Gloria María Milagrosa Estefan is a Cuban-American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. Estefan is a five-time Grammy Award winner and a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, and has been named one of the Top 100 greatest artists of all time by both VH1 and Billboard. Estefan's record sales exceed 120 million worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time.
A contralto, Estefan started her career as lead singer of Miami Latin Boys, which was later renamed Miami Sound Machine. She and Miami Sound Machine earned worldwide success with their 1985 single "Conga", which became Estefan's signature song. The group followed this with a number of hit singles throughout the decade, including "Anything for You", "1-2-3", "Bad Boy", and "Rhythm Is Gonna Get You". The group was redubbed as Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine with the release of their 1987 album Let It Loose, and in 1989, Estefan rose to solo stardom with her debut solo album, Cuts Both Ways.
In March 1990, Estefan sustained a life-threatening cervical fracture of her spine when her tour bus was involved in a crash near Scranton, Pennsylvania.