from SS

"La Reina del Glamour"

    is a Filipina

Supermodel, Journalist, TV host, and Fashion Designer in Madrid. From Manila and famously known in the Spanish Press as "La Reina del Glamour" (the Queen of Glamour) in Spain, mother of Enrique Iglesias, Chábeli Iglesias, Julio Iglesias Jr., and Ana and Tamara Boyer.

Isabel was born on 18th February 1951 in Manila, Philippines, the third of six children to a wealthy conservative family. During her youth, the stunningly beautiful Isabel modeled at charity fashion shows and was crowned queen of a Manila beauty pageant. 

It was 1969, the country was under the Marcos regime, and at the age of 18, Isabel Preysler was sent by her parents to study at Mary Ward College, a prestigious Irish university in Spain, to study International Business and Commerce, and to improve her Spanish, and it was at a Madrid party in 1970 that she was introduced to a family friend by the name of Julio Iglesias, who at the time was not famous yet and was still a young man dreaming of becoming a singer. They were just two young teenagers in love. Isabel's parents disapproved of her relationship with Julio and forbid her to see him again, but she would not listen and followed her heart. The couple announced their engagement just seven months later and were married for eight years, during which time they had three children, Chabeli, Julio Jr and Enrique. In accordance with their rising careers, Julio as a singer, and Isabel as a supermodel in Spain and Europe, they exploded onto the scene in 1971 and became overnight superstars in the Spanish-language media, the exotic, gorgeous Jewish-Arabian-Spanish crooner, Julio, and the exotic, gorgeous supermodel that he held in his arms, Isabel.

Following their divorce in 1978, Isabel launched her own career as a journalist for Spanish magazine Hola! and her first interviewee was Julio himself. She married the Marquis de Grignon, Carlos Falco, on 23rd March 1980, a short-lived marriage which blessed her with a second daughter, Tamara, and has since married Spanish finance minister, Miguel Boyer, in 1988, with whom she has another daughter Ana.

Julio and Isabel are now married with children to different spouses, however, it's interesting to note that in a recent 2004 Julio Iglesias concert in Miami, local newspapers reported that Julio sang a few songs to pay tribute to his Jewish-Arabian heritage, covered a few Frank Sinatra ballads, and the highlight of the evening, which made the Spanish-language media swirl worldwide the following week, was when Julio serenaded and dedicated a song to his ex-wife, Ms. Isabel Preysler, who was sitting in the audience, and said "We went through this together, and I was only 16 when we first met, and we've been together since we were so young." In addition, Julio Iglesias has performed several times in Manila and has recorded a number of songs in Tagalog over the years. Es el amor real, El Rey Del Cancion y La Reina del Glamour.

Often dubbed "La Perla De Manila" by the Spanish media ("The Pearl of Manila"), readers at Hola magazine's website have voted Isabel as the most elegant and best-dressed woman in Spain, and she has consistently topped the best-dressed lists over the years in various Spanish magazines. In 1984, she hosted the Spanish lifestyle TV programme, "Hoy." She has been chosen by several companies to be an image sponsor for their products, including Ferrero Rocher, Suarez jewelery, and, most notably, the Spanish tile company, Porcelanosa. In May 2001, she was Prince Charles' guest of honour for the opening of his Spanish Garden at the Chelsea Flower Show in England. Most recently she launched her official website, www.isabelpreysler.com, at the suggestion of her son Enrique Hola!, the leading publication of Spain and Latin America, has a feature dedicated just for her, it's in Spanish, and basically it describes her life and career as a supermodel, journalist, TV Show host, and celebrity in Spain, and how now, in 2004, she has expanded her empire to include a clothing line, a perfume line, a home furnishings line, and a new website, (she's a mogul unto herself in Spain, kind of like "J-Lo") described below, and about her relationships and her friendships, including her husband Miguel Boyer, whom she has a daughter with, and her whirlwind romance and marriage with her ex-husband, famous Spanish singing star Julio Iglesias during the 70s. It also has a special about how she manages to stay looking so beautiful and radiant as a woman in her 50's.  I'm working on an English translation of the article, check it out below! But if you want to find out more about her, just simply do a google or yahoo search on her, and you'll get a million results as this beautiful Filipina woman from Manila is a huge celebrity in Spain and all over the Spanish-speaking world. In the press, as "La Reina Del Glamour"

(The Queen of Glamour) in Spain, she is also referred to as "La Perla De Manila" (The Pearl from Manila). She is absolutely fascinating, and many of us Filipinos are not aware of how huge of an institution she is in Spain, when Enrique Iglesias was first starting his music career, he was always referred to by the Spanish media as "Isabel and Julio's kid." All celebrities refer to her in interviews, the Spanish papers, Spanish television, the Spanish media, whenever a Spanish celebrity is interviewed, if they want to cite an example of elegance and beauty, they always refer to Isabel Preysler. Absolutely fascinating, read it! (It's in Spanish, I'm working on an English translation right now, check it out below!) 

Another part of the interview also talks about her celebrity and she talks about how she was a little put off at first by her celebrity, but how she's gotten used to being a public figure and all the public and the media scrutiny and interest in her private life. The paparazzi in Spain has a field day with her life, and with the lives of all members of the Preysler-Iglesias-Boyer dynasty, and they nickpit and criticize everything about their lives. She's such a huge star that when she had a minor injury on her neck due to a car accident, it made all the front paper news in Spain, including Hola!, which still has an article about it on their website.

to be continued...