Enrique Iglesias

Early life

Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler was born in Madrid on 8 May 1975, the third and youngest child of singer Julio Iglesias and socialite and magazine journalist Isabel Preysler. He has two older siblings, Chábeli and Julio Jr. One of his mother's aunts is actress Neile Adams, the first wife of American actor Steve McQueen. His father's family comes from Galicia and Andalusia, and his father claims some Jewish ancestry on his mother's side. Iglesias later learned he was born with situs inversus, a rare congenital condition where major organs like the heart are situated on the opposite side of the body.

In December 1981, his grandfather Dr. Julio Iglesias Puga was kidnapped by the armed Basque group ETA. For their safety, Enrique and his brother Julio were sent to live with their father in Miami, where they were raised mostly by their nanny, Elvira Olivares. He attended Gulliver Preparatory School, a private high school in Miami, and later studied business at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida, but dropped out after a year to pursue a recording career.

Music career

Iglesias kept his music plans secret from his father and borrowed money from his family's nanny to record a demo cassette tape with one Spanish and two English songs. He and his father's former publicist, Fernán Martínez, promoted the songs under the stage name Enrique Martínez, claiming he was a singer from Guatemala. Mexican label Fonovisa signed him, and he temporarily moved to Canada to record his first album. Released on 21 November 1995, Enrique Iglesias was a collection of light rock ballads including hits like "Si Tú Te Vas" and "Experiencia Religiosa."

The album sold half a million copies in its first week, a rare accomplishment for a non-English album, and went Platinum in the United States. His song "Por Amarte" was included in Televisa's telenovela Marisol with edited lyrics. The album also had Italian and Portuguese editions. Five singles from the album topped several of Billboard's Latin music charts, and the album still holds the record for most number-one singles on the Hot Latin Songs chart.

It won Iglesias the Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Performance. In 1997, Vivir was released, including a cover of the Yazoo song "Only You" translated as "Solo en Ti." Three singles from Vivir topped the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart. Iglesias was nominated for an American Music Award in the first-ever Favorite Latin Artist category but lost to his father.

1997–1998: Vivir and Cosas del Amor

His first concert tour played to sold-out audiences in sixteen countries, including three consecutive nights in Mexico City's Plaza de Toros and two nights at the Estadio Ciudad de La Plata in Argentina with over 50,000 attendees each. In 1998, he released Cosas del Amor, aided by the popular singles "Esperanza" and "Nunca Te Olvidaré," both of which topped the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart. The Cosas del Amor Tour was the first ever concert tour sponsored by McDonald's. He won the American Music Award for Favorite Latin Artist a second time, beating Ricky Martin and Chayanne.

1999–2007: English market success

In 1999, Iglesias contributed "Bailamos" to the soundtrack of the movie Wild Wild West, and it became an international hit, peaking at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100. Following this success, he signed a multi-album deal with Interscope Records and released his first full English album, Enrique, which featured the popular song "Rhythm Divine" and a duet with Whitney Houston titled "Could I."

Songwriting, producing, and acting

Iglesias starred in the Robert Rodriguez film Once Upon a Time in Mexico alongside Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, and Johnny Depp. He had a guest appearance on the TV comedy Two and a Half Men and guest-starred as Gael on How I Met Your Mother. He also played an evil Roman emperor in a Pepsi ad and appeared in commercials for Tommy Hilfiger, Doritos, and Viceroy watches.

Philanthropy

In 2010, Iglesias took part in the Download to Donate project, a Music for Relief initiative founded by Linkin Park. He worked alongside Mike Shinoda to co-produce a charity album benefiting Haiti earthquake relief, and the pair discussed the effort on Larry King Live. Three years later, he called on his fans to contribute to the American Red Cross for those affected by Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. In 2015, he teamed up with Save the Children on a T-shirt campaign featuring a heart design inspired by a bloodstained shirt he wore after a drone accident during a Tijuana concert.

Proceeds, roughly $11 to $12 per shirt, supported the organization’s Children’s Emergency Fund or HEART program in Mexico. Over the years, he has also backed City of Hope, Habitat for Humanity, Help for Heroes, Live Earth, the Muscular Dystrophy Association, Special Olympics, The Salvation Army, Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, and hunger relief efforts.