Cuban American singer Gloria Estefan (born Gloria Fajardo in Havana, Cuba, in 1957) is one of the biggest Latin pop stars of all time. She joined future husband Emilio Estefan's Miami Latin Boys in 1975. Renamed the Miami Sound Machine, the band began releasing Spanish-language albums that fused pop, disco and salsa on CBS International. They first crossed over to the English-language market with the single "Dr. Beat," which topped the European dance charts in 1984. The English-language Primitive Love, released the following year, featured three hit singles, "Conga," "Bad Boy" and "Words Get in the Way." In 1988 the group changed its name to Gloria Estefan & the Miami Sound Machine for the album Let It Loose, which had four Top 10 hits, including "Rhythm Is Gonna Get You" and "1-2-3." Estefan went solo for 1989's Cuts Both Ways, but the supporting tour was cut short when her bus was hit by a tractor-trailer. After extensive surgery for her broken back, Estefan returned with Into the Light in 1991 and the Spanish-language Mi Tierra in 1993, which earned a Grammy for Best Tropical Latin Album. "Reach," the first single off of her 1996 album, Destiny, was made the official theme of that year's Olympics Games in Atlanta. In 1999 Estefan made her acting debut in the film Music of the Heart, and she wrote and performed the title song with 'NSync, earning an Oscar nomination. She released another Grammy-winning Spanish-language album, Alma Caribeca, in 2000.

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