Gloria Estefan
Gloria Estefan (; born Gloria María Milagrosa Fajardo García; 1 September 1957) is a Cuban and American singer, actress, and businesswoman. A contralto, she started her career as the lead singer in the group Miami Latin Boys, which later became known as Miami Sound Machine. She earned worldwide success with "Conga" in 1985, which became Estefan's signature song and led to Miami Sound Machine winning the grand prix in the 15th annual Tokyo Music Festival in 1986. In 1988, she and the band got their first number-one hit with the song "Anything for You". She is considered  the Latin artist who broke down the barriers of Latin music in the international market and opened the doors to several latin artists such as Shakira, J.Lo, Ricky Martin, Selena, among others. In March 1990, Estefan suffered a broken vertebra when her tour bus was involved in a serious accident. She made her comeback in March 1991 with a new world tour and album called "Into the Light". Her 1993 Spanish-language album "Mi Tierra" won the first of her three Grammy Awards for Best Tropical Latin Album. It was the first number-one album on the "Billboard" Top Latin  Albums chart, established when it was released. It was also the first Diamond album in Spain. Many of her songs, such as "Rhythm Is Gonna Get You", "1-2-3", "Don't Wanna Lose You", "Get On Your Feet", "Here We Are", "Coming Out of the Dark", "Bad Boy", "Oye!", "Party Time" and a remake of "Turn the Beat Around" became international chart-topping hits. Estefan's record sales surpass more than 75 million worldwide, making her one of the best-selling female singers of all-time. Estefan has won three Grammy Awards and received a star on the  Hollywood Walk of Fame and Las Vegas Walk of Fame. In 2015, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her contributions to American music and received the Kennedy Center Honors in December 2017 for her contributions to American Culture Life. Estefan also won an MTV Video Music Award, was honored with the American Music Award for Lifetime Achievement, as well as being named BMI Songwriter of the Year. She was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and has received multiple "Billboard" Awards. She is also on the Top 100 Greatest Artists of All Time lists of VH1 and  Billboard. Richard Blanco, the 2013 Presidential Inaugural Poet, author of "How to Love a Country", told the Boston Globe that Gloria Estefan is among the Latin singers who helped him to ground "in the musical poetry of my culture and rejuvenate my spirits". Billboard listed Estefan as the 3rd Most Successful Latina & 23rd Greatest Latin Artist of all time. Hailed as the ""Queen of Latin Pop"" by the media, she has amassed 38 number one hits across Billboard charts including 15 chart-topping songs on Hot Latin Songs chart. Rolling Stone listed her hit song "Conga" as the 11th Greatest  Latin Pop Songs of all time. Early life and education. Early life. Gloria Estefan (née Fajardo García) was born into a middle-class household in Havana, Cuba to parents José Fajardo (1933–1980) and Gloria García (1930–2017). Estefan's maternal grandparents were Spanish immigrants. Her maternal grandfather, Leonardo García, emigrated to Cuba from Pola de Siero, Asturias, Spain, where he married Gloria's grandmother, Consuelo Perez, who was originally from Logroño, Spain. Consuelo's father Pantaleón Perez served as the head chef to two Cuban presidents. Estefan's paternal side also had musical sensibilities, as the lineage had a famous flutist  and a classical pianist. During her childhood, Estefan's mother Gloria Fajardo (nicknamed "Big Gloria") won an international contest and received a Hollywood offer to dub Shirley Temple's films in Spanish. However, Leonardo García did not permit his daughter to pursue the offer. Gloria Fajardo would earn a PhD in education in Cuba. However, her degrees were destroyed upon fleeing to the United States during the Cuban Revolution. Estefan's paternal grandparents were José Manuel Fajardo González (who ran one of the first Cuban restaurants in Miami, Florida) and Amelia Montano (who was a poet). Estefan also had uncles  who were singer-songwriters. Her father José was a Cuban soldier and a motor escort for the wife of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista. As a result of the Cuban Revolution, the Fajardo family fled to Miami in 1959 and settled there. In 1961 José participated in the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion. He was captured by his cousin, who was a member of Fidel Castro's army, and imprisoned in Cuba for nearly two years. On his return he joined the United States military and fought in the Vietnam War. Soon after returning from the Vietnam War in 1968, Estefan 's father became ill with multiple sclerosis. His condition was attributed to the Agent Orange poisoning that he suffered in Vietnam. She helped her mother care for him until she was 16, when her father's condition had grown so severe that he had to be hospitalized at a Veterans Administration medical facility. She also took care of her younger sister Rebecca, nicknamed "Becky" (b. 1963), while her mother worked diligently to support them. Gloria Fajardo first had to regain her teaching credentials, a task made easier through the assistance of U.S. refugee support for Cubans. She then worked as  a schoolteacher for the Dade County Public School system. Estefan became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1974, under the name Gloria Garcia Fajardo, reflecting the switch from the Spanish naming custom of father's surname then mother's surname, to mother's maiden name as middle name and father's surname last. Sexual abuse as a child. Estefan revealed on 30 September 2021, during an episode of the Facebook Watch show, "Red Table Talk: The Estefans", that the music teacher hired to teach her guitar lessons sexually abused her at the age of nine. It was revealed  that this man, "a highly respected member of the community," told her that he would kill her mother if she told anyone about the abuse. Eventually, Estefan could no longer keep her silence and revealed everything to her mother who promptly advised the police. The police in turn told Estefan's mother that she should not press charges because of the further, additional traumatisation that Gloria would undergo as a result of testifying against the perpetrator. Education. Estefan was raised Catholic and attended St. Michael-Archangel School and Our Lady of Lourdes Academy in Miami, where she was a member  of the National Honor Society. She graduated from college in 1979 with a B.A. in psychology, with a minor in French, from the University of Miami. When Estefan was studying at the university, she worked as an English/Spanish/French translator at Miami International Airport Customs Department and, because of her language abilities, was once approached by the CIA as a possible employee. In 1984, she was inducted into the Iron Arrow Honor Society, the highest honor bestowed by the University of Miami. Career. Miami Sound Machine. In 1975, Gloria and her cousin Mercedes "Merci" Navarro (1957–2007) met Emilio Estefan , Jr. while performing at a church ensemble rehearsal. Emilio, who had formed the band the Miami Latin Boys earlier that year, learned about Gloria through a mutual acquaintance. While the Miami Latin Boys were performing at a Cuban wedding at the Dupont Plaza Hotel, Gloria and Merci (who were wedding guests) performed two Cuban standards impromptu. They impressed the Miami Latin Boys so much that they were invited to join the band permanently with the band's name changing to Miami Sound Machine. Gloria, who was attending the University of Miami at the time, only agreed to perform during the  weekends so that her studies would not be interrupted. Beginning in 1977, Miami Sound Machine began recording and releasing various albums and 45s on the Audiofon Records label in Miami. The first album from 1977 was entitled "Live Again/Renacer" and was released with two different covers. After several more releases on the Audiofon label as well as the RCA Victor label and Miami Sound Machine's own label MSM Records, the band was signed to Discos CBS International and released several albums, 45s, and 12"s beginning with the 1978 self-titled album "Miami Sound Machine". Growing in popularity in  both the U.S. and around the world, the group would continue recording and issuing various works for Discos CBS International through 1985. It was also in 1978 that Gloria married Emilio Estefan, Jr. after two years of dating. In 1984, Miami Sound Machine released their first Epic/Columbia album, "Eyes of Innocence", which contained the dance hit "Dr. Beat" as well as the ballad "I Need Your Love". Their more successful follow-up album "Primitive Love" was released in 1985 launching three Top 10 hits on the "Billboard" Hot 100: "Conga" (U.S. No. 10), "Words Get in the Way" (U.S.  No. 5), and "Bad Boy" (U.S. No. 8), as well as "Falling in Love (Uh-Oh)" (U.S. No. 25) which became follow up hits in the U.S. and around the world. "Words Get in the Way" reached No. 1 on the US Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart, establishing that the group could perform pop ballads as successfully as dance tunes. The song "Hot Summer Nights" was also released that year and was part of the film "Top Gun". Their next album, 1987's "Let It Loose", went multi-platinum, with three million copies sold in the US alone. It featured  the following hits: "Anything for You" (No. 1 Hot 100), "1-2-3" (No. 3 Hot 100), "Betcha Say That" (No. 36 Hot 100), "Rhythm Is Gonna Get You" (No. 5 Hot 100), and "Can't Stay Away from You" (No. 6 Hot 100). "Can't Stay Away From You", "Anything for You", and "1-2-3" were all No. 1 Adult Contemporary hits as well. In that same year, Estefan took top billing and the band's name changed to Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine. 1990s. In 1989, the group's name was dropped, and Estefan has  been credited as a solo artist ever since. In 1988, after the worldwide chart success of single "Anything for You", her "Let It Loose" album was repackaged as "Anything for You". In late 1989, she released her best-selling album to date, "Cuts Both Ways". The album included the hit singles "Don't Wanna Lose You" (Hot 100 No. 1 hit), "Oye Mi Canto", "Here We Are", "Cuts Both Ways" (No. 1 on the U.S. Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart), and "Get on Your Feet". While touring in support of "Cuts Both Ways" on 20 March 1990, near Scranton, Pennsylvania , Estefan was critically injured, suffering a fractured spine when a semi-truck crashed into the tour bus she was in during a snowstorm. Estefan was returning from a meeting with President George Bush to discuss participation in an anti-drugs campaign. She was taken to Community Medical Center's Intensive Care Unit and the next day was flown by helicopter to New York City, where surgeons at the Hospital for Joint Diseases at NYU Langone Medical Center permanently implanted two titanium rods to stabilize her vertebral column. Her rehabilitation required almost a year of intensive physical therapy and she noted  that "there were times when the pain was so bad I prayed I'd pass out." However, she achieved a complete recovery. In January 1991, Estefan returned to the charts with the concept album "Into the Light". That same month, she performed "Coming Out of the Dark" for the first time on the American Music Awards to a standing ovation, the performance coming ten months after the accident. Within months after the performance, "Coming Out of the Dark" reached No. 1 in the U.S. as a single. Other notable singles from "Into the Light" were "Seal Our Fate" and "Live  for Loving You". The album became her highest debut, as it peaked at No. 5 on the "Billboard" album chart (it also peaked at No. 2 on the British albums chart). The album eventually went platinum in the UK and double platinum in the US. In early 1992, Estefan performed in the Super Bowl XXVI halftime show. She released "Gloria Estefan Greatest Hits" in 1992, and the album included the U.S. hit ballads "Always Tomorrow" and "I See Your Smile" along with the international hit dance track "Go Away". That same year, Estefan sang backup vocals on fellow Cuban-American  singer-songwriter Jon Secada's breakthrough single "Just Another Day". Estefan also received songwriting credit for the Spanish-language version "Otro Día Más Sin Verte". In June 1993, Estefan released her first Spanish-language album "Mi Tierra". "Mi Tierra" peaked at No. 27 on the "Billboard" album chart and No. 1 on the Top Latin Albums chart. In the US, the singles "Mi Tierra", the romantic-tropical ballad "Con Los Años Que Me Quedan", and "Mi Buen Amor" all climbed to No. 1 on the "Hot Latin Tracks" chart. The album sold over eight million copies worldwide—going on to  become multi-platinum in Spain (10 times) and in the US (16 times; Platinum – Latin field), and earning the Grammy Award for Best Tropical Latin Album. In September 1993, Estefan released her first Christmas album, "Christmas Through Your Eyes". It was also notable as being the first album from Estefan that was not produced by her husband. The album included the singles "This Christmas" and "Silent Night", and went Platinum in the US. Estefan released "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me" in October 1994, a cover album featuring some of her favorite songs from the 1960s and 1970s. The album  included her remake of the disco hit "Turn the Beat Around". Her 1995 second Spanish-language album, "Abriendo Puertas", earned Estefan her second Grammy Award for Best Tropical Latin Album. It spun off two No. 1 dance hits ("Abriendo Puertas" and "Tres Deseos") and two No. 1 Latin singles ("Abriendo Puertas" and "Más Allá"). In 1996, Estefan released her platinum-selling album "Destiny", which featured "Reach". The song served as the official theme of the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics. Estefan performed "Reach" and "You'll Be Mine" at the Summer Olympics closing ceremony. On 18 July 1996, she embarked on  her first tour in five years—the Evolution World Tour—which covered the U.S., Canada, Europe, Latin America, Australia and Asia. On 2 June 1998, she released her eighth solo album (twenty-first overall when considering her work with Miami Sound Machine) "gloria!". The album blended disco with Salsa music percussion and Latin flavor. The album peaked at No. 23 on the "Billboard" 200 and reached Gold certification. The single "Oye!" peaked at No. 1 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play and the Hot Latin Tracks charts. The other major hit single releases were "Don't Let This Moment  End" (which peaked at No. 76 on the "Billboard" Hot 100) and "Heaven's What I Feel" (which peaked at No. 27 on the Hot 100). In early 1999, Estefan performed in the Super Bowl XXXIII halftime show, her second appearance in a Super Bowl halftime show. In 1999, Estefan performed with 'N Sync 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. She also released a Latin hit with the  Brazilian group So Pra Contrariar called "Santo Santo", which she sang with Luciano Pavarotti in "Pavarotti and Friends for Guatemala and Kosovo". 2000s. The next album "Alma Caribeña" (Caribbean Soul) was released in May 2000. It was her third Spanish-language album with a focus on Caribbean rhythms. The album featured several Latin Hits such as "No Me Dejes De Querer", "Como Me Duele Perderte", and "Por Un Beso". The album earned Estefan her third Grammy Award for Best Traditional Tropical Latin Album in February 2001. In 2003, Estefan released "Unwrapped" (her first English-language CD in five years). To  promote the CD, she toured Europe, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the U.S. "Hoy" and "Tu Fotografía" both reached No. 1 on Billboard's Latin chart and "I Wish You" reached the Adult Contemporary Charts top 20. The Live & Re-Wrapped Tour (which featured Estefan's greatest hits) was produced by Clear Channel Entertainment, and played 26 cities upon launching in Hidalgo, Texas on 30 July 2004. The final concert of the tour took place in Estefan's hometown of Miami during the weekend of 9–10 October 2004. On 7 April 2005, Estefan participated in Selena ¡VIVE!, a tribute concert for  the "Queen of Tejano" Selena Quintanilla-Pérez. She performed one of Selena's posthumously released crossover hits "I Could Fall in Love". Also that year, Estefan sang "Young Hearts Run Free" on the soundtrack for the television series "Desperate Housewives". In late 2005, the club mash-up "Dr. Pressure" was released, and the song combined Mylo's No. 19 hit "Drop The Pressure" with the Miami Sound Machine's "Dr. Beat". It reached No. 3 on the UK singles chart and No. 1 on the Australian dance chart. In October 2006, Sony released a 2-CD compilation "The Essential Gloria  Estefan", featuring her hits from 1984 to 2003, Estefan made several radio and television appearances to promote "The Essential Gloria Estefan". She released two additional similar compilation albums that year for other markets. "The Very Best of Gloria Estefan" was released in Europe and Mexico. The album was similar to "The Essential Gloria Estefan", but also included as the bonus track "Dr. Pressure". This compilation was certified Gold in Ireland. "" featured a collection of her Spanish-language hits and was released in Spain. Estefan released the Spanish recording "90 Millas" on 18 September 2007. The album was produced by Emilio  Estefan and Gaitan Bros (Gaitanes), and composed by Emilio Estefan, Gloria Estefan, Ricardo Gaitán and Alberto Gaitán. The title alludes to the distance between Miami and Cuba. The album skyrocketed to No.1 on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart. The first single called "No llores" came out on the market. The song was positioned in the United States in the Latin categories of Billboard. In the United States, it was ranked No. 25 on the Billboard 200 list, selling 25,000 units in its first week. In Spain it debuted at No. 3 and was awarded a gold record for its  high sales. In 2008, she won two Latin Grammy Awards for Best Traditional Tropical Album and Best Tropical Song ("Pintame de Colores"). In 2008, Estefan appeared during the seventh season of "American Idol" for the special charity episode "Idol Gives Back". She performed her song "Get on Your Feet" along with Sheila E. The song was released at the American iTunes Store, and the video of the performance reached No. 20 of the store's Top 100 videos. Estefan became the headliner of the MGM Grand at Foxwoods Resort Casino's new venue. She then headed to Canada to perform  at the Casino Rama. In August, she started her 90 Millas World Tour. Estefan played concerts in London, Rotterdam, Belfast and Aruba. Estefan performed several concerts in Spain, specifically Madrid, Barcelona, Zaragoza and Tenerife. Two of these concerts, in Las Ventas, Spain, and in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, were free to the public. Back in the States, Estefan performed a special concert at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino to raise funds for the Education of South Florida. Estefan was a headliner for Bette Midler's "Annual Hulaween Gala" along with other special guests such as Kathy Griffin and a  costume contest judged by Michael Kors. The event benefited the New York Restoration Project. During the Thanksgiving season, Estefan appeared on Rosie O'Donnell's television special "Rosie Live" singing a duet with O'Donnell titled "Gonna Eat for Thanksgiving", an alternate version of "Gonna Eat for Christmas" from on O'Donnell's album "A Rosie Christmas". In 2009, Estefan announced plans for her "farewell tour" of Latin America and South America. The tour continued with a concert at Guadalajara in Mexico, as part of a program designed to improve tourism in Mexico, and a series of appearances at music festivals  throughout Europe, including headlining at the Summer Pops Music Festival in Liverpool on 27 July 2009. The same year, Estefan opened the "In Performance at the White House: Fiesta Latina 2009" with "No Llores". Also, at the end, Estefan together with Jennifer Lopez, Thalía, Marc Anthony, José Feliciano, performed a rendition of her Spanish-language classic, "Mi Tierra". In 2009, the albums "Eyes of Innocence", "Primitive Love" and "Let It Loose" were re-released in Japan. Sony UK re-released several of Estefan's hit albums into mini LP CDs with the titles "Anything for You", "Cuts Both Ways" and  Into the Light. Lastly, US Sony released "Playlist: The Very Best of Gloria Estefan". 2010s. Estefan began 2010 with a charity single: she and her husband, producer Emilio Estefan, Jr., invited artists to record "Somos El Mundo", a Spanish-language version of Michael Jackson's song "We Are the World". The song, written by Estefan and approved by Quincy Jones, was recorded and premiered during "El Show de Cristina" on 1 March 2010. All of the proceed money went to Haitian relief. On 24 March 2010, Estefan led a march down Miami's Calle Ocho in support of Cuba's  Las Damas de Blanco (Ladies in White). Las Damas de Blanco is an opposition movement in Cuba that consists of wives and other female relatives of jailed dissidents. Since 2003, the women have protested the imprisonments by attending Mass each Sunday wearing white dresses and then silently walking through the streets in white clothing. Later that year, Estefan took part in Broadway's "24 Hour Plays" in which actors, writers, and directors collaborate to produce and perform six one-act plays within 24 hours to benefit the Urban Arts Partnership. She performed alongside actors Elijah Wood, Diane Neal, and Alicia  Witt in the play "I Think You'll Love This One", written by the 20-year-old winner of the Montblanc writers' project, Elizabeth Cruz Cortes. In Spring 2011, Sony Music Europe released part 2 of the Original Album Classics comprising five classic albums: "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me", "Abriendo Puertas", "Destiny", "Gloria!", and "Alma Caribena" on mini-LP CDs. On 7 April 2011, Estefan made an unannounced appearance at the auditions for "The X Factor" in Miami, and gave encouragement to the 7,500 participants gathered outside the Bank United Center for auditions. In 2011, Estefan was inducted into  the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame along with Grammy and Emmy award winner Harry Connick Jr. Both singers performed at a special concert on 17 June 2011, with Thomas Wilkins as musical conductor. Proceeds from this event went to benefit the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute's education programs. Estefan's new dance-oriented studio album, "Miss Little Havana", was released in the U.S. on 27 September 2011, with the physical CD available exclusively at Target. Early on, Estefan had described the album as a project in the vein of her 1998 hit album "gloria!"; Collaborating with her on it were  producers Pharrell Williams, Motiff, Emilio Estefan, and Drop Dead Beats. One song from the album, "Wepa", premiered on 31 May 2011, at AmericanAirlines Arena in a special music video of the song for the Miami Heat. The Heat video was released on YouTube on 1 June. The song went on sale for digital downloading at the iTunes Store on 24 July. Both "Wepa" and "Hotel Nacional" achieved No. 1 on "Billboard" Latin Songs and on Dance/Club Chart. In the fall of 2011, during an interview to promote "Miss Little Havana", Estefan expressed her views on gay rights and gay  marriage and said that she was a strong supporter of both. When asked if she was a supporter of gay marriage, she replied: "Of course I am. I think everyone should be able to marry who they love, and it should just be." Estefan has also recorded a video for the It Gets Better campaign, an organization which aims to prevent homophobic bullying. In November 2011, Estefan began hosting "Gloria Estefan's Latin Beat", a seven-part series for BBC Radio 2 in the United Kingdom that explores the history of Latin music. Estefan started a reality show called "" opposite  Joe Jonas, Nelly and John Rich on the CW Network, where she and the other three mentors searched for the next big Atlantic Records recording artist. Unlike other music reality shows, the mentors selected the "candidates" for the show and trained them for a live performance, where they'd be voted for the best act of the day. This same year, Estefan appeared as a musical guest in Tony Bennett's compilation of duets with Latin-American musicians, "Viva Duets" with a rendition of the song, "Who Can I Turn To". Weeks later, she helped the American version of "Teleton , releasing the charity single Por Un Mundo Mejor" along with Mexican singer Lucero, Dominican rapper El Cata, and Mexican pop band, Reik. A video for the song was shot, with them recording the song, which was marked as the official hymn for the foundation. In May 2013, she performed another duet with the song "Think I'm in Love Again" as part of the albums "Duets" released by Paul Anka. That same month, in parts of Europe, Sony Music released a 2 CDs collection call "The Dutch Collections, "this compilation includes all of Gloria Estefan 32 hits including "Hot Summer  Nights", never been released before on any of Estefan albums. In September 2013, Estefan released "The Standards". The album features some collaborations with artists like Laura Pausini, Dave Koz and Joshua Bell, and a selection of songs from the Great American Songbook. The album reached No. 20 on the US "Billboard" 200 chart marking her first top 20 album on the chart since 1994's "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me". The first single from the album was "How Long Has This Been Going On?". In April 2014, Gloria and her husband Emilio, were honored at the 2014 "Power of  Love Event for Keep Memory Alive" in Las Vegas, where big names of the musical industry such as Ricky Martin, Rita Moreno offered the couple a tribute to their music. Gloria joined Carlos Santana on his new album "Corazon" in a song called "Besos de lejos". Estefan released "Soy Mujer", on Sony Latin on 23 June 2015. The album consists of Estefan's greatest Spanish-language hits. 2020s. Estefan announced she was working on re-recording her music catalog with Brazilian rhythms and four new songs on an album titled "Brazil305". She released the first single for the album, "Cuando  Hay Amor", on 12 June 2020. In April 2020, Estefan released "Put on Your Mask", a parody of her 1989 song "Get on Your Feet", with the lyrics changed to reflect the importance of wearing face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic. In May 2020 Gloria wrote and released "We Needed Time" as a musical piece to reflect the feelings and emotions the world was experiencing around the COVID-19 global pandemic. The genesis of the song came from a late night conversation Gloria had with her son Nayib who exclaimed to Gloria that although he wouldn't have asked for a  pandemic, it had gifted him with precious time to spend with his wife and son. Taking this idea, Gloria penned the lyrics and composed the melody. The video for the song was shot in and around Gloria's property on Star Island, Miami by socially distanced cinematographers using drone cameras to capture the beautiful tranquility that the pandemic had created. The song was made available to download for free from Gloria's official website and on some streaming platforms. Other work. Stage musical. A jukebox musical, "On Your Feet!", about the life of Gloria and Emilio Estefan premiered on Broadway  5 November 2015. The musical premiered at the Oriental Theater, Chicago, running from 17 June 2015 – 5 July 2015. Directed by Jerry Mitchell, the choreography is by Sergio Trujillo and the book by Alexander Dinelaris. The Chicago cast featured Ana Villafañe as Gloria and Josh Segarra as Emilio. The musical opened on Broadway at the Marquis Theatre on 5 October 2015 (preview shows) and 5 November 2015 (official release date). In June 2019 the show played at The Curve in Leicester, UK, before moving to the West End's London Coliseum In London for June–August 2019. Film and television  appearances. Estefan has appeared in two live-action films, "Music of the Heart" (1999) and "" (2000). Estefan made a cameo appearance with her husband in "Marley & Me" (2008). Estefan was cast to star as Connie Francis, a U.S. pop singer of the 1950s and early 1960s, in the biographical film "Who's Sorry Now?" According to "Parade" magazine (23 March 2008), filming supposedly began in late 2008. In an interview with www.allheadlinenews.com, Estefan stated that the film would be released in 2009. However, as of December 2009, the film was dropped as Connie Francis had irreconcilable differences with Estefan over  the film's writer. Francis wanted to hire writer Robert L. Freedman, who had written the Emmy Award winning mini-series "". Estefan, according to Francis, refused to consider him and the project collaboration thus ended. Estefan appeared in the ABC television special "Elmopalooza" (which aired on 20 February 1998), in which she sang the song "Mambo, I, I, I". In April 2004, Estefan appeared on the Fox Broadcasting Company's program "American Idol" as a guest mentor for the contestants during Latin Week. After campaigning heavily for the part on her social media accounts, Estefan was invited to guest star  on the Fox television series "Glee" as the mother of cheerleader Santana Lopez (Naya Rivera). She also appeared as a mentor for the CW Network reality series "". Estefan played Mirtha, the baby sister and nemesis of Lydia Margarita del Carmen Inclán Maribona Leyte-Vidal de Riera, in the first episode of season 3 of the Netflix series "One Day at a Time". In 2020, Estefan became a co-host of "Red Table Talk: The Estefans", a spin-off of the Facebook Watch talk show "Red Table Talk" alongside her daughter Emily Estefan and niece Lili Estefan. Estefan voiced the character  of Marta Sandoval, a legendary singer on the verge of retirement, in the animated film "Vivo". The film, which features songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda, was released in theaters and on Netflix in 2021. Books. Estefan has written two children's books: "The Magically Mysterious Adventures of Noelle the Bulldog" (2005) and "Noelle's Treasure Tale" (2006). The latter book spent a week at No. 3 on the New York Times Bestseller list for children's books. She also collaborated on a cookbook with her husband entitled "Estefan Kitchen", which was published in 2008. It contains 60 traditional Cuban recipes . Other business ventures and appearances. Gloria and Emilio Estefan own several business establishments, including several Cuban-themed restaurants (Bongos Cuban Café; Larios on the Beach). The restaurants are located in Miami Beach, downtown Miami (part of the American Airlines Arena), at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida, Walt Disney World's Disney Springs in Orlando, Florida, and in Miami International Airport. They also own two hotels: Costa d'Este in Vero Beach (opened in 2008), The Cardozo in Miami Beach. Estefan was appointed to the board of directors for Univision Communications Inc. in 2007. The Estefans' estimated  net worth has been reported variously as between $500 and $700 million. In June 2009, Estefan and her husband became the first Hispanics to buy a minor ownership stake in an NFL team, the Miami Dolphins. She spoke at TEDx Via della Conciliazione on 19 April 2013, on the theme "Religious freedom today". Personal life. Estefan became romantically involved with the Miami Sound Machine's band leader, Emilio Estefan, in 1976. She later revealed, "he was my first and only boyfriend". They married on 2 September 1978, and have a son, Nayib (born 2 September 1980), and a  daughter, Emily (born 5 December 1994). The family lives on Star Island. Emily is a recording artist. Nayib is an aspiring filmmaker and owner of the Nite Owl Theater in Miami. In June 2012, Estefan became a grandmother. Awards. In addition to her three Grammy Awards, Estefan has received many other awards. In May 1993, she received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, which is the highest award that can be given to a naturalized U.S. citizen. She has won the Hispanic Heritage Award, an MTV Video Music Award, and the 1993 National Music Foundation's Humanitarian of the Year  award. She is the recipient of the American Music Award for Lifetime Achievement. She also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Her husband, Emilio, a world-renowned music impresario, received a star which is adjacent to his wife's on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2005. Estefan was awarded an honorary doctoral degree in music from the University of Miami in 1993. She was a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Miami. In April 2014, Estefan was tapped into the Iron Arrow Honor Society, the University of Miami's highest honor society . In 2002, Barry University in Miami bestowed upon her an honorary law degree. She and her husband received honorary doctoral degrees in music from the Berklee College of Music in Boston in 2007. She delivered the commencement address to the 2007 graduating class. In 2002, she received the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Medallion of Excellence for Community Service. The singer was Musicares Person of the Year in 1994. She founded the "Gloria Estefan Foundation", which promotes education, health and cultural development. In 1997, she received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement. She has been honored twice  by the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 1992, she served as a public member of the U.S. Delegation to the 47th Session of the United Nations' General Assembly Opening Plenary. Estefan received the Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year award at the Latin Grammy Awards in November 2008 in recognition of her twenty-five-year singing career. She is the first female singer to receive this award. She also received the Latin Grammy Award for Best Traditional Tropical Album for "90 Millas", and the Latin Grammy Award for Best Tropical Song for her single "Píntame De Colores". This established  the first occasion for Estefan to ever win the Grammy Award for a song (either Latin or non-Latin). On 12 March 2009, Estefan was honored as a BMI Icon at the 16th annual BMI Latin Awards. Her catalog includes 22 BMI Latin and Pop Awards, along with 11 BMI Million-Air Awards. In April 2010, Estefan and her husband received a star in the "Walk of Stars" in Las Vegas for their contribution to music industry. On 28 April 2011, at the Latin Billboard Awards, Estefan was honored with the Billboard Spirit of Hope Award for her philanthropic work  for the second time, the first being in 1996. In 2014, Estefan and her husband received a Caribbean American Mover and Shakers Lifetime Achievement Award, for their contributions to the Hispanic, and multicultural community. In November 2015, it was announced Estefan, along with her husband, would be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama for her contributions to American music. In 2017, Estefan was made an honorary member of Sigma Alpha Iota International Music Fraternity, a music Greek organization for women with over 115 years of supporting music in their universities, organization and the world. She was  initiated at the Sigma Chi Chapter at University of Miami. In 2018, Estefan became the first Cuban-American to be named as one of the Kennedy Center Honors. On 14 March 2019, Estefan and her husband were awarded with the 2019 Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. They are the first married couple and first of Hispanic descent to receive the Gershwin Prize.