It’s a big year for music icon Gloria Estefan as she celebrates 50 years of singing professionally.
Whether she was fronting the Miami Sound Machine or going solo, over her career Estefan has amassed eight Grammy Awards and has record sales exceeding 100 million worldwide. Most recently, she brought her amazing pipes and a lifetime of incredible stories to Kelly Clarkson’s talk show stage as the second guest on NBC’s four-episode special, Songs & Stories with Kelly Clarkson.
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A mother of two, Estefan has been married to fellow performer and entrepreneur Emilio Estefan for 47 years, where they’ve built a life and career together side-by-side. Estefan, 67, has endured and overcome huge challenges in her life, like surviving the cervical fracture of her spine after a tour bus crash. Through her lyrics and songwriting, she’s been able to channel her experiences to inspire others.
How age has refocused Gloria Estefan’s priorities in life
Gloria Estefan raises her arms while performing on stage.
In a 2022 interview with Thrive Global, Estefan revealed she’s gained a lot of blessings through age, including the confidence of knowing exactly who she is as a person.
“I don’t take BS from anybody,” she confirmed. “The shorter your time gets, the more important it is to spend that time [on] things that really are of value, and for me that’s my family, creating something that’s going to make someone feel better, or to just entertain them for a while…I [can] also focus more on the philanthropic side.”
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She and Emilio established the Gloria Estefan Foundation in 1997 to promote “education, health, and cultural development,” which includes spinal cord research, no-kill animal shelter funding, individual hardship grants, and community food drives.
Gloria Estefan on connecting the mind, body, and spirit
After surviving the tour bus accident that caused two titanium rods to be inserted into her back, Estefan underwent a year of intensive physical therapy to fully regain her mobility. The lessons she took away from that experience have since served the performer well.
She told Thrive Global that into her 60s, “My body does everything I want it to, and it does it fine. I exercise. I still ski, which is one of the things I love. I’m very active. I ride a bike, so I can’t ask for anything. You’ve got the experience behind you and hopefully, it comes with wisdom and I like it. I feel good in my skin.”
Almost losing her life in that accident also solidified the importance of appreciating everything you love in the now. She shared, “Absorb everything in every moment that you’re living because it’s going to go so fast and you’re not going to remember half of it, so just try to make those imprints in your mind and really soak in the love and the new opportunities to connect. But nothing is as big a deal as you think it is.”
Songs & Stories with Kelly Clarkson drops new episodes Tuesday nights at 10/9c on NBC. Episodes stream next day on Peacock.
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