Actors - Gloria Estefan

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	Actors - Gloria Estefan

Gloria Estefan (birth name Gloria María Milagrosa Fajardo, born September 1, 1957 in Havana, Cuba), is a five-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter-author, who began her career as lead vocalist for the then exclusively Spanish-language band, Miami Sound Machine, in 1975, and crossed over to mainstream popular success with English-speaking audiences with the international hit singles, Dr. Beat (1984) and Conga (1986).

Biography

Known as the "Queen of Latin Pop," Estefan is one of the most recognized music artists in the world. With over 70 million albums sold worldwide, she is the single most successful crossover performer in Latin music history.

In addition to her music career, Estefan has appeared in two movies, Music of the Heart
(1999) and For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story
(2000). She is slated to star as Connie Francis, a U.S. pop singer whose peak commercial success was in the late 1950s and early 1960s, in "Who's Sorry Now?" based on Ms. Francis' life. Filming is scheduled to begin in 2006, Estefan announced at a news conference in Mexico City.

Early life

Fleeing Cuba

Cuban-born, Estefan's family moved to Miami, Florida when she was 16 months old, following the Cuban Revolution in 1959. Estefan's father Jose Fajardo, who in the 1950s was a personal bodyguard to then-Cuban president Fulgencio Batista's wife, was captured in the ill-fated Bay of Pigs invasion that failed to overthrow the new communist government established by Fidel Castro. Her father was held as a prisoner until an exchange was arranged by then-President John F. Kennedy.

Father's death

Estefan's father also served as an officer in the United States Army in Vietnam, where he is suspected of having been poisoned by Agent Orange, a defoliant used extensively during the Vietnam war. He contracted multiple sclerosis, and was nursed by a young Estefan for many years. He died in 1980.

Her mother, Gloria Garcia Perez de Fajardo, now living in Miami, ran a school in Cuba in the 1950s for kindergarten students.

University of Miami

Estefan was raised primarily in Miami (though she accompanied her mother, father and younger sister, Becky, to several military bases in the 1960s during her father's military service). While attending the University of Miami, she worked as a Spanish and French translator at Miami International Airport's Customs Department. Estefan graduated from the University of Miami in 1978 with a degree in communications and psychology (with a minor in French). She is a prominent advocate for the university and a member of its Board of Trustees.

Miami Sound Machine

Estefan's first major public performance was at a large Cuban wedding when Emilio asked her to join the band to sing on stage, after which she received a standing ovation.

A few weeks later, she became the lead singer for the Miami Sound Machine, which performed and recorded in Spanish in the early years of its existence. The Miami Sound Machine soon gained a large fan base and released an LP in 1977 with a local company. It was the first all-Spanish album from CBS International.

With Estefan on vocals, The Miami Sound Machine had its first English-language hit with "Dr. Beat," which topped the dance charts across Europe, from the album Eyes of Innocence, in 1984. Primitive Love was released in 1986; "Conga," "Bad Boy," and "Words Get in the Way" were crossover hits. Her next album, 1988's Let It Loose went multi-platinum, with several million copies sold and the following hits: "Anything For You" (#1 Pop), "1,2,3" (#3 Pop), "Rhythm Is Gonna Get You" (#5 Pop) and "Can't Stay Away From You" (#6 Pop and #1 Adult/Contemporary).

In 1988, Estefan took top billing as the band's name changed to Gloria Estefan and The Miami Sound Machine. Beginning in 1989, Estefan recorded as a solo artist for the first time. That year, she released her best selling album to date, Cuts Both Ways (which refers to Estefan's desire to appeal to both English and Spanish-speaking fans) with hits like "Don't Wanna Lose You" (a USA #1 hit), "Oye Mi Canto," "Here We Are," "Cuts Both Ways" (#1 in Australia) and "Get On Your Feet." Cuts Both Ways sold more than ten million copies worldwide and reached number one in several countries.

Marriage and children

Gloria Fajardo became romantically involved with the Miami Sound Machine's band leader, Emilio Estefan, in 1976. She and Emilio married on September 2, 1978. They have two children: Nayib (born September 2, 1980) and Emily Marie (born December 5, 1994).

1990 tour bus crash in Pennsylvania

While touring in support of Cuts Both Ways, on March 20, 1990, near Scranton, Pennsylvania, a tractor trailer crashed into Estefan's tour bus, critically injuring her and breaking her back. Estefan was flown by helicopter to New York City, where surgeons permanently implanted two titanium rods to stabilize her spinal column. The grueling recovery took almost a year.

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