Gloria Estefan

**Gloria María Milagrosa Fajardo García de Estefan**, known mostly as **Gloria Estefan** (born September 1, 1957) is a Cuban-born American singer, songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. She is known as the "Queen Of Latin Pop". Estefan has won multiple Grammy Awards. The singer was a member of Miami Sound Machine in the 1980s. She is in the top 100 best selling music artists with over 100 million albums sold worldwide. Currently, she is the most successful crossover performer in Latin music. In 1999, Estefan collaborated with NSYNC on the single "Music of My Heart"—a song featured in the film _Music of the Heart_ in which she also appeared. The song peaked at No. 2 on the _Billboard_ chart and was nominated for an Academy Award.

## Early life

She was born Gloria Fajardo on September 1, 1957, in Havana, Cuba. As a toddler, Estefan fled Cuba with her family when Communist dictator Fidel Castro rose to power. Her father, Jose Manuel Fajardo, had been a Cuban soldier and bodyguard of former President Fulgencio Batista. Her maternal grandfather, Leonardo García, immigrated to Cuba from Pola de Siero, Asturias, Spain. He married Gloria's maternal grandmother in Pola de Siero, Asturias, Spain. Her maternal grandmother is originally from Logroño, Spain.

After coming to the United States, Fajardo was recruited into the 2506 Brigade, a Central Intelligence Agency-funded band of Cuban refugees that was involved in the unsuccessful 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion. After President John F. Kennedy negotiated the release of the captured soldiers, Fajardo rejoined his family. He eventually joined the U.S. Army and served for two years in Vietnam.

As a child Estefan liked to write poetry, and though she took classical guitar lessons, she found them tedious. She had no idea that she would some day become a popular music star, but music played a very important role for her as a teenager.

After her father's return from Vietnam, he was diagnosed as having multiple sclerosis, possibly as a result of having been exposed to the herbicide Agent Orange while serving in the army. Estefan's mother, who had been a teacher in Cuba, worked to support the family during the day and attended school at night. Young Gloria was left to take care of her father and younger sister. She had little social life, and because she felt the weight of such responsibilities she turned to music as a release.

"When my father was ill, music was my escape," Estefan told Washington Post reporter Richard Harrington. "I would lock myself up in my room for hours and just sing. I wouldn't cry—I refused to cry...Music was the only way I had to just let go, so I sang for fun and for emotional catharsis."

Estefan said in an interview, that she is not affiliated with any political party.

### Albums discography

**Studio albums**
|Release date|Title|
| --- | --- |
|1984|_Eyes of Innocence_|
|1985|_Primitive Love _|
|1987|_Let It Loose_ / _Anything for You_|
|1989|_Cuts Both Ways_|
|1991|_Into The Light_|
|1993|_Mi Tierra_|
|1994|_Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me_|
|1995|_Abriendo Puertas_|
|1996|_Destiny_|
|1998|_gloria!_|
|2000|_Alma Caribeña_|
|2003|_Unwrapped_|
|2007|_90 Millas_|
|2011|_Miss Little Havana_|

## Filmography

|colspan=4 style="background:#B0C4DE;"|Film||||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|1999|_Music of the Heart_|Isabel Vazquez|Debut acting performance||
|rowspan="2"|2000|_Little Angelita_|Voice Narrator|Animated Short Film|
|_For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story_|Emilia|Television film|||
|2003|_Famous: The Making of Unwrapped_|Herself|Album documentary||
|2007|_90 Millas Documentary_|Herself|Album documentary||
|2008|_Marley & Me_|Herself|Cameo appearance||
|2009|_G-Force_|Juárez|Voice in the Latin-American version of the film||
|2010|_Recording: The History Of Recorded Music_|Herself|Documentary||
|1986|_Club Med_|-|One episode||
|1989|_Postcard From Miami with Clive James_|Herself|One episode||
|1993|_The Hypnotic World of Paul McKenna_|Herself|||
|2000|_Frasier_|Maria|One episode: "Something About Dr. Mary"||
|2005|_A Capitol Fourth_|Herself|||
|2009|_Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List_|Herself|One episode: "Rosie and Gloria and Griffin... Oh My!"||
|2010|_The Marriage Ref_|Herself|One episode||
|2011|_The X Factor_|Herself|Cameo Miami Auditions||
|2012|_Glee_|Mrs. Maribel Lopez|Episode: "Goodbye"||

## Videography

- _Video Exitos_ (1986) L.D.L Enterprises
- _Homecoming Concert_ (1989) CMV
- _Evolution_ (1990) CMV
- _Coming Out Of The Dark_ (1991) SMV
- _Into The Light World Tour_ (1992) SMV
- _Everlasting Gloria!_ (1995) EMV
- _The Evolution Tour Live In Miami_ (1996) EMV
- _Don't Stop_ (1998) EMV
- _Que siga la tradición_ (2001) EMV
- _Live In Atlantis_ (2002) EMV
- _Famous_ (2003) (Video journal about making-of _Unwrapped_ LP; included in CD package)
- _Live & Unwrapped_ (2004) EMV

## Books

- _The Magically Mysterious Adventures of Noelle the Bulldog_ (2005) .
- _Noelle's Treasure Tale: A New Magically Mysterious Adventure_ (2006)
- _Estefan's Kitchen_ (2008)

## Infobox (musical artist)

- **name**: Gloria Estefan
- **img**: Gloria Estefan 2017.jpg
- **caption**: Estefan in December 2017
- **background**: solo_singer
- **birth name**: Gloria María Milagrosa Fajardo García
- **birth place**: Havana, Cuba
- **origin**: Miami, Florida, United States
- **instrument**: Vocals, guitar, percussion
- **genre**: Latin pop, dance-pop, Pop music, pop, Dance music, dance, Electronic dance music, EDM
- **occupation**: Singer-songwriter, actress, hotelier, restauranteur, writer
- **years active**: 1977–present
- **label**: Epic Records, Epic<small> (1977–2006)</small>
Burgundy Records, Burgundy<small> (2007–2010)</small>
Crescent Moon Records, Crescent Moon / Verve Forecast Records, Verve Forecast<small> (2011–present)</small>
- **associated acts**: Emilio Estefan
Miami Sound Machine
Jon Secada
Celia Cruz
Lili Estefan