Isabel Preysler

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

Isabel Preysler
Born	María Isabel Preysler Arrastía (1951-02-18) 18 February 1951 Manila, Philippines
Citizenship	Philippines Spain
Occupation	Journalist, Television host
Spouse(s)	Julio Iglesias (m. 1971; annulled 1979) Carlos Falcó (m. 1980; annulled 1985) Miguel Boyer (m. 1987; d. 2014)
Partner(s)	Mario Vargas Llosa (2015–present)
Children	Chabeli Iglesias Julio Iglesias, Jr. Enrique Iglesias Tamara Falcó Ana Boyer

María Isabel Preysler Arrastía (born 18 February 1951), better known as Isabel Preysler, is a Spanish-Filipina socialite and television host.

Early life

Preysler was born in Manila, Philippines, the third of six children to a wealthy, aristocratic family. She attended a private Roman Catholic school; Her father, Carlos Preysler y Pérez de Tagle, was the executive director of Philippine Airlines and on the Board of Directors for El Banco Español de Manila (Spanish Bank of Manila), while her mother, María Beatriz Arrastia y Reynares, was the owner of a real estate company in Manila. Her aunt is actress Neile Adams, who is her mother's half-sister. Isabel's half-first cousin, once removed, is American actor Steven R. McQueen (who is Neile's grandson).

The Perez de Tagle family, a Filipino cadet branch of the Spanish dynasty that has held the marquisate of Altamira since the 1600s, produced abacá and copra. Abacá was the main ingredient in ropes and other products prior to the invention of nylon.

The Arrastía family is from the province of Pampanga. Their old town was Lubao, site of the ancient San Nicolas Tolentino Cathedral. The Arrastías used to own one of the largest haciendas there, most of which were utilized to plant rice and sugarcane.

Career

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

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

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

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

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

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

Personal life

In 1970, Preysler was introduced to a football player named Julio Iglesias, who just signed a recording contract to become a singer. Iglesias invited her to watch a Juan Pardo concert. The couple was married seven months later on 29 January 1971. They were married for seven years and had three children, Chabeli Iglesias, Julio Iglesias, Jr. and Enrique Iglesias. Their marriage was annulled in 1979. After they had divorced and moved on, in 1982 she sent her children away to Miami to live with their father because of kidnapping threats she was receiving.

Preysler married the Marques de Griñón, Carlos Falcó, on 23 March 1980. The short-lived marriage resulted in the birth of a second daughter, Tamara Falcó

Her third marriage was to the former Spanish finance minister Miguel Boyer (deceased on 29 September 2014), with whom she had another daughter, Ana Boyer.

She currently is in a relation with Peruvian writer, journalist, and politician Mario Vargas Llosa.

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

Her father, Carlos Preysler, is deceased and her mother, Beatriz Preysler, lives in Miami with Isabel's son Enrique Iglesias.

External links

• Isabel Preysler at the Internet Movie Database