Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva (born 23 September 1943) is a Spanish singer, songwriter and former professional footballer. Iglesias is recognized as the most commercially successful Spanish singer in the world and one of the top record sellers in music history, having sold more than 100 million records worldwide in 14 languages. It is estimated that during his career he has performed in more than 5000 concerts, for over 60 million people in five continents. In April 2013, Iglesias was inducted into the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame.

In 1983, Iglesias was celebrated as having recorded songs in the most languages in the world, and in 2013 for being the artist in Latin music with the most records sold in history. In April 2013 in Beijing, he was honoured as the most popular international artist in China. In Brazil, France, Italy and elsewhere, Iglesias is the most successful foreign record seller, while in his home country, Spain, he has sold the most records in history, with 23 million records.

During his career, Iglesias has won many awards in the music industry, including the Grammy, Latin Grammy, World Music Award, Billboard Music Award, American Music Award and Lo Nuestro Award. He has been awarded the Gold Medal for Merit in the Fine Arts of Spain and the Legion of Honour of France. UNICEF named him Special Ambassador for the Performing Arts in 1989. He has had a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame since 1985.

Iglesias was born in Madrid to Julio Iglesias Sr., a medical doctor from Ourense who became one of the youngest gynecologists in the country, and María del Rosario de la Cueva y Perignat. His paternal grandparents, Manuela Puga Noguerol and Ulpiano Iglesias Sarria, were of Galician ancestry. His maternal grandparents were José de la Cueva y Orejuela (1887–1955)[3] and Dolores de Perignat y Ruiz de Benavides,[4] who was a native of Guayama, Puerto Rico.

The name "Iglesias" translates as "churches". Iglesias says that he is of Jewish ancestry on his maternal side, and that his mother's family name, "de la Cueva", meaning literally "of the cave" and referring to Jewish people in hiding, is a common Jewish name. He has proclaimed himself Jewish "from the waist up".

He alternated playing professional football with studying law at the CEU San Pablo University in Madrid. In his youth, he was a goalkeeper for Real Madrid Castilla in the Segunda División. His professional football career was ruined when he was involved in a serious automobile accident in 1963 that left him unable to walk for two years. The accident smashed his lower spine and left his legs permanently weakened and requiring therapy for several years. He has said of those years, "I had more courage and attitude than talent". While he was in hospital after the accident, a nurse named Eladio Magdaleno gave him a guitar so that he could recover the dexterity of his hands. In learning to play, he discovered his musical talent. After his rehabilitation, Iglesias studied for three months at Bell Educational Trust's Language School in Cambridge, England. After that, he returned to obtain his law degree at Complutense University of Madrid. ...

Source: Article "Julio Iglesias" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva, mieux connu sous le nom de Julio Iglesias, né le 23 septembre 1943 à Madrid (Espagne), est un chanteur espagnol.

Fort de ses cinquante années de carrière ininterrompues, Julio Iglesias est officiellement le chanteur latino ayant vendu le plus d'albums au monde. Au total, le chanteur a enregistré plus de quatre-vingts albums chantés en quatorze langues et a reçu plus de 2 600 disques d'or et de platine au cours de sa carrière.

Julio Iglesias est né à Madrid le 23 septembre 1943 dans l'ancienne maternité de la rue Mesón de Paredes. Issu d'une famille bourgeoise catholique, il est le fils aîné de Julio Iglesias Puga (1915-2005), gynécologue attitré de la bonne société, et de María del Rosario de la Cueva y Perignat (1919-2002). Il partage son enfance avec son frère Carlos Luis. Du côté paternel, il est d'ascendance galicienne. Ses grands-parents paternels s'appelaient Manuela Puga Noguerol (1888-1965) et Ulpiano Iglesias Sarria (1876-1956). Dans sa famille maternelle, son grand-père José María de la Cueva y Orejuela (1887-1955) était un journaliste andalou et sa grand-mère s'appelait Dolores de Perignat y Ruiz de Benavides, originaire de Guayama, à Puerto Rico. L'île appartenait à l'Espagne avant la guerre hispano-américaine.

À quatorze ans, il devient gardien de but chez les jeunes du Real Madrid Club de Fútbol, l'une des équipes affiliées des catégories inférieures du Real Madrid. Il partage son maillot avec Pedro de Felipe et Luis Costa. Alternant le football avec des études de droit à l'Université de Madrid, il souhaite réaliser une carrière de footballeur professionnel, ou éventuellement devenir diplomate pour suivre les traces de son oncle, le marquis de Perinat, ou de son cousin, ambassadeur à Londres depuis 20 ans. Il parvient à intégrer l'équipe réserve du Real Madrid à dix-neuf ans mais est victime d'un grave accident de voiture en 1962. Il ne reprend ses études de droit à l'Université de Murcie que dans les années 1990. En juin 1993, il termine ses études de droit international privé à l'Université Complutense de Madrid.

Le 22 septembre 1962, à 2 heures du matin, Julio Iglesias et trois amis sont victimes d'un accident de la route après une soirée de divertissement. Julio Iglesias subit une compression de la colonne vertébrale qui le rendra paralysé des jambes pendant un an et demi, ce qui le contraindra à renoncer au football. C'est pendant sa longue convalescence qu'il apprend à jouer de la guitare, en guise de thérapie pour exercer ses doigts et passer le temps. La pratique de cet instrument fait naître la passion de la musique. C'est à cause du manque d'équilibre à la suite de cette paralysie, qu'il évoluera les yeux fermés en se caressant le ventre afin de mieux se repérer sur scène. ...

Source: Article "Julio Iglesias" de Wikipédia en français, soumis à la licence CC-BY-SA 3.0.