Early life
Iglesias was born in Madrid, Spain, the third and final child of Spanish singer Julio Iglesias and Filipina socialite and Hola! magazine journalist Isabel Preysler.
His parents divorced in 1978, and the following year their father moved to Miami, Florida to continue with his musical career.
In 1983, Iglesias' grandfather, Dr. Julio Iglesias Puga was kidnapped by the terrorist group ETA. Fearing for his grandchildren's safety, he along with his brother was sent to live with their father in Miami.
In America he lived the life of a typical Miami teen. Though his father's career kept him on the road, the young Iglesias was raised by the family Nanny. In 1993 he graduated from Gulliver Preparatory School and went on to study Business at the University of Miami.
Enrique did not want his father to know about his plans for a musical career, and did not want his famous surname to help advance his career. Borrowing money from his family Nanny he recorded a demo tape which consisted of one Spanish song and two English songs. Approaching his father's former publicist Fernan Martinez, the two shopped the demo tape under the stage name 'Enrique Martinez' with the backstory of being an unknown from Guatemala. Iglesias was signed by a then small indie record label called Fonovisa. Dropping out of college he went to Toronto, Ontario for six months to record his first album.