Julio Jose Iglesias de La Cueva was born in Madrid , Spain , on September 23, 1943 , to the eminent physician Julio Iglesias Puga and his wife, Maria Del Rosario de La Cueva y Perignat. Julio's education steered far from music. He studied law in hopes of becoming a career diplomat, even though his first true love and ambition lied on the soccer field. A remarkable athlete, he later landed his dream job as a goalkeeper for the professional team Real Madrid. These dreams however, were soon shattered when a near-fatal car accident left him partially paralyzed and unable to walk for almost two years. During his recuperation at Madrid 's Eloy Gonzalo Hospital , Julio would listen to the radio and write poems, many of which were sad and romantic verses questioning man's mission in life. Slowly, he began to dress his poems with music as he strummed away on an old guitar his father's assistant had given him as therapy to exercise his fingers and pass the time. He soon discovered a new passion that took over his life. In 1968, Julio surprised everyone, including himself, by winning the most prestigious song festival in Spain, The Benidorm, with his own composition "La Vida Sigue Igual". This event marked the beginning of a serenade to the world that has never ended. From that point on, Julio continued to compose music and establish himself as an international superstar. By 1971 he had sold his first million records. Shortly after, in 1973, he broke the mark of awards won by any music artist in Spain and Latin America . Equal to the numerous awards won were the number of times his concerts broke box office records. In Chile , more than 100,000 people attended his concert at the National Stadium of Santiago in 1977.Throughout the '80's, Julio's career continued to reach unprecedented heights. In 1983 he received the first and only Diamond Record Award ever given to a performer by the Guinness Book of World Records, for selling more records in more languages than any other musical artist in history. His first English release in 1984, "1100 Bel Air Place", immediately went multi-Platinum and formed an all-important bridge between European and American Music. In 1985, a star with his name was unveiled on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In addition to these honors, in 1989, UNICEF appointed Julio as Special Representative for the Performing Arts, a title he holds dearly to this date. He points out that UNICEF supplies an outlet for him to impact the lives of so many he is otherwise unable to reach. "The World has given me so much, it's important to give something back," he says.The man who wrote his first hit over thirty years ago has gone on to garner over 2,600 platinum and gold certifications and sold over 200 million records around the world. A perfectionist at heart, he is his own worst critic and is always striving to improve his abilities. A record breaker as well as a record maker, Julio delves deeply into his heart and soul with each new project. Now, with the release of his 77 th album - Divorcio , Julio Iglesias continues to bring us new ways of looking at and dealing with romance, while also continuing to perform hundreds of concerts in multiple languages around the planet. It is in both this energy, and his capability as the world's foremost singer in matters-of the-heart, that Iglesias will never be equaled, not just in the number of albums sold, but even more so, in the number of lives he has touched around the globe.