amor”, “Besame Mucho”, “Abrazame”, “Baila Morena” and others. Thousands of views of the artist’s music videos on YouTube indicate his constant demand among listeners. It is possible to compare Ilesias’s performance with vocal hypnosis, which has an amazing effect on a person’s psychological state.

Personal life

In 1970, a young but already famous musician met the amazingly beautiful model and journalist Isabel Preysler. After interviewing Julio, the girl received an invitation to his next concert, and already in 1971 their wedding took place. But in 1979 the family broke up. From the first barque, the musician left three children: son Julio Iglesias Jr., daughter Maria Isabel, a famous son, with whom he continued to maintain relations.

The marriage to Isabel turned out to be strange and unsuccessful for various reasons. The famous musician was constantly jealous of his wife, making her a hostage to the “golden cage,” while he himself enjoyed amorous relationships with different women. Soon after the divorce, Julio's children moved to live with him in Miami, because... It was not safe for them to be in Spain. The singer's father, Julio Iglesias Puga, was kidnapped by terrorists who demanded a huge ransom, and his mother decided to send Mario, Julio and Enrique to America.

On the one hand, the children were comfortable here, they did not need anything except the attention of their famous and constantly touring dad.

The second and real marriage of Julio Iglesias was with a girl 22 years younger than him. Miranda Rinisburger is a former model who gave birth to the artist three sons (Rodrigo, Miguel and Alejandro) and twin daughters (Victoria and Christina). Despite her status as a mother of many children, Miranda managed to maintain a beautiful figure, and at the wedding ceremony, which took place after 20 years of marriage, she looked charming. This woman managed to win the heart of a famous performer, who claims that he is ready to live with her until the end of his days. Their love only grows stronger over the years.

Julio Iglesias's age can be called venerable, but the musician continues to write songs, release new albums, and travel around countries on tour. On May 25, 2016, he visited Moscow, performing a solo concert at the Kremlin Palace and presenting his new album “Mexico” to the audience. Julio boldly compared the Russian audience with the Spanish audience, finding similarities in temperament.

The great Spaniard admitted to Russian journalists that he adores and respects women, considers them life teachers and believes in energetic feminine power that can change the world.

Discography

Yo canto - 1969
Gwendolyne - 1970
El amor - 1975
Aimer la vie - 1978
Hey! - 1980
En concierto -1983
Starry Night - 1990
Tango - 1996
Love Songs - 2003
Romantic Classics - 2006
The Collection - 2014
Mexico - 2015