Gloria Estefan
Birthdate: Sep 1, 1957
Birthplace: Havana, Cuba
Gloria Estefan (birthname: Gloria Maria Milagrosa Estefan) is best known as the voice of the Miami Sound Machine, and transferred her worldwide musical fame to movie stardom with her co-starring role opposite Meryl Streep (nominated for Best Actress), Angela Bassett and Aidan Quinn in the Wes Craven-directed musical biopic, Music of the Heart (1999), Craven’s only non-horror/thriller movie, with Jane Leeves, Kieran Culkin and Jay O. Sanders, grossing $15 million for Miramax Films after premiering at the Venice Film Festival.
Estefan delivered a Spanish-language voice performance for the Latin American release version of the Walt Disney Pictures/Jerry Bruckheimer Films spy comedy movie, G-Force (2009), directed by Hoyt H. Yeatman Jr., co-written by Cormac and Marianne Wibberley, and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, earning $293 million on $150 million costs.
Estefan’s next feature performance was in the Kenny Ortega-directed comedy, A Change of Heart (2017), starring Jim Belushi, Virginia Madsen, and Kathy Najimy, produced by Emilio Estefan and Kern and Kip Konwiser, and which premiered at the Miami Film Festival. Estefan appeared as herself in director/producer Mariem Perez Riera’s acclaimed docu-portrait, Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It (2021), with the on-camera appearances of Moreno, Eva Longoria, George Chakiris, Hector Elizondo, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mitzi Gaynor, Chita Rivera, Morgan Freeman, Norman Lear, Terrence McNally, Whoopi Goldberg, Annette Insdorf, Jackie Speier and America Ferrera, and which launched at the Sundance Film Festival before a release by Roadside Attractions.
Estefan performed the voice of Marta in director/co-writer Kirk DeMicco’s and star/songwriter-composer Lin-Manuel Miranda’s animated musical feature, Vivo (2021), co-written by screenwriter/story writer Quiara Alegria Hudes and story writer Peter Barsocchini, and co-starring Ynairaly Simo, Zoe Saldana, Juan de Marcos, and Brian Tyree Henry, released theatrically and digitally by Netflix.
Estefan co-starred with Andy Garcia, Adria Arjona and Isabela Merced in the HBO Max edition directed by Gaz Alazraki of the oft-remade Father of the Bride (2022), and then Estefan returned to the big screen as Gabby’s best grown-up pal in Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie (2025), director/co-writer Ryan Crego’s big-screen, live-action/animated adaptation of the hit Netflix kids show starring Laila Lockhart Kraner, with Thomas Lennon, Jason Mantzoukas, Ego Nwodim, Kyle Mooney, Melissa Villasenor, Fortune Feimster and Kristen Wiig, and which was released wide by Universal Pictures.
Personal life
Gloria Estefan was born in Havana, Cuba, and raised in Havana and Miami, Florida by her parents, Gloria and Jose Fajardo, whose family members had worked for the Bautista dictatorship overthrown by Fidel Castro; the family subsequently fled to Miami in the wake of the 1959 revolution. Estefan’s younger sister is named Rebecca. Estefan, raised in the Catholic Church, attended and graduated from Our Lady of Lourdes Academy in Miami, and was a member of the National Honor Society. Estefan graduated from the University of Miami in 1979, with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in French. Estefan has been married to Miami Sound Machine band leader Emilio Estefan since 1978; the couple has children, son Nayib and daughter Emily. Estefan’s height is 4’ 10¾ ”. Estefan’s estimated net worth is $500 million.*
Known For
Music of the Heart
(1999)
Poseidon
(2006)
The Specialist
(1994)
Money Train
(1995)
Gloria Estefan Movies
actor
Previous (16)
- 2025 |
Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie
asGrandma Gigi
Gabby and Grandma Gigi's road trip takes an unexpected turn when Gabby's prized dollhouse ends up with eccentric cat lady Vera. Gabby embarks on a adventure to reunite the Gabby Cats and retrieve her beloved dollhouse before it's too late.
- 2025 |
Diane Warren: Relentless
asSelf
The untold story of a legendary songwriter. Featuring Cher, Common, Jennifer Hudson, Gloria Estefan, Kesha, LeAnn Rimes, and more.
- 2022 | Father of the Bride
- 2022 | Jose Feliciano: Behind This Guitar
- 2022 |
- 2021 | Dionne Warwick: Don't Make Me Over
- 2021 |
Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It
asSelf
Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It
A look at the life and work of Rita Moreno from her humble beginnings in Puerto Rico to her success on Broadway and in Hollywood.
- 2020 | Siempre, Luis
- 2017 | A Change of Heart
- 2015 | The Magic of the Diary of Anne Frank
- 2011 | The Latino List
- 2009 | Con los pies en el cielo
- 2008 | 90 Millas: El Documental
- 2008 | Celia: The Queen
- 2006 | Sacred Waters
- 2000 | Guitarra mía
Facts About Gloria Estefan
Author, Author: Gloria Estefan has written two children’s books, The Magically Mysterious Adventures of Noelle the Bulldog (2005), and the New York Times best-selling Noelle’s Treasure Tale (2006), and also was co-writer of the 2008 cookbook, Estefan Kitchen, with husband Emilio.
Injuries: Estefan endured and fully recovered from a near-fatal cervical spinal fracture that happened during a crash near Scranton, Pennsylvania, involving her tour bus.
Father’s Wild Story: Gloria Estefan’s father, Jose, helped his family flee Cuba in 1959 during the Cuban Revolution, and then participated in the botched CIA-sponsored Bay of Pigs Invasion during which Jose’s cousin (a member of the Cuban army) captured him, leading to two years’ imprisonment, after which Jose joined the U.S. Army and was sent to the Vietnam War, where he suffered from multiple sclerosis which he believed stemmed from his exposure to Agent Orange during the U.S. war.
CIA Recruit Material: Estefan’s skill with several languages led to the CIA offering her a language-oriented job with the Agency.
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