Julio Iglesias is a singer and songwriter. Biography

And the fifteen-year-old boy gladly switched to football, where success was obvious, and was soon invited to the youth... Read all

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 performs triumphantly at the most prestigious European venues: at the Olympia in Paris and 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.”

Julio Iglesias

Julio Iglesias celebrates his birthday today. However, Don Julio is known not only for his hits, but also for his amorous connections. And although Iglesias was officially married only twice, he managed to become related not only to the top officials of the Spanish establishment, but also to Russian sports..

Today it’s hard to believe, but many years ago, when Julio Iglesias was a fledgling youth, his vocal exercises horrified those around him. And Holy Father Anselmo, in whose choir Julio tried to get a job, at the audition did not even let him finish the song: “No, no, no, dear. Singing is clearly not for you. I heard that you play football. Why don't you focus on sports?

Julio followed the shepherd's advice and soon made a fairly successful career. At the age of seventeen, he was already the goalkeeper of the Real Madrid junior team. And if not for the tragedy, Iglesias would have been a famous football player.

... When rescuers arrived at the scene of the accident, a terrible sight met their eyes. The bright red Renault Dauphine lay upside down at the bottom of a steep ravine. The driver who remained conscious—that was Julio—said that he lost control while weaving along the serpentine road. His car rammed a concrete barrier and fell off a cliff. Despite the deadly turn, all the passengers of the Renault - and two of his comrades were sitting in the cabin with Julio - were not seriously injured. Iglesias generally escaped with a few scratches.

Thanking fate, Julio continued training until... he began to be bothered by back pain. The examination showed that after the accident a tumor began to develop in the spinal cord. And if you do not remove it, the consequences can be severe.

The operation lasted eight hours. The tumor was removed, but Julio, who came to his senses after anesthesia, discovered that he could not feel his legs. The doctors then honestly said: there was practically no chance that he would ever be able to walk on his own - at best, one in a thousand.

Biographers of Iglesias give two versions of the awakening of his vocal talents. According to the first, an orderly at the hospital where poor Julio was lying, just for fun, brought a guitar into the patient’s room - they say, let the guy have fun, maybe even strumming the strings can bring him to his senses? According to other information, Julio himself asked to bring him the instrument so that those around him would not hear his sobs. One way or another, the former football player soon learned to play his favorite Spanish instrument quite well. During the day he wrote songs, and at night - so that no one could see him - he crawled around the ward, trying to feel his legs.

It took him three years to recover. But Julio Iglesias emerged from this tragedy as an established artist - with his own repertoire and virtuoso mastery of the instrument.

Now it’s difficult to say what exactly he did that captivated millions of fans from all over the world. Unlike his colleagues, Iglesias always went on stage in a formal suit and white shirt, not allowing himself any free steps. Apparently, he put all his passion into the song.

And women felt this passion. They say that his fans staged an unspoken competition: who would be more successful in outwitting Don Julio. It was necessary to remain unnoticed as long as possible, hiding in his room. However, Iglesias still discovered the next uninvited guest and... stayed with her all night.

This is probably why he used all his seductive charms when he met a strange beauty at the next party. The girl with chocolate skin and slanted eyes, when they were introduced, smiled sweetly and - nothing more. Don Julio didn’t even notice the interest in her gaze—just polite participation. Later, when Isabel became his legal wife, he admitted: “I fell in love with her not for her beauty, but for her virtue.”

In fact, everything was explained simply. Beautiful Isabel Preysler was born and raised in Manila, Philippines. She came to Madrid to improve her Spanish. It’s clear that the nineteen-year-old shy girl didn’t even know that her new acquaintance was a star of the first magnitude.

Just seven months after their first meeting, Julio and Isabel got married. They had a strange marriage. Julio continued to frantically seduce one beauty after another, adding to his Don Juan list every night. And Isabella found herself locked in the “golden castle” - don Juan was very jealous of his young wife, forbidding her to even look towards the stronger sex. However, she didn’t complain. And when well-wishers tried to tell her about the love affairs of her famous husband, she instantly stopped such conversations: she sincerely believed that a man who adheres to such strictness in relation to his own wife is not capable of betrayal. The truth was revealed later, when the family already had children - the eldest daughter Maria Chabeli Isabel, and sons Julio Jose and Enrique Miguel.

“I’m tired of Julio’s endless betrayals,” the offended Isabel complained to her friends. After her divorce from Julio, she married twice more. Isabel gave the Marquis de Grinon a daughter, Tamara, and in her marriage to the Minister of Finance, Miguel Boyer, she had a daughter, Anna.

Beautiful Filipina

However, the beautiful Filipina had to wait a long time for an official divorce from Iglesias. Their marriage was sanctified by the church, so after the breakup they continued to be considered husband and wife for many years. Even when Iglesias moved to America, he still remained a married man. Therefore, if you look at the situation from the point of view of lawyers, Isabel did not lie to her children one bit when, when asked where dad was, she answered: “He is on tour. And soon you will meet him."

And soon the children really moved to their dad in Miami. But this was preceded by sad events. Julio Iglesias's father - a successful gynecologist, member of the Academy of Medicine, Julio Iglesias Puga - was kidnapped by Basque terrorists, demanding a crazy ransom. The old man was returned home safe and sound without paying a penny. However, Isabel could not find a place for herself: it seemed to her that in Spain her children were not at all protected. So she reluctantly decided to send Mario, Julio and Enrique to America.

On the one hand, they began a new life - limousines, a luxurious mansion, servants, private expensive schools. On the other hand, the whole trio felt absolutely lost: their famous father continued touring the world, almost never being at home.

Later, Enrique Iglesias, who became no less popular than his father, recalled that sometimes he cried at night from melancholy and loneliness. And it was for this reason that he began to write songs - in them he tried to throw out everything that had accumulated in his soul. Who knows: if Iglesias Sr. had been more attentive to his children, Iglesias Jr. would not be on stage now.

And not so long ago, another singer appeared in this star clan. Enrique's older brother, Julio Jose, who initially tried himself as an actor and fashion model, also turned his attention to the stage. He has not yet won the laurels of his relatives, but he firmly intends to conquer the pop Olympus.

Role model

For a long time, Julio Iglesias enjoyed his bachelor freedom. He continued to collect women's hearts, but none of his fleeting passions managed to stay with him for more than a month or two. Until the restless rake was finally captivated by a fashion model and fashion model from Venezuela, Virginia Siple. She lived with Julio for five whole years. True, she could not persuade him to formalize the relationship. Julio was afraid that after the wedding, Virginia would immediately demand marital fidelity - and there were so many beautiful ladies in the world whom he had not yet managed to conquer.

In short, years later, Virginia, desperate to curb Julio’s obstinate temper, packed up her things and left for home. And soon her place was taken by another fashion model - the Dutch beauty Miranda Rinsburger. It is believed that it was she who completely re-educated Julio Iglesias. Not only did he himself beg Miranda to accept his offer to become his wife (and she refused for a long time), but Iglesias also stopped his amorous adventures and turned into an exemplary father. In his marriage to Miranda, he had four children: two sons - Miguel and Rodrigo, and twins Victoria and Cristina. By the way, the girls were born almost at the same time as the first grandson Julio. In 2001, his eldest daughter Chabila, who worked on American television, gave birth to a son. True, Julio Iglesias, who repeated in all interviews how he dreams of becoming a grandfather, was not present at the birth. He saw his grandson a few weeks after his birth.

Son Enrique

Enrique Iglesias, the youngest son of Julio and Isabel, turned out to be not only just as talented, but also no less loving than his father. He had affairs with Christina Aguilera and Jeri Halliwell, models Samantha Torres and Elizabeth Shannon. There were even rumors that Enrique “lassoed” Whitney Houston herself. However, unlike his father (Iglesias Sr. once told the public that at least three thousand women had been in his bed), Enrique turned out to be much more secretive. He persistently convinced journalists that he had exclusively friendly relations with all of the above-mentioned ladies. And once he completely shocked his fans (and, of course, first of all, female fans) by declaring that in fact he was a virgin. That didn’t stop him from passionately kissing Aguilera without hiding from the cameras, attending concerts in an embrace with Halliwell, and later walking him down the aisle. By the way, even in relations with Kournikova, about which entire volumes of social reports have been written, there are still blank spots. The couple does not reveal to the public whether the wedding in the Caribbean, which all the newspapers wrote about at one time, actually took place. And only Iglesias Sr. never tires of repeating in interviews how pleased he is with his Russian daughter-in-law and how impatiently he awaits the birth of his grandchildren.

By the way, despite her young age, even before meeting Enrique, Anna Kournikova managed to be married. For just a few months she bore the proud title of Miss Fedorova - her husband was Russian hockey player, scorer of the Detroit Red Wings team Sergei Fedorov. Then there were persistent rumors that Kournikova was getting married to another Russian hockey player, Pavel Bure. However, Enrique appeared on the horizon... So the Russian star became related to the Spanish star. Therefore, we in Russia are watching the successes of the entire Iglesias clan with redoubled attention.

Xia is a singer who is 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”...

His collaboration with Diane Ross was 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.”