GLORIA ESTEFAN is a seven-time Grammy award-winning singer, actress, songwriter, author of two New York Times best-selling children’s books, philanthropist and humanitarian. She is considered one of the world’s most recognizable and beloved performers and one of the most successful crossover artists in Latin music history, having received recognition for her achievements as an international superstar in both the Latin and non-Hispanic entertainment industries.
Gloria Estefan has achieved worldwide sales of over 100 million records over the course of her legendary career, and has achieved 38 #1 Hits across the Billboard charts. Her iconic hits, which include “Conga,” “Turn The Beat Around,” “Get On Your Feet” and Spanish-language chart-toppers “Con Los Años Que Me Quedan” and “Mi Tierra,” have made an indelible impression on generations of music fans. From her previous album, Miss Little Havana (2011), “Hotel Nacional” made Gloria the first female artist to debut a song at #1 on Billboard's Hot Latin Songs chart.
Most recently, President Obama honored Emilio & Gloria Estefan with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the Nation’s highest civilian honor, presented to individuals who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.
ON YOUR FEET!, the Tony Award nominated Broadway musical based on the lives and music of Emilio & Gloria Estefan. As Executive Producers, it is the story of two people who—through an unwavering dedication to one another and their pursuit of the American dream—showcased their talent, their music and their heritage to the world in a remarkable rise to global superstardom. The musical is set to Gloria’s chart-topping, world-wide smash hits with one new original song written by Gloria and their daughter Emily Estefan. Since opening ON YOUR FEET! has received rave critical reviews and nominations for Tony Awards, Outer Critics Circle Awards and Drama League Awards.
Gloria along with her husband Emilio, are successful entrepreneurs owning and operating several business, which include a globally recognized music publishing company, a hospitality division that includes various restaurants (Bongos Cuban Café a Cuban-themed restaurant in South Beach, Downtown Disney Orlando and in Hollywood at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino) and two hotels (the Cardozo Hotel on South Beach and Costa d’Este Beach Resort in Vero Beach). The Estefans are also the first Latin couple to own a minority share in the Miami Dolphins, a major franchise in the NFL.
Gloria sits on the Board of Trustees for the University of Miami. She has received countless achievements; including her Oscar nominated song “Music of My Heart,” a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and an American Music Award for Lifetime Achievement, an induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, an Ellis Island Medal of Honor, a Humanitarian Award from the St. Jude Hospital for Children, a National Artistic Achievement Award from the US Congress, a Presidential appointment as a public member of the U.S. delegation to the 47th General Assembly of the United Nations, among others.
She is also the founder of the Gloria Estefan Foundation whose mission is to support charitable programs for disadvantaged children and empower young people through education and opportunity. The Foundation also supports spinal cord research through the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis.
Gloria Estefan holds a B.A. in Psychology, with a minor in French, from the University of Miami. She has been awarded with Honorary Doctoral degrees in Music from the Berklee College of Music in Boston and the University of Miami along with an Honorary Law Degree from Barry University.