Julio Iglesias turns 80: from heartthrob to hermit

“What is Julio Iglesias fleeing from?” was the recent headline in the Spanish newspaper La Razón. The question is justified because the pop star, who turns 80 today, lives in complete seclusion in the Caribbean. The singer has been avoiding appearances since 2019 and has not given any interviews for a long time. He mainly posts old photos on Instagram. Of course, being a hermit causes the rumor mill to simmer. Among other things, it is often said that the former epitome of the “Latin lover” is dependent on a wheelchair or that he has lost his memory. It’s all nonsense, assured columnist Jaime Peñafiel. The 91-year-old wrote at the weekend that he had spoken to his friend on the phone recently and he had assured him: “I’m doing damn well.”

Father of eight children

Iglesias, who has been making the hearts of older fans beat faster with his voice and hits like “Hey!”, “Me va, me va” and “Careless Whisper” for 55 years, has never announced the end of his career – or even just hinted at. “I’ve decided to sing until I’m 90,” he said several times. But he told his friend Peñafiel something that sounded a bit like a farewell: he had no interest in anything other than being happy with his wife, the 57-year-old Dutchwoman Miranda, and his eight children and grandchildren.

Iglesias is considered the most successful Spanish-speaking singer, having sold more than 300 million albums worldwide. He worked with music legends of all stripes: with Frank Sinatra and Plácido Domingo, with Stevie Wonder and the Beach Boys, with Diana Ross, Sting and many others.

Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva, who was born on September 23, 1943 in Madrid as the son of a gynecologist, had nothing to do with music for a long time. As a teenager, he dreamed of a career as a soccer goalkeeper. He had what it took. He shone in Real Madrid’s youth teams and was already on the verge of joining the professional team shortly before his 20th birthday when a serious car accident put a stop to his plans.

Iglesias probably has his music career to thank for the accident. At that time, Jung-Julio was tied to his hospital bed, half paralyzed, for 20 months. During this time he taught himself to play the guitar and wrote his first songs. “Music helped me get well again.” After he was released from the hospital, he had long since forgotten about the goalkeeper gloves. He initially went from bar to bar in Madrid and London. As an unknown newcomer, he won the Benidorm Festival in 1968. At the latest after 4th place at the Eurovision Song Contest 1970 in Amsterdam, things went uphill.

Chabeli (52), Julio Iglesias Jr. (50) and Enrique (48) come from his marriage to the Filipino diplomat’s daughter Isabel Preysler (1971–1979). The boys followed in Dad’s footsteps professionally. Enrique in particular is a world pop star (“Bailando”). Iglesias has lived with his second wife Miranda since 1992 and married in 2010. The couple has five children together.

The always tanned singer also has a luxury villa near Marbella, but he hasn’t been seen back home for a long time. Maybe because he isn’t criticized so harshly anywhere. The media and people there call the famous countryman “snail singer”. The usually well-informed journalist Beatriz Cortázar recently said on the radio: “He has the feeling that his country doesn’t love him the way he loves his country.” Cortázar also has an answer to the question from the newspaper “La Razón”: The singer won’t be seen because he is very vain and can’t cope with getting older. “If he doesn’t look the way he wants, he doesn’t like to be seen.” And: “He probably doesn’t want to be reminded of his 80th either.”

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