Gloria Estefan

"Estefan" redirects here. For other people, see Estefan (surname).
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Fajardo and the second or maternal family name is García.

Gloria Estefan
Estefan in 2017
Estefan in 2017
Background information
Birth nameGloria María Milagrosa Fajardo García
Born (1957-09-01) September 1, 1957 (age 67)
Havana, Cuba[1]
OriginMiami, Florida, U.S.
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • actress
  • author
  • businesswoman
Years active1975–present
Labels
Formerly ofMiami Sound Machine
Spouse
​
(m. 1978)​
Children2, including Emily

Gloria María Milagrosa Estefan (née Fajardo García; born September 1, 1957) (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈɡloɾja esˈtefan]) is a Cuban-American singer, actress, and businesswoman. Estefan is an eight-time Grammy Award winner, a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, and has been named one of the Top 100 greatest artists of all time by both VH1 and Billboard.[2] Estefan's record sales exceed 100 million worldwide, making her one of the best-selling female singers of all time.[3][4] Many of Estefan's songs became international chart-topping hits, including "1-2-3", "Don't Wanna Lose You", "Coming Out of the Dark", "Turn the Beat Around", and "Heaven's What I Feel". Other hits include "Bad Boy", "Rhythm Is Gonna Get You", "Get On Your Feet", and "You'll Be Mine (Party Time)".

A contralto, Estefan started[5] her career as lead singer of Miami Latin Boys, which was later renamed Miami Sound Machine. She and Miami Sound Machine earned worldwide success with their 1985 single "Conga", which became Estefan's signature song and led to Miami Sound Machine winning the 15th annual Tokyo Music Festival's grand prix in 1986. In 1988, she and Miami Sound Machine achieved their first number-one hit with "Anything for You".

In March 1990, Estefan sustained a life-threatening cervical fracture of her spine when her tour bus was involved in a serious crash near Scranton, Pennsylvania. She underwent an emergency surgical stabilization of her cervical spine and post-surgical rehabilitation that lasted almost a year, but made a full recovery. A year later, in March 1991, Estefan launched her comeback with a worldwide tour and album, Into the Light.

Estefan's 1993 Spanish-language album, Mi Tierra, won the first of her three Grammy Awards for Best Tropical Latin Album.[6] The album was also the first Diamond album in Spain. Estefan has been awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Las Vegas Walk of Fame and was a Kennedy Center Honors recipient in 2017 for her contributions to American cultural life. Estefan won an MTV Video Music Award, was honored with the American Music Award for Lifetime Achievement, and has been named BMI Songwriter of the Year. She was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and has received multiple Billboard Music Awards. She is also a recipient of the 2015 Presidential Medal of Freedom.[7]

Billboard has listed Estefan as the third-most successful Latina and 23rd-greatest Latin Artist of all time in the U.S., based on both Latin albums and Latin songs chart.[8] Hailed as the "Queen of Latin Pop" by the media,[9] she has amassed 38 number one hits across Billboard charts, including 15 chart-topping songs on the Hot Latin Songs chart.[10][8]

  1. ^ "Gloria Estefan – AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  2. ^ "Gloria Estefan" at Kennedy Center 50
  3. ^ Novak, Analisa (January 18, 2023). "Gloria Estefan on becoming the first Hispanic woman to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame: "Every song comes differently"". CBS News. Archived from the original on January 18, 2023. Retrieved August 4, 2024.
  4. ^ Ratner-Arias, Sigal (June 12, 2023). "20 Questions With Gloria Estefan Ahead of Her Induction to the Songwriters Hall of Fame". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 12, 2023. Retrieved August 4, 2024.
  5. ^ "Gloria Estefan, Jennifer Lopez, and Shakira are among the top 25 richest Latina singers". HOLA. May 2, 2022. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  6. ^ "General Categories". Los Angeles Times. January 7, 1994. p. 3. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  7. ^ "Gloria Estefan". GRAMMY.com. March 17, 2014. Archived from the original on November 17, 2017. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  8. ^ a b "Gloria Estefan". Billboard. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
  9. ^ "Gloria Estefan". GRAMMY.com. November 19, 2019. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
  10. ^ "Gloria Estefan". Berklee. Archived from the original on January 8, 2017. Retrieved August 4, 2024.