Julio Iglesias is a renowned Spanish singer, best known internationally for his hit duet "To All the Girls I've Loved Before" with Willie Nelson. Over the course of his career, he has become one of the best-selling Latin music artists in history.
Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva was born on September 23, 1943, in Madrid, Spain. He grew up in a middle-to-upper-class neighborhood, with access to a well-rounded education and cultural upbringing. After finishing secondary school, he pursued a law degree at his father's encouragement. Simultaneously, Iglesias played as a goalkeeper for the Real Madrid Castilla football team, the reserve squad of the prestigious Real Madrid Club de Fútbol.
His dreams of a professional sports career were cut short in his early twenties after a car accident in 1962 left him with a spinal injury that caused temporary paralysis. During his recovery, he began writing poetry and later transitioned into songwriting, marking a pivotal turning point in his life.
Following his recovery, Iglesias moved to the United Kingdom to study English. During this period, he composed his first significant song, "La vida sigue igual" ("Life Goes On As Usual"). He performed the piece at the 1968 Benidorm International Song Festival, where he won first prize. This success launched his musical career in Spain.
His debut album, Yo Canto, was released in 1969 and became a commercial success. Iglesias quickly rose to fame in Spanish-speaking countries before expanding internationally, recording albums in multiple languages including English, French, Italian, Portuguese, and German. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, he became one of the most recognized and successful Latin artists globally. By the late 20th century, his album sales had surpassed 100 million copies worldwide, establishing his net worth at hundreds of millions of dollars.
In 2010, Julio Iglesias married Dutch model Miranda Rijnsburger, his longtime partner of nearly two decades. The ceremony took place at the Virgen del Carmen church in Marbella, Spain, and was attended by their five children and two witnesses. Before this marriage, Iglesias was married to Filipino-Spanish journalist and socialite Isabel Preysler. Together, they had three children, including globally recognized singer Enrique Iglesias.
In a controversial legal case, a Spanish court ruled in July 2019 that Julio Iglesias is the biological father of Javier Sánchez Santos, based on compelling circumstantial evidence. Santos's mother, former dancer María Edite, claimed she had a brief relationship with Iglesias in 1975 while he was vacationing in Sant Feliu de Guíxols on the Costa Brava. Although Iglesias refused to undergo a DNA test, the court used DNA evidence obtained indirectly and historical testimonies to support the ruling. Despite the initial case being dismissed in the early 1990s, renewed legal efforts led to the eventual verdict by a Valencia judge.
| Birth Date: | 23 Sep, 1943 |
| Age: | 77 yrs |
| Citizenship: | Spain |
| Birth Place: | Madrid |
| Education: | Complutense University of Madrid |
| Gender: | Male |
| Description: | Spanish recording artist; singer-songwriter |
| Spouse: | Isabel Preysler[1971-1978] Miranda Rynsburger [M. 2010] |
| Net Worth 2021: | 600 million |
