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 footballer 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”). So it appeared in Spain

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”...

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 especially

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.”

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 held 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 with age.”

Singer and composer Julio Iglesias is one of the most famous Spanish-language pop artists. During his period of greatest popularity, he gave concerts at the largest stage venues in the world: on the stage of London's Odeon Theater, at the Olympia Concert Hall in France and at New York's Madison Square Garden. More than fifty albums were released under the Julio Iglesias brand. The total number of concerts of the singer exceeds four and a half thousand. Several times the Spanish artist came on tour to Russia, where a warm welcome always awaited him.

Biography of Julio Iglesias

Julio Iglesias grew up in the Spanish capital. He was the eldest son in the family of a famous doctor throughout Madrid. On his mother's side, his family traced its history back to a noble Spanish family. Iglesias' father specialized in gynecology and had a thriving practice. The younger brother Carlos also planned to study medicine following the example of his father, and Julio himself planned to become a lawyer. He liked music since childhood, but in the Catholic college choir he was advised never to take up singing, which he later often recalled with irony. He spent a lot of time on the football field and at the age of sixteen he joined the youth team of the Real Madrid club. The coaches predicted a brilliant sports future for the young man as a goalkeeper.

After college, Iglesias entered the law department of the University of Madrid. He would have become a lawyer if he had not been involved in a car accident that completely changed his life. A 20-year-old student got into an accident in the company of three friends when he was driving them to Madrid late in the evening after a trip out of town and lost control. His friends escaped with scratches, but Julio seriously injured his leg and spine. He spent the next year and a half in bed. The diagnosis was disappointing - a spinal cyst. The eight-hour operation did not bring any improvement. Doctors were inclined to think that he would never be able to walk. The nurse who cared for him one day brought a guitar so that he would not succumb to depression and could play music. Deprived of the ability to walk, the young man learned to play and began composing songs. Doctors did not give favorable prognosis for recovery, but Iglesias managed to defeat the disease. This was not a miracle; Julio was constantly working out his failing muscles and joints, and when he was able to move, he spent 12 hours on crutches. Character and perseverance helped him recover. In the future, the consequences of the accident reminded of themselves only with a slight limp and scars on the cheek.

In 1963, Julio left for the UK, where he studied English at a language school in Cambridge. At the same time, he began performing in local bars, performing his songs, hits of the Beatles and other popular groups of the 60s for visitors. In Cambridge, he met a student from France, Gwendoline Bollore, and began dating her. The song "Gwendolyne", which he composed especially for her, a few years later brought the singer 4th place at the Eurovision Song Contest.

In 1967, Iglesias returned to his first year of university, where he planned to obtain a law degree at the insistence of his father. A year later, he won three categories at the Benidorm Song Festival with the composition "La Vida Sigue Igual", composed during his illness. Immediately after this, he was offered a contract with Columbia Records, and Iglesias switched to a musical career. In Madrid he graduated from an opera school in vocal class. His father was skeptical about his idea of ​​becoming a singer, but helped him record his first record and supported him financially at first.

On the stage of the 60s, Julio differed from professional Spanish artists in his formal suits and modest manner of performance. In 1970 he represented Spain at Eurovision. He did not make it to the finals of the competition, but this performance increased the number of his fans around the world. The singer began touring with concerts throughout Europe, performing songs in Spanish and other European languages.

Over the many years of his creative career, Julio Iglesias has released more than fifty solo albums and given a huge number of concerts in Europe, America and Asia. He collaborated with famous pop and opera singers Frank Sinatra, Placido Domingo, Paul Anka, Manolo Escobar and Willie Nelson.

In 1983, his name was included in the Guinness Book of Records for the record number of sold music discs released in different languages.

Famous men who became fathers after 50 years

Personal life of Julio Iglesias

In 1970, during an interview, Iglesias met journalist Isabel Preysler. The singer invited her to his concert immediately after the end of the conversation, and a few months later he asked her to marry him. They were together for seven years until Isabel asked for a divorce. In this marriage, the singer had three children: Maria Isabel, Julio Jr. and Enrique. Both sons, following the example of their father, studied music and singing. Enrique later became a famous pop singer.

Iglesias was given five more children by the former Dutch model Miranda Rijnsburger, with whom he lived in a civil marriage for twenty years. Their youngest son, Guillermo, was born when his illustrious father turned 63 years old. By this time, Iglesias had already become a grandfather: his daughter from a previous marriage, Maria, gave birth to a son.

Latest news about Julio Iglesias

In 2008, during a tour in Yekaterinburg, the 65-year-old singer suffered a heart attack, due to which he had to cancel the performance. Two days later he returned to the stage and performed a two-hour concert.

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 footballer 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 held 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 was born into a family of a doctor and a housewife. As a child, the future singer dreamed of becoming a diplomat or lawyer. After graduating from school, he entered St. Paul's Catholic College and, becoming interested in football, dreamed of building a sports career.

Grade

Profession: singer
Date of birth: September 23, 1943
Height and weight: 178 cm. 85 kg.
Place of birth: Madrid, Spain
Best works: Und das Meer singt sein Lied
Awards: Grammy
Social networks: Facebook , Twitter

At the age of fifteen, he became a reserve goalkeeper for Real Madrid's youth team. After college, Iglesias planned to continue his career as a football player, but his plans were thwarted by a car accident, due to which he was hospitalized for three whole years, during which he was almost completely paralyzed.

During this period of helplessness, he picked up a guitar for the first time, and after much practice, he masterfully mastered the instrument. While still in the hospital, he wrote his first song called "Life Goes On."

Having found his feet, Iglesias graduated from university and went to England to study English. At first he studied in London, then in Cambridge at the Bell Educational Language School. And after that he entered the opera school Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, from which he graduated in opera (tenor).

The aspiring performer immediately managed to win three awards in the categories: “For Best Performance”, “For Best Lyrics” and “For Best Song”. He then successfully represented Spain at the Eurovision Song Contest and his songs Gwendoline and Un Canto A Galicia quickly became hits.

Over time, Iglesias becomes not only the best singer in Spain, but also gains popularity around the world, performing at the best European venues: at the Olympia in Paris and at the Odeon in London.

In 1978, Julio Iglesias moved to Miami and began releasing songs in English. The famous Spaniard also recorded duets with stars: Willie Nelson, Stevie Wonder, the Beach Boys, Diana Ross, Sting, Art Garfunkle, Dolly Parton and the legendary Frank Sinatra.

During his career, Iglesias Sr. released more than 70 discs, the total circulation of which exceeded 250 million copies. In addition, he is the proud owner of almost all the most prestigious music awards, including Grammy.

Personal life

Married twice. From his first marriage to Isabel Preysler, the singer has three children: daughter Maria Isabel, son Julio Iglesias Jr., and the famous son Enrique.

In 2010, the famous singer married his girlfriend and mother of his five children, with whom he lived in a civil marriage for about 20 years, model Miranda Reinsburger.

Miranda and Julio have three sons, Guillermo, Miguel Alejandro and Rodrigo, and two twin daughters: Victoria and Cristina. At the age of 57, Julio Iglesias became a grandfather; his eldest daughter Maria gave birth to his grandson.

Interesting facts

Julio Caracas, a character from the Canadian humorous animated series "Nut Heads", is a parody of Julio Iglesias, and his hit "When I Saw You" is a cover version of Iglesias' hit Begin the Beguine

Julio Iglesias was a football goalkeeper in his youth and played for Real Madrid.

The lyrics of his songs use 12 languages: Spanish, English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Hebrew, German, Neapolitan, Catalan, Galician, Japanese and Tagalog

Sold about 300 million records of his songs

During his career, he sang in tandem with the greatest performers of his time: Diana Ross, Frank Sinatra, Paul Anka, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Dalida and many others

Discography

1969 - Yo Canto

1970 - Gwendolyne

1972 - Un canto a Galicia

1972 - Por una mujer

1973 - Und das Meer singt sein Lied

1974 - A flower de piel

1975 - A Mexico

1976 - America

1976 - En el Olympia

1976 - Se mi lasci, non vale

1976 - Schenk mir deine Liebe

1977 - A mis 33 años

1978 - Sono un pirata, sono un signore

1978 - Emociones

1978 - Aimer La Vie

1979- Innamorarsi alla mia età

1979 - A vous les femmes

1980 - Sentimental

1981 - De niña a mujer

1981 - Zartlichkeiten

1981 - Minhas canções preferidas

The future famous singer was born in Madrid. His father was a gynecologist, his mother was a housewife. The family lived in a dilapidated house, which has not survived to this day. Julio was the eldest child, his younger brother was named Carlos. Three years later, the family changed their address, moving to Benito Gutierrez Street. Iglesias lived there until his wedding.

Since childhood, the boy was a wonderful athlete, standing out among his peers, and always strived to be the center of attention. The family lived calmly and happily. Carlos wanted to become a doctor like his father, while Julio dreamed of becoming a diplomat or a famous lawyer. His hobby was music.

After graduating from school, the boy entered a Catholic college, where the choir director advised Julio never to sing due to his complete lack of ability. The young man switched to sports, became interested in football and achieved good results. Already at the age of fifteen, he became a reserve goalkeeper for the youth team of Real Madrid.

Nineteen-year-old student Iglesias, who was studying at the University to become a lawyer, drove the latest Renault Dauphine model and already saw himself as the famous goalkeeper of Real Madrid. However, everything in his life changed dramatically. A year later, he lost control and had an accident, injuring his spine, crushing his leg and damaging the left side of his face.

He was given first aid and sent home. Several months passed, and the young man stopped getting out of bed, his back hurt badly, and his legs were paralyzed. Doctors diagnosed a spinal cyst. The operation was unsuccessful, sensation did not return to his legs, and Julio spent a year and a half in bed. Doctors advised me to get used to the wheelchair.

But Iglesias had other goals in life, and he decided to fight: at night, when no one was looking, he crawled around the room, trying to overcome the pain. After a while, Julio was able to stand on crutches and began to develop his legs. To better understand the processes occurring during his illness, he read many books on neurology. So the will was able to overcome a serious illness. All that reminds me of that terrible accident is a small scar on his face and a slight limp.

According to Iglesias, it was the hospital that made him a singer. Due to worries, inactivity and insomnia, his musical talent began to manifest itself: he studied the guitar and wrote poetry. All this was for fun; becoming a singer was out of the question at that time. Music turned his world upside down. It was in the hospital that he composed his first song, “Life Goes On.”

Natalie. Julio Iglesias

When Julio was 23 years old, he had completely recovered and decided to complete his studies. The father sent his son to England, where he was able to improve his English and study at Ramsgate, and then at Cambridge.

Once, in a beer bar at Cambridge airport, where Julio was relaxing with friends, he asked one of the visitors for a guitar and sang the song “Guantanamero,” which tells the story of the unhappy love of a Cuban girl. Unexpectedly for Iglesias himself, everyone present listened to him attentively in complete silence, and then there was applause, which became his first “fee.”

The beginning of the career of Julio Iglesias: first songs and great success

In the bar where the future famous singer first performed a song with a guitar, he began performing periodically, singing songs by the Beatles, Tom Jones, and Humperdinck. Julio soon met a French student named Gwendoline Bellor, who became both his friend and his musical success. It was to her that he dedicated the song, with which he took fourth place at Eurovision. This success immediately made him famous throughout the world.

In 1967, Julio decided to get a law degree; to do this, he re-entered the University as a first-year student, but thoughts about a possible career as a singer and musician did not leave him. A year later he became a participant in the Spanish Song Festival and won it brilliantly. After this, Columbia Records signed him to a contract. This is how an unusual Spanish singer, unlike anyone else, appeared. His hypnotic, enchanting voice immediately became recognizable.

Julio Iglesias - Nostalgie It was clear that he would not be a lawyer. The father helped his son release his first record. He put a lot of work into developing his career, and soon many of his songs became national hits. Several years passed, and Iglesias was already considered the first singer of Spain. He toured a lot abroad, performing songs in different languages, and conquered Europe.

The result of his creative career was the release of more than seventy discs, the receipt of many prestigious awards and music awards, the singer performed about 4,600 concerts all over the planet. It is still in fashion today.

Personal life of Julio Iglesias

Iglesias has eight children: three from his first marriage and five from his second. He married his second wife after twenty years of living in a civil marriage; all five of their children were present at the ceremony. When the singer was fifty-seven years old, he became a grandfather; his daughter Maria gave birth to a grandson for the famous grandfather. The most famous descendant and continuer of the profession was Enrique Iglesias.

When asked if Iglesias was going to retire, he replied that he would perform as long as he lived. Just as real warriors die in battle, he wants to "die on stage." The singer plans to live more than a hundred years.