Isabel Preysler

María Isabel Preysler Arrastía (born February 18, 1951) is a Filipina[1][2][3][4] socialite and television host. She is the mother of singers Enrique Iglesias, Julio Iglesias Jr., and journalist Chabeli Iglesias.

Isabel Preysler
Born	María Isabel Preysler Arrastía February 18, 1951 Manila, Philippines
Citizenship	Philippines Spain
Occupation	Journalist television host
Title	Marchioness of Griñón (1980–1987)
Spouse(s)	Julio Iglesias ​ ​ (m. 1971; div. 1979)​ Carlos Falcó, 5th Marquess of Griñón ​ ​ (m. 1980; div. 1985)​ Miguel Boyer ​ ​ (m. 1987; died 2014)​
Partner(s)	Mario Vargas Llosa (2015–present)
Children	5, including Chabeli Iglesias, Julio Iglesias Jr., Enrique Iglesias and Tamara Falcó y Preysler, 6th Marchioness of Griñón
Relatives	Neile Adams (maternal aunt)

Early life

Preysler was born in Baybay, Leyte, Philippines, the third of six children to a wealthy family. Her ancestry is Spanish and Kapampangan Filipino. She attended a private Roman Catholic school; Her father, Carlos Preysler y Pérez de Tagle, was the executive director of Philippine Airlines and on the Board of Directors for the Banco Español de Manila (Spanish Bank of Manila),[5] while her mother, María Beatriz Arrastía y Reinares, was the owner of a real estate company in Manila.[5][6] She is the niece of actress Neile Adams, who is her mother's half-sister. She is also a first cousin once removed of American actor Steven R. McQueen, who is Neile's grandson.[7]

Career

During her youth, Preysler was a model who participated in beauty pageants and charity events for the Sheraton Hotels and Resorts in Manila and went on to win titles in several events. At the age of 16, she migrated to Madrid, Spain to live with her uncle and aunt and to study at Mary Ward College, an Irish Catholic University in Spain, where she studied accounting.

Preysler began working as a journalist for Spanish celebrity-news magazine ¡Hola! in 1970, and her first interviewee was her future husband Julio Iglesias. In 1984, she hosted a Spanish lifestyle television programme, Hoy en Casa, and has hosted and appeared in various programs since. In May 2001, she was Prince Charles' guest of honour for the opening of his Spanish Garden at the Chelsea Flower Show in England. She was his guest of honor again in 2005 at a garden party during a holiday to Spain by the Royal Crown. In 2004, Preysler became Spain's welcoming host for David and Victoria Beckham when she hosted a welcoming party at her house for the celebrity couple. She became close friends with Victoria and was often photographed shopping with her during their stay in Madrid.

Preysler continues to be the national spokesmodel for Ferrero Rocher, Suárez jewelry, Manolo Blahnik shoes, Chrysler cars and Porcelanosa tiles, for which American Hollywood actor George Clooney recently worked with her in 2006 to represent the brand in an advertising campaign.

Readers at Hola magazine voted Preysler as the most elegant and best-dressed woman in Spain for 1991, 2002, 2006 and 2007.[8]

In 2006, Preysler was also honored along with Hillary Clinton, Shakira and Yoko Ono among others with the Women Together Award, which honors women for their philanthropical contributions to the United Nations in New York, making her the first woman of Filipino descent in history to win the award.[9]

In 2007, she and her daughters were invited by Prince Charles to be guests of honour at his London home, Clarence House.[10]

Personal life

In 1970, Preysler was introduced to a retired footballer named Julio Iglesias, who had just signed a recording contract to become a singer. Iglesias invited her to watch a Juan Pardo concert.[11] The couple was married seven months later on January 29, 1971. They were married for seven years and the couple had three children, María Isabel (b. 1971), Julio José (b. 1973) and Enrique Miguel (b. 1975). They divorced in 1979. After they had divorced and moved on, in 1982 she sent her children away to Miami to live with their father because of kidnapping threats she was receiving.

Preysler married Carlos Falcó, 5th Marquess of Griñón on March 23, 1980.[12] The couple had one daughter, Tamara Isabel Falcó (b. 1981).

Her third marriage was to the former Spanish finance minister Miguel Boyer (died September 29, 2014), the couple had one daughter, Ana Isabel Boyer (b. 1989).[12]

She currently is in a relationship with Peruvian Nobel laureate writer, journalist, and politician Mario Vargas Llosa.[13]

In 1987, her two sisters immigrated to Spain with their families to be closer to Isabel. She holds dual citizenship in both the Philippines and Spain.

Her father, Carlos Preysler, is deceased; her mother, Beatriz Preysler, lives in Madrid with Isabel, her daughter Tamara (since her father's death in 2020, Marquesa de Griñón),[14] and Mario Vargas Llosa.[15]

Titles

• 1980–1987: The Most Excellent The Marchioness of Griñón

Ancestry

Ancestors of Isabel Preysler

16. Don Joaquin Preysler y Moreno 8. Don Joaquin Preysler y Cernuda 17. Doña Josefa Cernuda y Cuervo 4. Don Fausto Preysler y Moreno 18. Don José Moreno 9. Doña Natalia Moreno y Ravelo 19. Doña Joaquina Ravelo 2. Carlos Preysler y Pérez de Tagle 20. Don Ignacio Luciano Pérez de Tagle y Torres (son of Don Ignacio Maria Pérez de Tagle, 5th Marquess of Las Salinas) 10. Don Benito Pérez de Tagle y Mijares 21. Doña Maxima Mijares y Morillo 5. Doña Carmen Pérez de Tagle y Pastor 22. Don Manuel Pastor y Landero 11. Doña Carmen Pastor y Teves 23. Doña Eugenia Teves y Villamil 1. Isabel Preysler y Arrastia 24. Don Justo Arrastia y Remirez 12. Don Valentin Arrastia y Roncal 25. Doña Jacoba Roncal y Aramendia 6. Don José Arrastia y Salgado 26. Don José Salgado y Tan-Ayco 13. Doña Francisca Salgado y Serrano 27. Doña Juana Serrano y Montemayor 3. María Beatriz Arrastía y Reinares 28. ??? 14. Don Francisco Reinares 29. ??? 7. Doña Teodorica Reinares 30. ??? 15. Don Emeranciana Reinares 31. ???

References

1. "The return of Isabel Preysler". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on March 31, 2009. Retrieved November 25, 2007.
2. "Preysler Family" (PDF). www.geocities.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 27, 2009.
3. "Musica – Biografia". vh1la.
4. R. Arce. "Filipino peoples' Real Ancestry". Filipino Cultured.
5. "Isabel Preysler". Yahoo! Noticias España. Archived from the original on May 27, 2008.
6. "Isabel Preysler – Profiles". Hola.
7. "10 cosas (+2) que nadie te va a contar de Isabel Preysler".
8. "Isabel Preysler, elegida la mujer más elegante de 2007". Hola.
9. "Awards Women Together – Women Together Awards". Miguel Villarino. Retrieved April 5, 2006.
10. Tantingco, Robby (December 10, 2012). "The Kapampangan girl Julio Iglesias loved before". Archived from the original on July 8, 2013. Retrieved July 8, 2013.
11. "Julio Iglesias – Biography". Musica.
12. "Spain's Insiders in Insider Scandal". The New York Times. May 23, 1992. Retrieved July 8, 2013.
13. "Mario Vargas Llosa confirma que ha pedido el divorcio a su esposa". El Pais. November 17, 2015. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
14. "Enrique Iglesias' sister Tamara Falco gets surprise aristocratic title". HOLA! USA. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
15. "Muy religiosa, anglófona y aficionada a la música clásica: así es la discreta madre de Isabel Preysler". Vanity Fair (in Spanish). February 22, 2019. Retrieved September 9, 2020.

External links

• Isabel Preysler at IMDb