Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler was born on May 8, 1975 in Madrid, Spain, the third child of famous singer Julio Iglesias and Isabel Preysler. Iglesias is a world-famous Spanish pop music singer-songwriter and occasional model. Iglesias grew up in Miami, Florida, where his father was pursuing his music career, and Enrique studied business at the University of Miami before dropping out to pursue his own dream of stardom.
Iglesias started his career in Mexico, where he eventually signed with label Fonovisa. Not wanting a free ride on his father’s celebrity, Iglesias shopped around his demo as Enrique Martinez, his own music earned him a contract with Fonovisa. His 1995 debut album, which he released under his own name, Enrique Iglesias, turned him into one of the most popular artists in Latin America and in the Latino market in the United States. At that time, Enrique sold more Spanish language albums than any other artist, with the record selling half a million copies in its first week and earning him a Grammy for Best Latin Pop Performance.
Iglesias continued to rise as a star following the release of Vivir (1997) and Cosas del Amor (1998), singing to sold-out stadiums in the largest tour for a non-English speaking act at that time. In 1999 and 2000, Enrique planned a successful crossover effort into the English language pop market, and signed a multi-album deal with Universal Music for an unprecedented $48,000,000. The deal outlined that Universal Music Latino would release his Spanish albums, and Interscope would release his English albums. Iglesias has sold more than 58 million albums across the world and holds the record for producing 21 #1 Spanish-language singles on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks.
Beyond his musical accomplishments, Iglesias has become a target of the American media and paparazzi for his highly publicized relaitionship with tennis star Anna Kournikova. His real-life love interest Kournikova has also appeared as his on-screen love interest in Iglesias’s music video for his song, “Escape.”