Gloria Estefan

Community biography from

Gloria Estefan is a Cuba-born pop singer best known for her tracks "Dr. Beat" and "Rhythm is Gonna Get You".

Though born in Cuba, the family fled to America in the wake of Fidel Castro's takeover in 1959. Her father was imprisoned while taking part in the Bay of Pigs invasion and was not released until President John F. Kennedy arranged a prisoner exchange.

Gloria met her future husband Emilio Estefan, Jr. at a wedding -- her first public performance -- and he asked her to join The Miami Latin Boys. Once she joined they changed their name to Miami Sound Machine. She and Estefan were married four years later. The band composed its own material and released several albums, with "Dr. Beat" providing them with significant international success and paving the way for 1985's Primitive Love. The album achieved triple platinum certification, buoyed by the success of the singles "Conga", "Bad Boy" and "Words Get in the Way".

For 1988's quadruple platinum Let It Loose, the band adopted the name Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine, scoring success with the singles "Rhythm is Gonna Get You", "Can't Stay Away From You", "Anything for You" and "1-2-3".

1989's Cuts Both Ways was credited to Estefan by herself but, while touring in support of the album, her back was broken in a tour bus crash and she was incapacitated for over a year. She made a successful return to music in 1991 by releasing Into the Light and the hit single "Coming Out of the Dark", which drew its inspiration from the accident.

In 1993 she returned to her roots, releasing Mi Terra, the first of several Spanish language records. For this release, she won a Grammy. Subsequent Latin releases have made her the most successful crossover artist in Latin music history.

She has continued to intersperse her Spanish language albums with English language albums, the most recent of which was 2003's Unwrapped. Her most recent release was 2007's 90 Millas.