Isabel Preysler
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Image:Isabel preysler.jpg Isabel Preysler (born February 18, 1951) is a former model in Spain, a journalist for ¡Hola! magazine, TV talk show host, and a fashion designer in Madrid, Spain.
Preysler was born in Manila, Philippines. The third of six children to a wealthy conservative Spanish-mestiso family in the Philippines, during her youth the stunningly beautiful Isabel modeled at charity fashion shows and was crowned queen of a Manila beauty pageant. She is known in the Spanish press as "La Reina del Glamour" (the Queen of Glamour) and is the mother of international pop superstar Enrique Iglesias, Julio Iglesias Jr., Chábeli Iglesias, Tamara Falcó and Ana Boyer.
At the age of 18, she was sent to study at Mary Ward College, a prestigious Roman Catholic university in Spain, 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. The couple announced their engagement just seven months later and were married for seven 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 gorgeous, Spanish heart-throb 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 Falcó, 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, with whom she has another daughter Ana.
This marriage symbolized for critics the alliance of the ruling Spanish Socialist Workers Party, part of the leftist opposition to Francisco Franco, and to the "beautiful people" (aristocracy and bourgeoisie).
Often dubbed "La Perla De Manila" by the Spanish media ("The Pearl of Manila"), readers at Hola magazine have voted Isabel as the most elegant and best-dressed women in Spain in 1991, 2002, and 2004, 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 at the suggestion of her son Enrique, who is one of her biggest fans: "La tengo más lejos pero me llevo súper bien con ella, no tiene nada que ver con mi padre, son totalmente distintos. No fue una madre estricta y seria. Al contrario, cuando nos queríamos escapar de la Seño íbamos con ella. Es encantadora, la admiro por su inteligencia, por lo bien que sabe tratar a todo el mundo. Es increíble, está más guapa que cuando tenía 30 años. Impresionante."
As Enrique points she is noted for conserving her beauty in spite of her age. She, her family and her home are frequent presences in Spanish gossip magazines.