Julio Iglesias

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Julio Iglesias obtained his first accolades in the late 1960s at the Benidorm Song Festival (Spain) and Golden Stag Festival (Romania) both for its 1968 edition. During the 1970s, he began to receive awards at the international level; Julio was named Best Revelation Singer during El Heraldo de México Awards of 1971, he earned the fourth place at the Eurovision Song Contest of 1970, and won the Italian's Golden Gondola Award in 1979. In the 1980s, Julio earned his first Grammy Awards nominations, winning in the category Best Latin Performance for Un hombre solo in 1988. He also won an Academy of Country Music Award for Top Vocal Duo of the Year with "To All the Girls I've Loved Before" alongside Willie Nelson. During the 1990s, he became the first musician to receive Italy's Rudolph Valentino Awards granted by the Motion Picture Association of Italy and the Italian Film Producers' Organization in 1990. He also became the first recipient of the American Music Awards for Favorite Latin Artist in 1998, the first Latino to receive ASCAP's Pied Piper Award in 1997, and received Lo Nuestro Excellence Award in 1995. Throughout the 2000s, Julio Iglesias was named Person of the Year by The Latin Recording Academy in 2001, and received the Gold Medal in 2005 by the Queen Sofía Spanish Institute given by Queen Sofía of Spain. Between the 2010s and 2020s, Julio received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019 and achieved his first Latin Grammy Awards nomination in 2021.

Reader's Guide

Julio is one of the all-time best-selling musicians and has been recognized by various organizations due to his sales. In 1973, he received a special Golden Guaicaipuro for his "extraordinary" sales in Venezuela. He was named World's best-selling artist in 1979 and 1980, and was recognized by the Guinness World Records in 1983 with the first and only Diamond Award the organization granted to an artist, for having sold 100 million records in six languages. In the 2010s, he received a special award as the all-time best-selling Latino artist and the best-selling artist in Spain. Years prior, in 1985, Julio Iglesias was recognized by the Chinese Ministry of Culture as the best-selling foreign artist. Julio has been decorated by various governments, including France's highest civil honor, the Legion of Honour by President François Mitterrand in 1992, and Knight Legion of Honour by President Nicolas Sarkozy in 2007. He also received the Medal of the City of Paris in 1983 and the Gold Medal of Merit in the Fine Arts in 2010 in his native country.

Did You Know?

• Julio Iglesias won the Benidorm Song Festival and the Golden Stag Festival both in 1968.
• He earned fourth place at the Eurovision Song Contest of 1970 with 'Gwendolyne'.
• In 1983, Guinness World Records granted him the first and only Diamond Award for selling 100 million records in six languages.
• He was the first recipient of the American Music Awards for Favorite Latin Artist in 1998.
• Julio Iglesias received France's Legion of Honour from President François Mitterrand in 1992 and again as Knight Legion of Honour from President Nicolas Sarkozy in 2007.