Thalía

Thalía
Thalía in 2006.
Background information
Birth name	Ariadna Thalía Sodi Miranda
Also known as	Queen of Soap Operas Empress of Beauty Queen of Latin Pop
Born	(1971-08-26) 26 August 1971 Mexico City, Mexico
Genres	Latin music, Latin pop, pop, pop rock, dance, world, adult contemporary
Occupation(s)	Singer, songwriter, actress, author, businesswoman, fashion designer, philanthropist
Instrument(s)	Vocals
Years active	1981–present
Labels	Fonovisa (1985–1994) EMI (1994–2008) Sony Music (2009–present)
Website	www.thalia.com Thalía's signature

Ariadna Thalía Sodi Miranda, (born August 26, 1971) known mononymously as Thalía (Spanish pronunciation: [taˈli.a]), is a Mexican singer, songwriter, published author, actress and businesswoman, who has sung in Spanish, English, Portuguese, French and Tagalog. Internationally, she is recognized as one of the most successful female solo artists from Mexico by media conglomerates such as Univision Communications, Grupo Televisa and TV Azteca.

In 2013, she will receive her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, as a recognition for her successful career in music. Big part of the media refer to her as the "Queen of Latin pop", because of her numerous Latin pop hit singles. In 2009, Thalía signed a contract with Sony Music after 14 successful years with EMI Music and released her first live album Primera fila, which was certified diamond plus three times platinum by AMPROFON for selling over half a million copies only in Mexico. Some of Thalia's most notable album releases are En éxtasis, Amor a la mexicana, Arrasando, Thalía and Primera fila. These albums spawned various hit singles and sold millions of copies worldwide.

Thalía obtained so high levels of popularity because of her telenovelas, that she was converted into a huge television icon in many countries around the world, especially in the decade of the 1990s. Thalía's success in television ratings leaded to her being labeled and recognized as the "Queen of telenovelas" by the mass media and Televisa, the largest mass media company in the Spanish-speaking world.

In 2011, Terra Networks included her in their list of "the most powerful and iconic women in music". Thalía has also been nominated for various Latin Grammy, Latin Billboard and many other awards throughout her career. This has helped her to maintain her autonomy and her status as a powerful woman within the recording industry. She is also an occasional author, model, fashion designer, and record producer. With her productions, Thalía has received several gold and platinum sales certifications in most American, European, and Asian countries, establishing herself as the ultimate Spanish-language crossover artist.

Early life

File:Santa feconj Mexico City.jpg

Thalia's birth city, Mexico City.

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

When she turned one year old, Thalía appeared in a commercial for Mexican television. When she was 4, she began to attend ballet and piano classes in the National Conservatory of Music of Mexico. In 1977, Thalía's father died, as he was affected by diabetes when Thalía was only six years old at the time. Many years later, the singer recognized that her father's death traumatized her dramatically, and that she didn't talk to anyone for a whole year. This leaded to her suffering under serious childhood disintegrative disorder, which belongs to a series of developmental disorders caused by autism spectrum. In order to deal with this, her mother brought her to many psychologists.

Thalía gained her primary education in the "Liceo Franco Mexicano", where she attended a bilingual curriculum, having the ability to learn how to speak fluently both French and Spanish at a very young age. In 1976, a year before her father's death, she appeared in the Mexican movie La guerra de los pasteles ("The war of the cakes"), although her name doesn't appear in the film credits. As Thalía was also practicing various sports during her infancy, she was inspired by Romanian record-setting athlete Nadia Comaneci. Nadia's record influenced Thalía to have the desire to follow a career in entertainment. Her major sister, Laura Zapata, was also a singer and she used to take Thalía with her at the theatre, when she was a child. This motivated her to passionately embrace and connect with acting at a very young age.

Life and career

1981-1989: 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 while 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 the break-up of Din-Din in 1984, Thalía participated as a solo artist in two annual music festivals of Juguemos a cantar. In 1984, she placed second in the festival with the interpretation of the song «Moderna niña del rock» ("Modern rock girl"), and that 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 "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.

1990-1993: Thalía's 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, Love (Thalía album), which was recorded in Spain and produced by Luis Carlos Esteban. The album spread six singles, that had huge radio impact: «El bronceador», «Love», the classic ballad «Sangre», «María Mercedes» (official theme of the TV series), «No trates de engañarme» and «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 #15 on Billboard's Latin Pop Albums in 1993.

1994-1999: Popularity outbreak and international superstardom

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 7 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 relaized 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.

"Thalia's first album on the EMI Latin label finds the Mexican singer and soap-opera starlet moving away from the disposable pop of her earlier discs in favor of richer, more diverse sounds. There are a few limp moments on En Extasis, but Thalia is clearly coming into her own as a singer. The switch is in large part thanks to producers Emilio Estefan Jr. and Kike Santander, who expertly disguise Thalia's shortcomings as a vocalist with slick production values. "Piel Morena," the album's first single and best track, is an intoxicating, sexy cumbia. Thalia shines on "Amándote," a dance track produced by A.B. Quintanilla III , and she even manages a sweet rendition of Juan Gabriel's "Gracias a Dios." The ballads "Quiero Hacerte el Amor" and "Lágrimas" (the latter cowritten by Thalia) also draw attention to unexpected shadings and nuances."

—Joey Guerra, A music critic reviewing "En éxtasis", Thalía's first international release.

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 her first compilation album entitled Nandito Ako, which contains four songs recorded in Tagalog, the official language in Philippines, 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 and fame explosion, reaching platinum status 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.

"The transformation is complete on Amor a la Mexicana, which stands as the defining album of Thalia's career. Every moment, every sound, every call to attention feels electric, thanks to the Mexican superstar's newfound vocal confidence and stellar work from the first-rate production team, which includes Emilio Estefan Jr., Kike Santander, and Pablo Flores. The sounds and styles are wildly diverse (cumbia, salsa, cha-cha), but they're unified by themes of living life to the fullest and Latina pride. Songs such as "Por Amor," "Echa Pa'Lante," "Mujer Latina," and the sexy title track bristle with an energy that permeates the entire album. Even slower moments such as "Rosas" and "Es Tu Amor" demand attention. This album is a sure-fire classic in the Latin-pop canon."

—Joey Guerra, A music critic reviewing "Amor a la mexicana", one of Thalía's signature albums.

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 Disney 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».

2000-2005: Thalía's 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 commercially 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 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 orchestra.

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 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 her first remix album, 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 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 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)".

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 the 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 a rock-edged tango-based song. "Un alma sentenciada", the second single, is a feverish and, at points, hyperdramatic ballad. The successful "Seducción" ("Seduction") was her third single in the album. The album was also certified gold in Argentina, Greece and Mexico. This album saw her sales and popularity begin to decline.

2006-2008: "The Conexión Thalía Radio Show", first pregnance, 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. 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's Top Latin Albums (U.S). It was Thalía's last studio album with 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 "Sarà 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 "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.

2009-2011: Primera Fila's success and "Growing Stronger"

Thalía in Mexico promoting her album Primera fila.

In July 30, 2009 Thalía recorded her acoustic album, Primera fila, her first album after she signed with Sony Music Entertainment. According to her, she created this album with the aim to approach closer to her fans as well as those who neved liked her. In October, Thalía performed in the White House along with other Latin singers in an event organized by president Barack Obama to celebrate the Latin heritage. Thalía's performance was iconic and historical, as she was the first person to invite publicly a United States president to dance with her.

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 a diamond and triple platinum sales certification in Mexico, while it was announced that by the end of 2011, the album had sold over 500,000 copies in her native country, according to AMPROFON. Primera fila was Mexico's biggest selling album in 2010. The album remained in the first position of sales in Mexico for 55 non-consecutive weeks, becoming the album with the most weeks ever at the first position of sales in Mexico. In Greece and Spain, the album reached the positions #6 and #32 respectively.

In the United States, in contrast to being the biggest album in Mexico, Primera Fila peaked at #4 on the top Latin Albums chart in Billboard, but received a lukewarm reception as it only charted on Billboard for 1 week before vanishing from the charts.

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 «Feliz navidad (Mis deseos)» and their collaboration received very positive reviews.

2012-present: Habitame Siempre and other projects

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 show and Katie's show in US television.

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 on November 19, 2012 under the label of Sony Music Latin and it was certified gold in both Mexico and United States in its first day of release. The album contains collaborations with Robbie Williams, Michael Bublé, Prince Royce and Gilberto Santa Rosa, among others.

Acting career

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. In 1999, Thalía starred in her latest 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.

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 1990s was phenomenal.

According to the newspaper "Ivoir'Soir": "At 7.30 sharp in the evening, when Marimar comes on, everything stops in Cote 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, Thalía 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 "Republica de MariMar."

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

Business activities

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

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 100 million $US 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.

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 clothe 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 about 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 100 million $US. In April 2012, she inaugurated her own yoga center in New York.

Personal life

Thalía married music executive Tommy Mottola in New York City at St. Patrick's Cathedral on December 2, 2000. Since then, she has been living in Connecticut with her husband and their two children, a daughter named Sabrina Sakae and a son named Matthew Alejandro.

Thalía has stated in her autobiography and in various of her interviews, that she has a deep connection with religion, and believes profoundly in God. She also began studying Kabbalah in 2002, while she used 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. Over the years, Thalía has had a series of familiar conflicts, especially with her sister Laura Zapata. However, she has opted to keep her point of view regarding to her familiar issues in privacy, despite the attacks she has received from her elder sister. In a press interview, Thalía stated that her familiar problems with her sister are "just a dark cloud in a shiny sky".

In 2008, Thalía was affected by Lyme disease, an emerging infectious disease caused by at least three species of bacteria belonging to the genus "Borrelia" and transmitted to humans by the bite of infected ticks belonging to a few species of the genus "Ixodes". 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.

Influences and legacy

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".

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

Univision Networks 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, 25 April 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.

Thalia's explosion in fame coincided with the worldwide broadcast of the soap operas she starred. During the decade of the 1990s, she was highly promoted by television, establishing herself as an ultimate television phenomenon. In 1999, she starred in her last soap opera, Rosalinda, where she abandoned the field of television in order to focus more on her music career. 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.

It has been announced that in 2013, she will receive her own star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame as a recognition to her versatile trajectory and her legacy in the world of music and entertainment.

Discography

Main article: Thalía discography

• 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)
• Primera Fila (2009)
• Habítame Siempre (2012)

Filmography

Television

Soap Operas

Year	Title	Role
1986	Pobre Señorita Limantour	Diana
1987	Quinceañera	Beatriz Villanueva
1992	María Mercedes	María Mercedes Muñoz de Del Olmo
1994	Marimar	Marimar Perez de Santibañez / Bella Aldama
1995	María la del barrio	María Hernández De la Vega
1999	Rosalinda	Rosalinda Perez Romero de Altamirano / Paloma Dorantes

Theater

• Vaselina (1984) - Sandy

Films

• La Guerra de los Pasteles (1979)
• Mambo Café (1999) – Nydia

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 (2007–2012)

Bibliography

• Thalía : ¡Belleza! Lessons in Lipgloss and Happiness. Chronicle Books. September 6, 2007. ISBN 0811858294.
• Thalía: ¡Radiante! Your Guide to a Fit and Fabulous Pregnancy. Chronicle Books. April 1, 2009. ISBN 081185812X.
• Growing Stronger. Penguin Books. November 1, 2011. ISBN 0451234413.

Awards and nominations

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Thalía

Collaborations with other artists

• 1995 : Solamente una vez, feat. Julio Iglesias
• 2002 : Dance Dance (The Mexican), feat. Marc Anthony
• 2002 : Tu y yo (Remix), feat. Kumbia Kings
• 2003 : I want you, feat. Fat Joe
• 2006 : No no no, feat. Aventura
• 2008 : Ten paciencia (remix), feat. Daddy Yankee
• 2008 : Aventureto, 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 que manera te olvido, technical duet with Rocío Dúrcal †
• 2011 : Feliz Navidad, feat. Michael Bublé
• 2012 : Con los años que me quedan, feat. Samo, Jesus Navarro and Leonel García
• 2012 : Te quiero dijiste, feat. Robbie Williams
• 2012 : Besame 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 : The way you look tonight, feat. Tony Bennett

See also

• Sodi family
• Tommy Mottola
• Latin Pop

External links

• Thalia.com — Thalía official website
• Thalía at IMDb