Thalía

For other uses, see Thalia.

This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Sodi and the second or maternal family name is Miranda.

Thalía
225px Thalia filming a commercial for The Hershey Company
Born	Ariadna Thalía Sodi Miranda (1971-08-26) August 26, 1971 Mexico City, Mexico
Other names	The Queen of Telenovelas
Occupation	Singer actress author entrepreneur Radio presenter fashion designer
Years active	1979–present
Net worth	US$50 million
Height
Spouse(s)	Tommy Mottola (m. 2000)
Partner(s)	Fernando Colunga (1995–96)
Children	2
Parent(s)	Ernesto Sodi Pallares(deceased) Yolanda Miranda Mange(deceased)
Musical career
Genres	Latin pop Pop rock Dance
Instruments	vocals
Labels	Fonovisa (1985–94) EMI Latin (1994–2008) Sony Music Latin (2009–present)
Associated acts	Timbiriche
Website	thalia.com

Ariadna Thalia Sodi Miranda Mottola (Spanish pronunciation: [aɾiˈaðna taˈli.a ˈsoði miˈɾanda]; born August 26, 1971), known mononymously as Thalía, is a Mexican singer, published author, actress and entrepreneur, who has sung in various languages including Spanish, English, Portuguese, and Filipino.

She is recognized as the most successful and influential female Mexican singer. She is often referred to as the "Queen of Latin Pop" by international media, mainly because of her legacy within the Latin pop music scene for the last 25 years. As a solo artist, she has sold over 40 million records worldwide, being considered one of the best-selling Latin musicians of all time. She has had 28 Top 10 singles, 16 of which went to No.1 and she has received numerous accolades including five Latin Billboard awards, several Premios Juventud awards and various Latin Grammy nominations.

Apart from her success as a recording artist, Thalía has also had a successful career in acting, as she starred in a variety of soap operas (known as telenovelas) that have aired in over 180 countries. During the decade of the 1990s, she was converted into a television icon and was publicly referred to as the "Queen of telenovelas" by the mass media around the world. She was also reported to be the most successful and best-paid telenovela actress, as stated by Televisa, the largest mass media company in the Spanish-speaking world.

In 2008, the British tabloid The Sun named her one of "the 50 female singers who will never be forgotten" and in 2011, Terra Networks included her in their list of "the most powerful and iconic women in music". She is also an occasional fashion designer and has her own nationally syndicated radio show, while she is an accomplished author having released four books, one of them being her personal memoir. On December 5, 2013 she was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, as a recognition for her successful career in music and entertainment.

Early life

File:Lago de Chapultepec V.jpg

Thalia was born in Mexico city.

Thalía was born on August 26, 1971, in Mexico City, Mexico. She is the youngest of five daughters of Yolanda Miranda Mange, a painter who was Thalia's manager from 1980 to 1999; and Ernesto Sodi Pallares, a scientist, doctor of pathology, criminologist, and writer. Her four sisters are Laura Zapata (daughter of Guillermo Zapata Pérez de Utrera), Federica, Gabriela, and Ernestina Sodi.

When she turned one year old, Thalía appeared in her first TV commercial in Mexico. When she turned four, she began taking ballet and piano classes at the National Conservatory of Music of Mexico. Thalía's father suffered from diabetes and died in 1977 when Thalía was only six years old. Years later, Thalia realized that her father's death traumatized her drastically, since she could not talk to anyone for a whole year. This led to her being diagnosed with childhood disintegrative disorder (CDH), which belongs to a series of developmental disorders caused by autism spectrum. Her mother took her to many psychologists at an early age.

Thalía went to Liceo Franco Mexicano elementary school, where she learned to speak French fluently at a very young age. In 1976, a year before her father's death, she appeared in a Mexican film La guerra de los pasteles ("War of Cakes"), although her name doesn't appear in the film credits.

Life and career

1981–89: Career beginnings and the Timbiriche era

In 1981, when Thalía was nine years old, she was incorporated as a vocalist in a children's group named Pac Man, which was formed in order to participate in a popular music festival known as Juguemos a cantar ("Let's play at singing"), a TV program by Televisa. Later, Pac Man changed their band name to "Din-Din". Thalía performed various times along with Din-Din in occasional events and parties, touring all over Mexico. The band recorded a total of 4 studio albums between 1982 and 1983 (En acción, Recordando el Rock and Roll, Somos alguien muy especial and Pitubailando), and later it was disbanded.

After Din-Din broke up in 1984, Thalía participated as a solo artist in two annual music festivals of Juguemos a cantar. In 1984, she placed second there with her interpretation of "Moderna niña del rock" ("Modern rock girl"); this brought her the opportunity to participate in the chorus of the popular musical Vaselina, a child version of the successful musical Grease, in which the band Timbiriche was acting and singing. The line-up of the band consisted of Sasha Sökol, Benny Ibarra, Erik Rubín, Diego Schoening, Mariana Garza and Paulina Rubio. Timbiriche was highly promoted at the time by Televisa, one of the most massive media enterprises globally and the most important in the Spanish-speaking world. Some time later, Thalía obtained the protagonist role of Sandy Dee in the musical, and she performed in 500 theater presentations of Vaselina along with Timbiriche.

In 1986, after the departure of Sasha Sökol from Timbiriche, Thalía became a member of the band. By that time, Timbiriche had already recorded five albums. In the following year, Thalía was offered to participate in the telenovela Pobre señorita Limantour; this production was actually Thalía's debut as a TV actress. However, she appeared in only one episode. In the same year, she recorded with Timbiriche the principal theme of the juvenile telenovela Quinceañera ("Fifteen-year-old"), in which Thalía was the co-protagonist with the role of Beatriz. The TV series was awarded as the "Best telenovela" by "Premios TVyNovelas" in 1988 and Thalía was awarded as "the best new actress of 1988".

With Timbiriche, Thalía recorded four studio albums: Timbiriche VII (1987), the double album Timbiriche VIII y IX (1988) and Los clásicos de Timbiriche (1989). The last one is a compilation of the band's greatest hits, recorded originally in 1987, with new symphonic arrangements as it included the participation of Mexico's philharmonic orchestra. In 1989, Thalía departed from Timbiriche. In that year, she also starred in another TV series, Luz y sombra ("Light and shadow"), which was her first protagonist role. Some time later she visited Los Angeles in order to take English courses in the University of California. She also attended music, singing, acting and dancing classes before beginning her career as a solo artist.

1990–93: First albums as a solo artist

In 1990, Thalía returned to Mexico and released her first studio album as a solo artist, self-titled Thalía, which was produced by Alfredo Díaz Ordaz, and published by Fonovisa, Televisa's record label. From that album, she released a total of four singles that became huge radio hits : "Amarillo Azul", "Pienso en Ti", "Un Pacto Entre Los Dos" and "Saliva". The two last tracks were co-written by her and Díaz Ordaz and they were considered as provocative at the time ("Un Pacto Entre Los Dos" was even labeled as a song with occult Satan-worship lyrics by various far-right parties).

In September 1991, Thalía released her second studio album, Mundo de cristal, which marks Thalía's last project in collaboration with Alfredo Díaz Ordaz. Four songs became radio singles from the album, and all of them had big radio impact in Mexico. Due to the success of the singles, the album was certified as double gold in Thalía's native country, Mexico. In the same year, Thalía was co-presenter of the late Spanish show VIP Noche, along with Spanish presenter Emilio Aragón, produced by Telecinco.

In October 1992, she released her third studio album and her last under the same label, entitled Love, which was recorded in Spain and it was produced by Luis Carlos Esteban. The album spread six singles, that had huge radio impact: "Sangre", "Love", "No Trates de Engañarme", "Flor de Juventud", "María Mercedes" (official theme of the TV series), and "La Vida en Rosa" (La vie en rose), the last one being a Spanish-French cover of the classic French song originally performed by Edith Piaf. Thalía wrote the song "Sangre" inspired in Díaz Ordaz, with whom she had broken up her sentimental relation. The album was praised by the critics, as it was an artistic evolution for Thalía, who experimented for the first time in different music genres, especially electronic music. The album reached number 15 on Billboard's Latin Pop Albums in 1993. In Mexico, it sold over 200,000 copies in the first month upon its release and very soon it reached the platinum and gold certification.

1994–99: International breakout

In 1994, during the successful transmission of Marimar, Thalía signed a contract with the record label EMI in order to prepare her fourth studio album that was entitled En éxtasis. The album was released in October 1995. En éxtasis was produced with the aid of celebrated producers such as Emilio Estefan, Jr. (husband of the famous Cuban singer Gloria Estefan) and Óscar López. The album spawned a total of seven singles including "Piel morena", "Amándote", "María la del barrio", "Quiero hacerte el amor", "Gracias a Dios, "Me Faltas Tú" and "Lágrimas".

Piel morena became a huge international hit apart from being voted as the best Spanish song ever in the United States from a poll released by mass media company Univision. It must also be added that Thalía was more oriented to the latin pop music genre in that album, even though it was influenced by various music genres.

Amandote became a number 1 hit in various radio stations in the Philippines in 1996, along with her phenomenal superstardom accompanied by her historic Manila tour. It was described by Philippine media as tantamount to that of Pope John Paul II's 1995 Manila visit.

File:María la del Barrio shoot.jpg

Thalía and Fernando Colunga in María la del barrio (1995).

The broadcast of the telenovelas María Mercedes, Marimar and María la del barrio had already converted Thalía to a global television phenomenon by the end of 1996. In January 1997, she released her first compilation album entitled Nandito Ako, which contains four songs recorded in Filipino, five English versions from various tracks from the album En éxtasis and a Spanish remix of the song Amándote. The only single that was released from this album was Nandito Ako. The album became a commercial success in the Philippines as a result of Thalía's growing popularity, reaching platinum status set by the Philippine Association of the Record Industry.

In July 1997, Thalía's fifth studio album was released, under the title Amor a la mexicana, produced again by Emilio Estefan, and including songs that became classic over the years like "Mujer Latina", "De dónde soy", "Por amor", "Noches sin luna" and "Amor a la mexicana". The album became a pure commercial success, while the first single of the album ("Amor a la mexicana") became a number one hit in 14 countries. With Amor a la mexicana, Thalía was able to bring her music and establish her projects in difficult markets like those of France, Belgium, Switzerland, Greece, Hungary, Turkey, Poland, Portugal, Italy and all the Spanish-speaking countries.

After the success of Amor a la mexicana, Thalía recorded the Spanish and Portuguese versions of the song "Journey to the Past", produced by Atlantic Records, as a part of the soundtrack of the Fox Animation Studios movie Anastasia (1997).

In the following year, Thalía starred for the first time in a movie in English, named "Mambo Café", written and directed by Reuben González. Mambo Café premiered in January 2000 in Mexico, Greece and Russia, distributed by Kushner Locke Entertainment.

In 1999, after Mambo Café, Thalía returned in television with telenovela Rosalinda. "Rosalinda" was considered to be Televisa's most expensive production ever by that time, as well as the most exported in foreign countries, as it was sold in over 180 countries. In an interview of that period Thalía commented: "The telenovelas are the ones that opened the doors of the world for me, because the audience of telenovelas is much more passionate than the audience of cinema. What's more, television is free".

2000–05: Marriage, crossover and first tour in the United States

Emilio Estefan also produced Thalía's sixth studio album, Arrasando, released on April 25, 2000, which was very successful. It spawned the singles "Entre el mar y una estrella", "Regresa a mí", "Arrasando" and "Reencarnación". Thalía was nominated in the Latin Grammy category as the "Best Female Pop Artist of the Year". The album received one Latin Grammy nomination and it won in its category as the "Best Sound Engineered Album of the year". The singles of this album were huge hits. In 2001 she was nominated for her record Arrasando and won a Lo Nuestro award in the category of People's Prize, and was the first artist to whom an innovative award from Billboard Awards for Latin Music was given, the "Star Award".

On May 4, 2001, the President of the United States, George W. Bush, invited her to a party celebrating Cinco de mayo organized at the White House, where she interpreted a medley of popular Mexican songs with a Mexican mariachi band.

On August 28, 2001, expressing her love for her country of birth, Mexico, she released her album Con Banda: Grandes Éxitos: a "greatest hits" album, but recorded with the typical Mexican "banda" sound. "Amor a la Mexicana" banda version was released as a single. The album was nominated for a Latin Grammy for "Best Banda Album" at the 3rd Annual Latin Grammy Awards in 2002.

Her seventh studio album, self-titled Thalía, was released on May 21, 2002. It was largely written and produced by Estéfano. Buoyed by a pair of chart-topping singles ("Tú y Yo" and "No me enseñaste") and a top-ten hit ("¿A quién le importa?") (cover of Alaska y Dinarama), this album hit number one for 6 consecutive weeks on the Top Latin Albums chart, reaching number eleven on the Billboard 200 chart and 2x Multi-Platinum status with sales in the U.S. of 200,000 copies. It was nominated in one Latin Grammy category – "Female Pop Vocal Album", and in four Latin Billboard categories – "Pop Track Female" and "Tropical Track Female" for "No Me Enseñaste", "Your World Award", and "Female Pop Album", for Thalía, winning the last two awards. "No Me Enseñaste" reached at No. 1 in Billboard's Hot Latin Tracks chart.

On February 25, 2003, she released her first remix album, Thalía's Hits Remixed. This album contains some remixes of her EMI era hits, such as "Amor a la Mexicana", "Piel Morena", "No Me Enseñaste" and "Tú y Yo." It also contains the English version of "Arrasando", called "It's My Party". Furthermore, it includes the previously unreleased medley that Thalía had recorded especially for her 2001 Latin Grammy Awards performance, but was later cancelled, due to the September 11 attacks.

Thalía in the High Voltage Tour Los Angeles concert on May 14, 2004

On July 8, 2003, Thalía released her eighth studio album and the first one in English, the self-titled Thalía, featuring the rapper Fat Joe in "I Want You/Me Pones Sexy". "Baby, I'm in Love/Alguien Real", "Don't Look Back" and "Cerca De Ti" were singles too. The album landed at No. 11 in The Billboard 200. The song "I Want You" entered the American Top 40 with Casey Kasem and even reached the top 10 during that year. The song also entered the American Billboard Top 100 Singles Charts that year. She won an International Dance Music Award for her club-hit "Dance Dance (The Mexican)".

On February 10, 2004, Thalía released her first official Greatest Hits album, and "Cerca de ti" and "Acción y Reacción" were the singles from this album. In April and May, she toured USA and Mexico with her "High Voltage Tour".

Her ninth studio album, El Sexto Sentido, was released on July 19, 2005 and recorded mostly in Spanish, but with a few of the songs sung in English as well. It was reported to be the most expensive music album produced in Latin America in 2005. It had mild success, although the sound and the overall result make it one of her most integrated projects. "Amar sin ser amada" was the first single of the album and is considered as an infectious rock-edged tango-based song. "Un alma sentenciada", the second single of the album, is a feverish and, at points, hyperdramatic ballad. The explosive "Seducción" ("Seduction") and "Olvidame" were also releases as singles, gaining considerable success. The album was also certified gold in Argentina, Greece and Mexico and double platinum in the United States.

2006–08: The Conexión Thalía Radio Show, Lyme disease and Lunada

In 2006, the album received a reloaded version, El Sexto Sentido: Re+Loaded. Thalía was the 'godmother' of Cantando Por Un Sueño, a Mexican TV reality show. It was rumored she got paid 1 million dollars to perform. Thalía recorded the title song of the show, and it was included in the album. It was released in Mexico on February 13, 2006 (U.S. June 6, Spain May 29) and features four new songs, including a duet with the group Aventura, "No, No, No" which become a massive hit. "El Sexto Sentido" was nominated for one Latin Grammy as "Best Female Pop Vocal Album", it was also nominated in one Latin Billboard category – "Pop Female Album" and in eight Premios Juventud categories.

In 2006, Thalía became a U.S. citizen at a swearing-in ceremony in New York, where she resides with her husband. Under Mexican law she is allowed to retain her Mexican citizenship.

In March 2007, Thalía also joined ABC Radio to start The Conexión Thalía Radio Show, where she talks about music, fashion, news and political issues.

Afterwards, she was named one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in People en Español 2008 for a record-breaking seventh time where they called her their "Queen". She was once again featured in the 2010 edition for an eighth time.

In May 2008, Thalía's single "Ten Paciencia", was premiered on the internet. Although, the single received a lukewarm response and did not perform well in the U.S. charts and Top 20 hits in Mexico, it was #1 in several countries of Latin America. Furthermore, her tenth studio album Lunada, was released on June 24, 2008 and debuted at number eight in Mexico and peaked at number ten on the Billboard Top Latin Albums (U.S). It was the last Thalía's studio album released by EMI.

Thalía later appeared on El Show De Cristina, aired in late July by Univision's Spanish network to promote the album. According to Univision network, her appearance on the show received huge ratings, reaching No. 1 in both the Chicago and Miami markets. The show was said to have been viewed by over 87 million people in the US alone.

"Será porque te amo", the second single, received no promotion and became another failed single. It is a Spanish language cover version of the Italian hit "Sarà perché ti amo", originally performed by the group Ricchi e Poveri.

On October 23, it was announced that Thalía was suffering from Lyme disease, which is transmitted by ticks. Fortunately, it was discovered quickly, and the singer, as well as her mother, Yolanda Miranda, were able to receive antibiotics in time. On November 18, Thalía announced the end of her collaboration with EMI Music.

Despite Lunada being a commercial disappointment, it was named as the "Best Album of the Year" by ¡Hola! readers. The latest work of the Mexican singer achieved 8,750 votes beating artists, such as Luis Miguel, Britney Spears, Mariah Carey, Beyoncé and Madonna.

2009–11: Success of Primera Fila and Growing Stronger

On July 30, 2009, Thalía recorded her acoustic album, Primera fila, her first album after she signed with Sony Music Entertainment. In October, Thalía performed at the White House, along with other Latin singers, in an event organized by President Barack Obama that celebrated Hispanic heritage. Thalía's performance was iconic and historic, as she was the first celebrity to publicly invite a United States President to dance.

In October of the same year, she released the first single from Primera fila, a song named Equivocada. In December Thalía released her album, which contained duets with Joan Sebastian and Pedro Capó and various other songs, that became huge radio hits in the following months. The production received critical accept and very positive reviews, while Jason Birchmeier stated that "Primera Fila" was one of the best albums Thalía has released in her whole career, and definitely the one with the most surprises. As for Thalía, she considered Primera Fila as "the most personal album" in her career.

Regarding to the album's commercial performance, Primera fila received diamond and triple platinum sales certifications in Mexico, where it was announced by the end of 2011 that the album had sold over 500,000 copies according to AMPROFON. Primera fila was the best selling album in Mexico in 2010, where it topped the charts for 55 non-consecutive weeks, the most weeks ever in Mexico's recorded music chart history. In Greece and Spain, the album reached the positions No. 6 and No. 32, respectively, while it reached No. 4 in Billboard's top Latin Albums and No. 2 in Billboard's Latin Pop Albums charts. Initially, Primera Fila had reached No. 1 on both aforementioned charts, but sales of the standard edition and the Walmart edition were later divided, leading to a retraction and update to Billboard's official peak positions for Primera Fila. After these changes, Primera fila went from a peak position of #167 to a peak position of #198 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. Until the month of October 2012, Primera fila had sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide.

In September 2010, Thalía released a special anniversary edition of the album under the title Primera fila... Un año después, which included 8 songs from the original album, as well as 2 never-released before songs, 2 remixes and a DVD with a documentary of the recording process of the album. In October 2010, Michael Bublé invited her to record a song with him in his holiday album Christmas. Together they recorded the bilingual song "Mis Deseos/Feliz Navidad" and their collaboration received very positive reviews.

2012–13: The Way You Look Tonight, Habitame Siempre, VIVA! Tour, CHUPIE (The Binky That Returned To Home) and Hollywood Walk Fame.

Thalía had a collaboration with American music veteran Tony Bennett for his "Viva:Duets" album, which was released on October 22, 2012. Together they performed live the classic song "The way you look tonight" in Today's show and the Katie Couric's show.

During the past months, she had announced that she was recording her eleventh studio album, Habítame siempre. On September 21, 2012, Thalía gave a private concert in New York City at Hammerstein Ballroom as a preview of the upcoming album. The album's lead single, "Manías", was released on October 8, 2012.

Habítame siempre was released in November 19, 2012 in the United States and Latin America under the label of Sony Music Latin, while in Europe it is set to be released in 2013 by BMG Music. The album contains collaborations with Robbie Williams, Michael Bublé, Prince Royce and Gilberto Santa Rosa, among others and immensely after its release, it received mostly positive reviews.

"Habitame Siempre" was certified triple platinum plus gold in Mexico for sales of more than 210,000 copies, gold in the United States for shipments exceeding 50,000 copies and platinum in Venezuela for over 10,000 copies shipped. In the meantime the second single of the album, "Te Perdiste Mi Amor", was certified platinum in Mexico for digital sales of over 60,000 copies.

In March 24, 2013 Thalía launched her VIVA! Tour in support of Habítame Siempre. The VIVA! Tour marks Thalía's first tour in a decade and consists of a series of intimate concerts in the United States and Mexico. Thalía stated in an interview that she also plans to expand the tour to Latin America, Europe and Asia if it meets positive commercial reception.

In October 2013, Thalía released in the United States and Latin America her fourth book Chupie (The Binky That Returned Home) and in November 12, Thalía released in Mexico her second live album VIVA! Tour. This album was recorded in April 27, 2013 during her concert in Mexico City. In United States and Latin America, the album was released in December 1, 2013. It was certified gold in Mexico on its second week on the market for sales exceeding 30,000 copies.

On December 5, 2013, she received her own star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame as a recognition of her success.

2014–present: VIVA KIDS, Sino a Ti with Laura Pausini and Amore Mio

On March 25, 2014, Thalía released her first children album VIVA KIDS Vol.1 in Mexico. The album have 11 songs and received one nomination to Latin Grammy Awards 2014. Vamos A Jugar was the first single of the album and was released on March 18, 2014. VIVA KIDS Vol.1 was released in US, on June 5, 2014.

On July 22, 2014, the singer Italian "Global superstar" Laura Pausini confirmed that by September that same year she would release a special version of her Greatest Hits album to the hispanophone market, in an edition containing new duet with Thalía in Sino a ti.

On September 9, 2014, Thalía released the lead single of Amore Mio, "Por Lo Que Reste De Vida". The song debuted No. 50 in the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart. The video music was released on October 14, 2014.

Thalía released her 12th studio album on November 17, 2014. Amore Mio was Thalía's third album that debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Latin Top Albums chart. The album debuted at No. 173 on the Billboard 200 with 3,000 copies sold in first week in the US. In Mexico, the album debuted at #1. In December 2014, to celebrate Thalía's 25th anniversary as a solo artist, her first three albums were released as a digital download from iTunes and Spotify.

In January 2015, Thalía released her first fashion collection in United States with Macy's.

Acting career

File:Thalia María.jpg

María la del barrio, Thalía's 1995 record-setting telenovela that was broadcast in more than 180 countries.

Thalia was cast in a supporting role in the 1986 telenovela Pobre señorita Limantour with which she began her collaboration with Televisa, the largest mass media company in the Spanish-speaking world. In 1987, she went on to star in her first major role for Televisa in the 1987 teenage drama series Quinceañera, along with Mexican actress Adela Noriega. Quinceañera won the TV y Novelas award for Best Telenovela of the Year 1988. In 1989, she got her first lead role in Luz y Sombra, which was less successful.

However, Thalía's explosion in popularity came in 1992, when she starred in María Mercedes for which she won a TV Y Novelas award as Best Young Actress in 1993. This series was the first of three telenovelas, named by the Mexican press as Las Tres Marias ("The Three Marías"), because the name of the heroine in all of these telenovelas was María. The second telenovela of the trilogy was Marimar in 1994, and the third and final was Maria la del Barrio in 1995. Between of the trilogy, the third was the most successful of Thalía's career and it remains her most iconic role, while Marimar is considered the best Telenovela of all time. In 1999, Thalía starred in her last telenovela, "Rosalinda". All four telenovelas were basically based on the same rags to riches character. With these telenovelas, Thalía became famous worldwide and was consolidated as a television phenomenon, because of the extremely high ratings her TV series achieved in more than 180 countries (especially the Philippines).

Although Thalía's presence in television is legendary, her presence in cinema is less important. She appeared for the first time in a movie when she was still a child in the 1979 film "La Guerra De los Pasteles" ("The War of the Cakes"). Furthermore, in 1999, she starred in "Mambo Café", a modest indie film production that had a poor reception from critics, as it was a low budget film.

Cultural impact of telenovelas

Thalía has been labeled by various mass media companies as the "queen of soap operas", because her presence in television during the decade of the 90s was phenomenal. She starred in Mexico's highest-rated telenovelas ever that were exported in over 180 countries and viewed by about 2 billion people. It is stated by media experts that at some point at the midst of the telenovela craze, Thalía's name even became synonymous with her native country, Mexico.

According to the newspaper Ivoir'Soir: "At 7.30 sharp in the evening, when Marimar comes on, everything stops in Côte d'Ivoire". It is also mentioned that "Marimar" could attract more local fans than the 1998 World Cup, and that the program arrived in Africa after being a phenomenal rating hit in Indonesia and the Philippines, where in 1997 she was received in Manila like a foreign head of state.

Thalía stated in her autobiography regarding to the impact of her telenovelas: "Soap operas made a lot of history; just look at the report by UNESCO, where it was noted that "in the Ivory Coast in Africa and in Paris (France), people stopped the daily course of their lives just to watch a soap opera. I never expected that kind of success [...] Whenever I arrived anywhere, I was treated like royalty; even the press in some of these countries referred to me as the Aztec Queen, the Mexican Queen, or the ambassador of Mexico, and like a proud peacock, I always brought my country's flag with me wherever I went to represent my motherland. I was in the clouds at the pinnacle of my career [...] During my visit at the Philippines, the organizers informed me that the last time so many people gathered in the streets for a person was when Pope John Paul the Second came to visit on January fourteenth, 1995 [...] In the Philippines, the country that probably felt the greatest impact from Marimar, the show was more widely promoted than the 1998 World Cup and more highly rated than the Super Bowl or the Grammys. In fact while I was visiting the country, the people and the media were so enthralled to see Marimar in the flesh that a historic peace treaty between the government and the querillas and the centennial celebrations of the Philippine Revolutions that were happening at the same time were pushed aside in the midst of Marimar fever. As a result, the archipelago was temporarily dubbed "República de MariMar."

The phenomenon of Thalía's telenovelas also became visible in countries like Indonesia, Turkey, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Russia, Brazil, Lebanon, France, Egypt, Portugal and the majority of Spanish-speaking countries around the world.

Business activities

Thalía in a Visión Expo event in 2007, presenting her eyewear collections.

File:Thalía caricatura 2008-04.jpg

Thalia cartoon

In 2002, Thalía signed a deal with Kmart in order to release her own clothing collection for women, as well as accessories and home products. In the middle of 2003, the "Thalía Sodi" collection was officially available in the US market in over 2,000 stores. Thalía commented: "My collection is a dream that came through. I'm so happy to have created a clothe line inspired by my culture, trying to show the colors and the passion of our culture, that captures also a big part of my personal style". Thalía became the first Mexican woman to launch a clothing brand in the US.

Simultaneously, Thalía debuted her eyewear collection under the brand name "Thalía Eyewear Collection" in association with Kenmark Optical. In 2005, the line also became available in Mexico's market as Thalía signed a deal with "Devlyn" company. Up to 2007 Thalía had generated US$100 million from the sales of "Thalía Eyewear", with more than 1 million products sold. Precisely in 2007 Thalía presented a new eyewear collection in New York, and the brand was exported to over eighty countries around the world.

File:Thalia girl.gif

Thalia logo

In April 2004, Thalía entered the editorial market by releasing her own magazine Thalía in US, produced by American Media and oriented to the female Latin youth. The magazine included consultation and reports about themes like health, fashion and beauty secrets. Some months later, in September, Thalía became the face of jewels' company Jacob & Co.

In 2004, Thalía signed a contract with Hershey's with which she released her chocolate and candy brand. In 2005 Thalía designed a summer clothing line, and in the following year, she was converted into the face of "Carol’s Daughter" company, specialized in beauty products, while in 2007 she launched her perfume, produced by "Fuller Cosmetics" company. In 2007, she joined ABC Radio and started her own radio show known as "The Conexión Thalía Radio Show", in which she discusses music, fashion, news and political issues, and invites various people to talk with her on different issues. The program, that is weekly and lasts two hours premiered on March 17, 2007 and still goes on, while it has expanded to over 70 radio stations through the US.

In September 2007, she released "Thalía: ¡Belleza!-Lessons in Lipgloss and Happiness" while in June 2009, she released her second book entitled "Thalia: ¡Radiante!-Your Guide to a Fit and a Fabulous Pregnancy". In May 2010, Thalía revealed new accessories and jewels available via her website, apart from a new clothing line in association with multinational company C&A. In February 2011, she became the new face of Head & Shoulders and in November, she released her third book, which is her autobiography and named "Growing Stronger". Thalía has also been the public face of various advertisements, like Dr Pepper in 2001 or Victoria's Secret in 2005. According to Mira! magazine, in 2008 it was estimated that Thalía was one of the most wealthy Mexican businesswomen with a net worth of over US$50 million. In April 2012, she inaugurated her own yoga center in New York.

Personal life

St. Patrick's Cathedral, place of marriage 2000.

Thalia married music executive Tommy Mottola on December 2, 2000. The couple has two children, daughter Sabrina Sakaë, born in October 2007, and son Matthew Alejandro, born in June 2011

Thalía has stated in her autobiography and elsewhere that she is religious and believes profoundly in God. She began studying Kabbalah in 2002, using many of its symbols in the artwork of her album El Sexto Sentido.

In September 2002, Thalía's sisters, Laura Zapata and Ernestina Sodi, were kidnapped in Mexico City. Zapata was released 18 days after her kidnapping, and her sister Ernestina was released on the 36th day. Thalía has had a series of familial conflicts, especially with her sister Laura Zapata. However, she has opted to keep her point of view regarding to her familial issues in privacy, despite the attacks she has received from her elder sister. In a press interview, Thalía stated that her familial problems with her sister are "just a dark cloud in a shiny sky".

In 2008, Thalía was affected by Lyme disease, a disease commonly transmitted by ticks. Thalía's illness prevented her from promoting her album Lunada, while it functioned as a motivation for her to have a totally different perspective towards life. In reference to her illness, Thalia stated in her autobiography : "I would sweat profusely, soaking my pajamas, the sheets and even the mattress; everything hurt, even my hair, which, by the way, started to fall out. At times it felt as if my head were going to burst, as if there were lead inside of it; my eyes ached in their sockets….the hypersensitivity of my skin was so severe that sometimes I couldn’t even handle the bed sheets."

Humanitarian work

Thalía has participated in various humanitarian campaigns. Since 2004, she has been an official celebrity ambassador and volunteer of March of Dimes, in order to support national fundraising and awareness campaigns. March of Dimes is a United States nonprofit organization that works to improve the health of mothers and babies. Through various public service campaigns and through her own media channels, Thalia has been a strong voice for March of Dimes Prematurity Campaign. She also is featured in March of Dimes Education and Health Promotion materials in English and Spanish, while she has helped to raise awareness and critical funds for the March of Dimes year-round. Furthermore, she supports March for Babies and works to find ongoing opportunities for March of Dimes strategic alliances and media promotions.

In 2006, Thalía along with her husband attended the event A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Cure Parkinson's with the aim to economically support the foundation The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research of Michael J. Fox.

In May 2009, Thalía and Tommy Mottola were recognized from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Miami for their support in children in need. In 2010, she reunited with other recording artists, performers and actors like Sharon Stone, Michael Douglas, Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony between others, in order to raise funds for the "Foundation of the New York's police department", which works for better urban security. In 2011, she attended a beneficial event in New York, organized by the Robin Hood Foundation with the aim to raise money for homeless youth. In the same year, she closed the Mexican Teleton by offering a live concert.

Thalía is also a member of "ALAS Foundation", which is a non-profit organization that strives to launch a new social movement that will generate a collective commitment to comprehensive Early Childhood Development programs for the children in Latin America.

In November 2012, Thalía took humanitarian aid and comfort to compatriots of her in New York that were affected by Hurricane Sandy. She stated : "When I started seeing the destruction of Sandy I thought it was incredible, but, when I saw my Mexican brothers and sisters I felt the need to try and do something for them" in front of a group of families gathered at the Staten Island Immigrant Information Center in one of the most devastated by the storm areas. She went on to say that in times like this an artist should use the reach of the media to collect aid for the victims, and at the same time she called on the public to deposit money in the account opened by the Mexican Consulate for that purpose.

In April 2013, Thalía was awarded with the "Your Voice Inspires Many" award by the Lyme Research Alliance.

Influences

According to Thalia herself, her major personal influence was her mother, who was a motivating manager for Thalia from the very beginning of her career until 2000. As for her artistic influences, Thalia's work is mostly influenced by Gloria Estefan, Celine Dion, Sade, Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, The Doors, and Kylie Minogue, while she has stated that she always admired Marilyn Monroe and Madonna. Thalia's first idol, according to her, was athlete Nadia Comaneci. She has even stated that her record-breaking performance was a huge motivation for her to follow a career in entertainment.

Legacy

File:Thalia and Barack Obama cropped.jpg

Thalía invites United States President Barack Obama to dance with her while performing her signature hit "Amor a la mexicana" at the "In Performance at the White House: Fiesta Latina".

Thalia has been also an influential artist for many Latin pop singers, while Julio Iglesias, Tony Bennett, Juan Luis Guerra, Gloria Estefan, Ricky Martin, Tiziano Ferro, Michael Bublé, Anahi, Espinoza Paz, Gloria Trevi, Inna, Erik Rubin, Pedro Capó and many other artists have expressed their admiration towards her talent and charisma.

According to the American magazine "Ocean Drive", Thalia is "the biggest star Mexico has exported in the last decades." Univision Communications included her in their list of "25 most influential Mexican musicians", while she holds a record for appearing the most times in People en Español's annual list of the most beautiful Latin celebrities. The same magazine chose her in 2011 as one of the most powerful Latin women. The British tabloid "The Sun" declared Thalia as the 25th female singer who will never be forgotten. In 1998, French company Louis Vuitton invited her to appear in Rebonds publication, being at the time the first Latin celebrity to appear in such an important book. In 1997, April 25 was declared by the government of Los Angeles, as Thalia's National Day, because of her growing popularity among the Latino community in the United States.

"Thalía has built one of the most successful global Latino races in memory."

—Leila Cobo from Billboard.

Thalia's rise to prominence coincided with the worldwide broadcast of the soap operas she starred in. During the 1990s, she was highly promoted by television, gaining a following in various countries such as the Philippines, where dubbed versions of her telenovelas were aired. Thalia's soap operas were viewed in more than 180 countries by almost 2 billion viewers, giving her the opportunity to mark history in television and become one of the most successful television icons ever. After her achieving growing popularity, she took advantage of her fame in order to promote her music and try to open new markets with Spanish hits that entered the music charts of many countries. In 1999, she starred in her last soap opera, Rosalinda, she abandoned the field of television in order to focus more in her music projects. In the 2000s, she gained commercial and critical recognition for her music projects, while she also entered the business market, by launching several products under her brand name, and dominated the editorial business by writing and releasing three books, that became bestsellers.

She received her own star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2013 as a recognition to her versatile trajectory and her legacy in the world of music and entertainment.

Discography

Main article: Thalía discography

Studio Albums

• Thalía (1990)
• Mundo de cristal (1991)
• Love (1992)
• En éxtasis (1995)
• Amor a la Mexicana (1997)
• Arrasando (2000)
• Thalía (2002)
• Thalía (English) (2003)
• El Sexto Sentido (2005)
• Lunada (2008)
• Habítame siempre (2012)
• Amore Mío (2014)

Awards and nominations

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Thalía

Filmography

Telenovelas

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1987	Pobre Señorita Limantour	Diana	Supporting
1988	Quinceañera	Beatriz Villanueva Contreras	Leading Role
1989	Luz y Sombra	Alma Suárez
1992	María Mercedes	María Mercedes Muñoz del Olmo "Meche"
1994	Marimar	María del Mar Aldama Pérez "Marimar" / Bella Aldama
1995	María la del Barrio	María Hernández de De la Vega
1999	Rosalinda	Rosalinda Del Castillo de Altamirano / Paloma Dorantes

Films

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1979	La Guerra de los Pasteles	-	-
1997	Anastasia	Anastasia	Singing Voice (Latin Spanish Dubbing)
1999	Mambo Café	Nydia	-
2015	Los Minions	Scarlett Overkill	Latin Spanish Dubbing

TV shows

• VIP de Noche (1991–92)
• Las Aventuras de Eebee y Thalia (2009–10)
• Dora the Explorer: Dora's Rescue in Mermaid Kingdom (2012)

Radio show

• Conexión Thalía Radio Show (2007–15)

Collaborations with other artists

• 1995 : Solamente una vez, feat. Julio Iglesias
• 1998 : Corazón Corazón, technical duet with José Alfredo Jiménez †
• 1998 : El último adiós, conducted by Emilio Estefan, together with several Latin singers
• 2002 : Todo para ti, with the All Stars
• 2002 : What more can I give, with the All Stars
• 2002 : Dance Dance (The Mexican), feat. Marc Anthony
• 2002 : Tu y yo (Remix), feat. Kumbia Kings
• 2002 : La Loca, feat. Los Rabanes
• 2003 : I want you, feat. Fat Joe
• 2003 : Me pones sexy, feat. Fat Joe
• 2006 : No no, no feat. Aventura
• 2008 : Ten paciencia (remix), feat. Daddy Yankee
• 2008 : Aventurero, feat. Nubawn
• 2008 : Isla para dos, feat. Joselito
• 2009 : Estoy Enamorado, feat. Pedro Capó
• 2009 : Con la duda, feat. Joan Sebastian
• 2010 : Love me tender, technical duet with Elvis Presley †
• 2010 : De qué manera te olvido, technical duet with Rocío Dúrcal †
• 2010 : Somos el mundo, conducted by Emilio Estefan, with Artists for Haiti
• 2011 : Mis Deseos/Feliz Navidad, with Michael Bublé
• 2012 : Con los años que me quedan, feat. Samo, Jesus Navarro and Leonel García
• 2012 : Muñequita linda (te quiero dijiste) feat. Robbie Williams
• 2012 : Bésame mucho, feat. Michael Bublé
• 2012 : Dime si ahora, feat. Gilberto Santa Rosa
• 2012 : Te perdiste mi amor, feat. Prince Royce
• 2012 : La apuesta, feat. Erik Rubin
• 2012 : Sing, sing, sing feat Dora the Explorer
• 2012 : The way you look tonight, feat. Tony Bennett
• 2013 : Estoy Enamorado, feat. Gerardo Ortiz
• 2013 : Me dediqué a perderte, feat. Leonel García
• 2013 : Mujeres, feat. Yuri
• 2013 : Mujeres, feat. María José
• 2013 : Estou apaixonado, feat. Daniel
• 2014 : Sino a ti, feat. Laura Pausini
• 2014 : Tranquila, feat. Fat Joe
• 2014 : Como tú no hay dos, feat. Becky G

Tribute to other artists

• 2005 : Amor Prohibido, from Selena†
• 2013 : Cuando Nadie me Ve, from Alejandro Sanz

Bibliography

• Scott Robert Olson (1999). Hollywood Planet: Global Media and the Competitive Advantage of Narrative Transparency, Routledge publications, pages 134, 153-161. ISBN 9780805832297.
• Quiñones, Sam (2001). True Tales from Another Mexico: The Lynch Mob, the Popsicle Kings, Chalino, and the Bronx. University of New Mexico Press. ISBN 9780826322968.
• Cl. Fernandez, Andrew Paxman (2001). El tigre: Emilio Azcárraga y su imperio Televisa. ISBN 9700511901.
• Ruth Lorand (2002). Television: Aesthetic Reflections, P. Lang, Michigan University, digitized in 2008. ISBN 9780820455273
• Maria Immacolata, Vassallo de Lopes, Uribe Bertha (2004). Telenovela: internacionalização e interculturalidade, Edições Loyola. ISBN 8515028883, 9788515028887, πορτογαλικά.
• Cobo, Leila (2005). Billboard : "Thalía's Sixth Sense", Nielsen Business Media, Inc - Prometheus Global Media, pages 59–60. ISSN 0006-2510.
• Lisa Shaw, Stephanie Dennison (2005). Pop Culture Latin America!: Media, Arts, and Lifestyle, ABC-CLIO, pages 51, 233-239, 398. ISBN 9781851095049
• Stavans Ilan, Augenbraum Harold (2005). Encyclopedia Latina: History, culture, and society in the United States. Volumen 1, Grolier Academic Reference. ISBN 9780717258154.
• Antoine van Agtmael (2007). The Emerging Markets Century: How a New Breed of World-Class Companies Is Overtaking the World, Simon and Schuster, p. 255. ISBN 9781416548225
• Stavans, Ilan (2010). Telenovelas (The Ilan Stavans Library of Latino Civilization), ABC-CLIO. ISBN 0313364931, 9780313364938.

See also

• Sodi family
• Latin Pop
• List of most watched television broadcasts

External links

• Thalia.com — Thalía official website