Thalia Bio

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Ariadna Thalí­a Sodi Miranda (born August 26, 1971), known mononymously as Thalí­a (Spanish pronunciation: [ta'li.a]), is a Mexican singer, songwriter and actress. She has sold over 25 million albums worldwide. She has sung in Spanish, English, French, Portuguese and Tagalog.

Thalia has been nominated for various Latin Grammy, Latin Billboard and many other awards throughout her career, being considered as one of the best known latin singers globally. Apart from that, in her long-lasting singing career she has had many collaborations with various artists including Mark Anthony, Fat Joe, Joan Sebastian, Michael Bublé, Aventura and many more.

Thalia rose to international fame as well as an actress because of her starring in very successful soap operas like Marimar, Marí­a la del Barrio, Maria Mercedes, and Rosalinda. She has achieved to maintain her autonomy and her status as a powerful woman within the recording industry because of her multifaceted career in many different fields of art. She is also an occasional author, businesswoman and fashion designer.

Billboard magazine has referred to Thalia as "the Madonna of the hispanic market" while in Los Angeles Times it has been stated that "her act--both on and off the screen and concert halls--has made her something of a Madonna in the Latino community"

Thalia: Early life

Thalí­a was born on August 26, 1971 in Mexico City, Mexico. She is the daughter of Ernesto Sodi Pallares, a scientist, doctor of pathology, criminologist and writer, and Yolanda Miranda Mange, a painter and Thalí­a's manager from 1980 to 1999. She is the youngest of five children. She has four sisters, Laura Zapata, Federica, Gabriela and Ernestina Sodi. When Thalí­a was five years old, her father died and this loss had a devastating effect on her. As a youth, Thalia was a good student throughout her school years and studied at the prestigious Lycée Franco-Mexicain whose French-Spanish curriculum made her bilingual at an early age. Thalia said that if she were not in show business, she would become a biologist or psychologist.

Thalia: Music career

Thalia - 1981-89: Career beginnings and Timbiriche

In 1981, Thalí­a started her music career as a vocalist in the Mexican child group Din Din. She performed in the music festival "Juguemos a Cantar" as a member of the group and later, as a soloist. As a vocalist, she is considered a mezzo-soprano. In 1984, she was cast in the teenage version of the stage production "Grease", being cast in the lead role of Sandy.

In 1986, she became a member of the successful Mexican band, Timbiriche, replacing one of the original female vocalists, Sasha Sokol. Thalí­a recorded three albums with the band, which were titled Timbiriche VII, Timbiriche VIII y IX and Los Clasicos de Timbiriche. Other members of the band were Paulina Rubio, Erik Rubí­n, Eduardo Capetillo and Edith Márquez. In 1989, she left Timbiriche and that same year, she traveled to Los Angeles, California to prepare for a solo career.

Thalia - 1990-92: Thalí­a, Mundo de Cristal and Love

In 1990, Thalí­a returned to Mexico and released her first solo album, self-titled Thalí­a. Produced by Alfredo Diaz Ordaz, Thalí­a released the album through Fonovisa Records. She received a 2í— Gold certification the following year in Mexico. The album spawned the singles "Un Pacto entre los Dos", "Saliva", "Amarillo Azul", and "Pienso en Ti". This album was highly controversial, especially for the singles "Un Pacto entre los Dos" and "Saliva", which were banned by several radio stations in Mexico, due to their suggestive themes.

In 1991, Thalí­a traveled to Spain and starred in different television programs, such as VIP de Noche. That same year, she released her second studio album, Mundo de Cristal, produced by Alfredo Diaz Ordaz. The album was certified 2í— Gold in Mexico the following year. This album, released by Fonovisa, spawned three Mexican top ten hits, "Sudor", "En la Intimidad" and "Fuego Cruzado".

In 1992, Thalí­a released her third studio album, Love. This album was recorded in Spain and produced by the Spanish producer Luis Carlos Esteban. The record includes the Mexican number one hits "Sangre" and "Love". It also contains the top 10 hit "La Vida en Rosa", a Spanish-French adaptation of Edith Piaf's signature song, La Vie en Rose. This album received a Platinum + Gold certification in Mexico.

Thalia - 1995-99: En éxtasis, Nandito Ako and Amor a la Mexicana

Changes came in 1995 when she moved from Fonovisa to EMI Latin and released her label debut, En éxtasis, her fourth studio album and her first record for EMI, featuring her first major international hit, "Piel morena". The album also spawned the singles "Amándote", "Gracias a Dios" and "Quiero hacerte el amor". En éxtasis was produced with the aid of celebrated producers such as Emilio Estefan, Jr. (husband of the famous Cuban singer Gloria Estefan) and í“scar López. The album became her first international success, being recognized with multiple gold and platinum records.

In 1997, Thalí­a came back to the Philippines to release her first compilation album, Nandito Ako, also the CD single. She also gave two major live concerts that year, both at the Araneta Coliseum. The album is mostly recorded in Tagalog and English. "Nandito ako" features the Tagalog version of Ramon Orlando' merengue song "El Venao", whose title in the album is "Chika Lang". The album was re-edited in 2007 by EMI, to commemorate the 10 years of its release. This later version features different pictures from the original album, all of them taken from the CD "El sexto sentido", which Thalí­a was going to record many years later.

Her fifth studio album, Amor a la Mexicana, was released in 1997 and produced by Emilio Estefan, in which-returning to her Latin roots-includes rhythms with a Mexican-Cuban flavor in the lead single. The album met international success and was a much stronger album, which featured hits such as "Amor a la Mexicana", "Por amor" or "Mujer Latina". This album established her as a Latin Pop diva around the world. In the Wax Museum of Mexico City, they unveiled her statue in life size.

That same year, Atlantic Records released the soundtrack for the animated feature film Anastasia, which included the Spanish version of "Journey to the Past" as a bonus track and performed by Thalí­a.

In 1997, 25 April was declared the "Day of Thalí­a" in Los Angeles. She has a broad fan base around the world, through her music and telenovelas. She has been named one of the "25 most beautiful people" by the magazine People en Español several times. She has been a guest on television programs, including Hard Copy, Entertainment Tonight, El Show de Cristina and The Rosie O'Donnell Show.

In 1999, she starred in Mambo Café, a Hollywood production in which she played a young Puerto Rican girl alongside Danny Aiello and Rosanna de Soto with Paul Rodriguez as her father. The movie received poor reviews and went straight to video. Thalí­a has not since acted in a film.

Thalia - 2000-01: Arrasando and Thalí­a con banda: Grandes éxitos

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 potpourri of popular Mexican songs with a Mexican mariachi orchestra.

On August 28, 2001, expressing her love for her country of birth, Mexico, she released her album Con Banda: Grandes Exitos: 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.

Thalia - 2002-03: Thalí­a, Thalí­a's Hits Remixed and crossover album

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 4x Multi-Platinum status with sales 800,000 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" is one of her biggest hits to date, receiving many Latin Billboard nominations, many other awards, as well as success. It was #1 in Billboard's Hot Latin Tracks and topped Latin airplays.

On February 25, 2003, she released a remix-album called Thalí­a's Hits Remixed. This album contains some remixes of many of her hits, such as "Amor a la Mexicana", "Piel Morena", "No Me Enseñaste" and "Tú y Yo." The album contains the English version of "Arrasando", called "It's My Party" that was released only on CD single back in 2001. And includes the previously unreleased medley that Thalí­a recorded especially for her the 2001 Latin Grammy Awards performance. That later was cancelled, due to the 9/11 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 sold over 150,000 within the first weeks in the United States (52,000 in the first week, landing at #11 in The Billboard 200), it also earned the general gold status in the U.S. for sales of over 500,000. The song "I Want You" entered the American Top 40 with Ryan Seacrest 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)".

Thalia - 2004-05: Greatest Hits and El Sexto Sentido

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 cuts sung in English as well. It was the most expensive CD produced in Latin America in 2005. It had mild success so far, though the sound and the overall result make it one of her most integrated projects. "Amar sin ser amada" (and its English version "You Know He Never Loved You") was the first single of the album (featuring Héctor "El Bambino" only in the Reggaeton version). It is an infectious rock-edged tango-based song. "Un alma sentenciada", the second single, is a feverish and, at points, hyperdramatic ballad. The explosive "Seducción" ("Seduction") was the third single. The album was also certified gold in Argentina, Greece and Mexico. This album was the beginning of her popularity declining. The album and the singles were not the success that she and her record label thought they would be.

Thalia - 2006-07: El Sexto Sentido Re+Loaded! and The Conexion Thalí­a Radio Show

In 2006, the album received a reload 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 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.

Thalia - 2008-present: Lunada and Primera Fila

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, the album Lunada, which was released on June 24, 2008, debuted at #8 in Mexico and peaked at #10 in the Billboard Top Latin Albums (U.S). Despite the poor promotions of the album, it was the last Thalí­a studio album by EMI .

Thalí­a later appeared on El Show De Cristina, aired in late July by Univision's Spanish network to promote the said album. According to Univision network, her appearance on the said show, that day, received huge ratings success, reaching #1 in both Chicago and Miami beating the ratings of such huge worldwide networks as CBS, NBC and ABC. The show was viewed by over 87 million people as a result from showing it in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami and San Antonio, without even considering her home country Mexico which proves that the public still have not lost interest in her.

"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 "Sarí  perché ti amo", performed originally 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. After 13 successful years with EMI Music, "the Mexican singer says goodbye to the music label and plans on recording her next album in English." With the recent release of her album Lunada, the 36-year-old singer ended her contract with EMI Music, who recognized that the album was not successful as it was not well promoted since it coincided with the months after her pregnancy when she contracted Lyme disease.

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.

On July 30, 2009, Thalí­a recorded her first live album, Primera fila, in Miami, Florida at the BankUnited Center. This is her first project under her new record label, Sony Music. The album was released on December 1, 2009 and has gone multi-platinum since then, selling more than one million copies. Primera Fila shows Thalí­a's vocal potential and earned positive reception. The album has reached the number one spot quickly after the official release and remains at #1 in Mexican Top selling albums for more than 41 weeks.

"Equivocada" is the first single and was released on October 7, 2009. The second single is "Qué será de ti" and was released on February 1, 2010. The third single, "Con la duda", features the Mexican singer-songwriter Joan Sebastian and was released on April 25, 2010.

Both "Enseñame a vivir" and "Estoy enamorado" were released as singles on July 6-09, 2010. The first one was released only in Argentina, Central America and Spain, and the second one was released only in Mexico, the United States and Puerto Rico. "Estoy enamorado" features the Puerto Rican singer Pedro Capó.

In 2011, Thalí­a recorded a duet, "Mis Deseos / Feliz Navidad" with Canadian singer Michael Bublé on his 2011 album Christmas.

Thalia: Acting career

Thalia was cast in a supporting role in the 1986 telenovela "Pobre señorita Limantour", beginning her collaboration with Televisa. In 1987, she went on to star in her first major role for Televisa in the 1987 teenage drama Quinceañera, co-starring Adela Noriega, Quinceañera won the "TV y Novelas" award for Best Telenovela of the Year in 1988. In 1989, Thalí­a got her first lead role in "Luz y Sombra", which was not very successful. In 1992, she starred in "Marí­a Mercedes" for which she won a "TV Y Novelas" award as Best Young Actress in 1993. This was also the first in a series of three telenovelas dubbed by the Mexican press as "Las Tres Marias". The second telenovela in the installment was "Marimar" in 1994, followed by the third and final installment in the series "Maria la del Barrio" in 1995. In 1999, Thalí­a starred in her last telenovela, "Rosalinda". All four telenovelas were basically based on the same rags to riches character.

Thalia acted in her first movie as a child in the 1979 film "La Guerra De los Pasteles". She went on to star in her only English language film "Mambo Café", in 1999.

Thalia: Business

In 2003 launched a successful clothing line, exclusively available in Kmart, under the name "Thalí­a Sodi Collection". With huge success, her clothing line went from 300 Kmart stores to 1,500. On August 13, 2003, a fashion show, "La Gran Noche de Thalí­a", marked the launch of the new Latin flavored collection at Capitale restaurant in New York City. The Thalí­a Sodi Collection was a success from the start, and her success was such that newspapers and magazines such as The New York Times, The New York Post and Fortune Magazine positively compared her to brand powerhouses Oprah and Martha Stewart. In addition, she has appeared on the front over of magazines such as Bazaar en español, Cosmopolitan en español, Shape en español and Latina, amongst others. People en Español chose her as the most beautiful Latin person for 2003.

Thalí­a and Kmart also released a successful eyewear collection "Thalí­a eyewear". Kenmark group is thrilled to have sold over 1 million units in its Thalí­a Eyewear collection, said John Justice, VP of International Sales ("Designing an eyewear collection with Thalí­a has been amazing. Only Thalí­a could bring such fun and unique styles to eyewear with her festive Latina flair and passion for life"). Building on the success of Thalí­a Eyewear, Kenmark launched an extension of the collection named "Thalí­a Girls" in March 2004. Thalí­a Girls features trendy shapes, colorful accents and sparkling rhinestone frames for girls ages 7-14 who love fashion and fun. Both collections have achieved phenomenal success in the optical industry by filling a void for the Hispanic market in women's eyewear.

In 2004, Thalí­a later signed a contract with the American chocolate company, Hershey's. She appears in the company's Spanish-language advertisements and sells her own branch of Hershey's products called "La Dulcerí­a Thalí­a" (The Thalí­a Candy Shop). Hershey is also sponsored Thalí­a's "High Voltage" concert tour. The variety of sweets inspired by Thalí­a for the Latin community has been so well-received by the public, that Hershey's sales in the United States have notably gone up, especially in relation to the products promoted by Thalí­a.

In November 2004, Thalí­a Signed on as the First Face of Jeweler Jacob & Co.

In 2006, Thalí­a was the Face of "Carol's Daughter" Beauty Products. She and her husband Tommy Mottola are partners and investors at the natural beauty products company Carol's Daughter. Thalí­a and her husband Tommy Mottola, along with personalities such as Will Smith, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Jay-Z, Beyonce and Steve Stoute, presented natural beauty products "Carol's Daughter - Beauty by Nature" at a press conference in New York City.

In 2007, Thalí­a, who became a US citizen in January 2006, joined ABC Radio, now Cumulus Media Networks, to start "The Conexión Thalí­a Radio Show", where she talks about music, fashion, news and political issues. The Conexión Thalí­a Radio Show, a two-hour weekly radio program starring superstar Thalí­a premiered on March 17, 2007.

In September 2007, Thalí­a released "Thalí­a: ¡Belleza!-Lessons in Lipgloss and Happiness". In this, her first book, she delivers the ultimate guide to Latina beauty, the book became a best-seller. She released her second book in June 2009, titled "Thalia: ¡Radiante!-Your Guide to a Fit and a Fabulous Pregnancy". In November 2011, she released her third book, titled "Thalí­a: Growing Stronger".

Thalia: Personal life

On December 2, 2000, Thalí­a married music executive Tommy Mottola in New York City at St. Patrick's Cathedral. They have two children: a daughter and a son.

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.