Listen to Gloria Estefan on Batanga

Gloria Estefan was 16 months old when she and her mother fled to Miami following the Cuban Revolution. Like most Cuban exiles, Estefan is an ardent opponent of communism in general and of the Castro regime in particular. She has often spoken of her desire for a post-communist Cuba.

Gloria was raised primarily in Miami. She graduated from an all-girl Catholic high school, Our Lady of Lourdes Academy in 1975. Then she attended the University of Miami. While a student there, she worked as a Spanish and French translator at Miami International Airport's Customs Department. She graduated in 1978 with a degree in communications and psychology. Since graduating, she has been a prominent advocate for the university and a member of its Board of Trustees and has appeared in national television advertisements for the university.

Estefan’s first public musical performance was at a large Cuban wedding when her future husband, Emilio Estefan Jr. asked her to join what was then called "The Miami Latin Boys." With the addition of Gloria, the band's name was changed to Miami Sound Machine.

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. #10), "Words Get In The Way” (U.S. #5), and "Bad Boy" (U.S. #8) became follow up hits in the U.S. and around the world. The song "Hot Summer Nights" was also released that year and was part of the blockbuster movie Top Gun.

Estefan’s next album, 1987’s Let It Loose, went multi-platinum, with six million copies sold in the US. It featured the following hits: "Anything For You" (#1 Pop), "1, 2, 3" (#3 Pop), "Betcha Say That" (#36 Pop), "Rhythm Is Gonna Get You" (#5 Pop), and "Can't Stay Away From You" (#6 Pop). In 1988, Estefan took top billing as the band’s name changed to Gloria Estefan and The Miami Sound Machine. Beginning in 1989, the group's name was dropped altogether along with the firing of the Miami Sound Machine band members. Estefan was credited as a solo artist, though the ever-changing line-up of Miami Sound Machine continues as her backing band to this day.

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" (a Billboard Hot 100 #1 hit), "Oye mi Canto (Hear my Voice)", "Here We Are", "Cuts Both Ways" (#1 on the U.S. Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart) and "Get on Your Feet." Cuts Both Ways went platinum within its first month of release in the U.S.

Estefan returned to the charts with a concept album, Into the Light in 1991. “Coming Out of the Dark” was performed publicly for the first time on the American Music Awards in January 1991 receiving a standing ovation as she took stage. She followed up Into the Light with her first greatest-hits album, the Gloria Estefan Greatest Hits was released in 1992, which included the U.S. hit ballads “Always Tomorrow” and “I See Your Smile” and the international hit dance track “Go Away”.

In 1993 Estefan released the international success Mi Tierra, which was Estefan's first Spanish-language album; with this album Estefan returned to her Cuban roots, for which she won a Grammy Award for Best Tropical Latin Album.

1995’s Spanish-language album Abriendo Puertas earned Estefan her second Grammy Award for Best Tropical Latin Album. The platinum selling album Destiny released in 1996, featured "Reach", the official theme of the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics.

On June 2, 1998, Estefan released her eighth album, Gloria!. The album is highly influenced by Disco music, some blended with Salsa music percussion and Latin flavour.

Estefan's next album, 2000’s Alma Caribeña won the first Latin Grammy for Best Music Video for the "No Me Dejes de Querer" single. The album reached number one in Spain, the United States and several South American countries. It also won a Grammy Award for Best Tropical Album. That year, she also won the American Music Awards, Award of Merit.

In addition to her five Grammys, Estefan has received a number of other awards. In May 1993, she received the Ellis Island Congressional 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, two cable television ACE Awards and the 1993 National Music Foundation’s Humanitarian of the Year award. The singer 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 adjacent to his wife’s on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2005.

Estefan holds an honorary doctoral degree in music from the University of Miami, awarded in 1993. In 2002, Barry University in Miami bestowed upon her an honorary law degree. Along with her husband, Emilio, Estefan received an honorary doctoral degree in music from the Berklee College of Music in Boston in 2007. She has scores of encomiums for her musical accomplishments, humanitarian and philanthropic work.