Enrique Iglesias Artistfacts

May 8, 1975
His father is the very popular Spanish singer Julio Iglesias. His parents split when he was 3, and when he was 8 he moved from Madrid to Miami, where he lived with his dad but was raised mostly by his nanny. He credits the diversity of musical influences in Miami for providing a foundation for his music.
By the time he launched his music career, Enrique was estranged from his famous father and wanted to make sure he was signed on his own merits, so he sent out demo tapes using the name "Enrique Martinez." It worked, landing him a deal with the Latin label Fonovisa, where he released three popular Spanish albums before signing with Interscope in 1999 and releasing his first English-language album, Enrique, which includes the hits "Bailamos" and "Be With You." A few years later, he re-established contact with his dad.
Iglesias has been in a committed relationship with the tennis star Anna Kournikova since 2002 - they started dating after she played his love interest in his video for "Escape." They had twins, Nicholas and Lucy, in 2017, daughter Mary in 2019, and son Romeo in 2025. They keep their personal life out of the press, but Kournikova sometimes posts news and photos of their family on social media.
After four Spanish and four English albums, Enrique Iglesias released his ninth album, Euphoria (2010), as bilingual, containing seven songs in English and six in Spanish. The album includes guest appearances by Akon, Nicole Scherzinger, Pitbull and others.
He has a pilot's license. He started taking pilot lessons in 2002 to get over his fear of flying.
His eighth #1 on the Billboard Dance Chart "Tonight (I'm Lovin' You)" made Enrique Iglesias the artist with most number-one songs among solo male artists in the chart's history, surpassing Michael Jackson and Prince. Iglesias also held the marks for most #1s in the histories of Billboard's Latin Songs (21) and Latin Pop Songs (17) surveys.
He studied business at the University of Miami for a year before dropping out to pursue music.
His debut single on the English-language scene, "Bailamos," was used in the soundtrack to the movie Wild Wild West. Will Smith, who starred in the film, asked Enrique Iglesias to contribute to the soundtrack after attending one of his concerts. Smith told MTV news: "You've just never heard this kind of sustained screaming... It was almost like people were coming there specifically to scream. And like the girls were taking turns going 'Yeah!' And when [one girl's] getting ready to stop, she points to her girlfriend to take over. It was like, damn, just hours of sustained screaming. I was like, I want this guy on the soundtrack."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

More Songfacts:

Piano ManBilly Joel

"Piano Man" was inspired by Billy Joel's time playing at a piano bar in Los Angeles. The "real estate novelist" was a guy who always talked about writing a book, but spent all his spare time in the bar.

Let It GoIdina Menzel

The Frozen song "Let It Go" was recorded in 42 different languages for the movie's foreign releases. This earned it an entry in the 2016 Guinness World Records publication for "Most Languages Featured on a Single."

A Little Less ConversationElvis Presley

Elvis Presley's "A Little Less Conversation" was just a minor hit when it was released in 1968, but a 2002 remix made the song a global smash, taking it to #1 in a number of countries, including Australia and the UK.

FireJimi Hendrix

Thirty years after Jimi Hendrix played "Fire" at Woodstock, Red Hot Chili Peppers played it at Woodstock '99, but this time the unruly crowd actually set fires and looted.

Free BirdLynyrd Skynyrd

The opening lines to "Free Bird," "If I leave here tomorrow, would you still remember me?" came from the girlfriend of Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Allen Collins, who asked him that question during an argument.