Thalia

Thalía ranks among Mexico’s most acclaimed figures across singing, songwriting, and acting. Widely known as the “Queen of Latin Pop,” she has moved more than 25 million records while collecting a long list of honors. The 1992 album Love launched seven straight platinum or multi-platinum releases that included 1995’s En Éxtasis, 2000’s Arrasando, and 2005’s El Sexto Sentido. On screen she has headlined telenovelas viewed in more than 180 countries, earning recognition as the highest-paid performer in that field and receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She has also published five books, hosts a nationally syndicated radio program, and launched her own clothing line. Terra Networks placed her on its 2011 roster of “powerful and iconic women in Latin music.” She has remained a dominant presence in Latin popular culture. The 2012 album Habítame Siempre reached quadruple-platinum status and simultaneously led charts in Mexico and the United States. Both 2014’s Amore Mío and 2016’s Latina earned platinum certifications and landed inside the Top Five in those same territories. In 2017 People en Espanol inducted her into its Hall of Fame. She joined Natti Natasha that year on the chart-topping single “No Me Acuerdo,” which reached number one in five countries; the track appeared on her own 2018 album Valiente, which also topped the charts, and she followed with desAMORfosis in May 2021. In 2023 she released the docuseries Thalia’s Mixtape along with an accompanying covers album that highlighted her musical influences.

Ariadna Thalía Sodi Miranda was born in Mexico City in 1971 to Ernesto Sodi Pallares and Yolanda Miranda Mange as the youngest of five daughters. Her father died when she was five, an event that deeply affected her. She performed well in school and trained in ballet and piano. Acting and singing were early goals. At ten she began professional singing with the children’s group Din Din, and in 1983 she made her first television appearance in a Christmas special. Her profile rose further in 1986 when she replaced Sasha Diez Barroso in the teen-pop act Timbiriche, whose lineup also featured Paulina Rubio. In 1987 she joined the cast of the telenovela Pobre Señorita Limantour, initiating a series of such roles.

She issued her debut solo album, the self-titled Thalía, in 1990 and began starring in the “Maria” telenovelas—Maria Mercedes, Maria Mar, and Maria la del Barrio—in 1992. Those performances boosted her recording career. After switching from Fonovisa to EMI Latin she released En Extasis in 1995, which contained the international hit “Piel Morena” and the theme “Maria la del Barrio.” Emilio Estefan, Jr. produced the follow-up Amor a la Mexicana in 1997, another international success, and returned for 2000’s Arrasando, which generated five hit singles including the Hot Latin Tracks number one “Entre el Mar y una Estrella” and the theme from her telenovela Rosalinda. That same year she married former Sony executive Tommy Mottola in a three-million-dollar ceremony.

Largely written and produced by Estéfano, the 2002 album Thalía became her first number-one entry on the Top Latin Albums chart and reached number 22 on the Billboard 200, propelled by the chart-topping singles “No Me Enseñaste” and “Tu y Yo.” Attempts to cross over with English-language material in the early 2000s did not achieve comparable success. Remix and greatest-hits collections appeared in 2003 and 2004, respectively, before 2005 brought El Sexto Sentido, again shaped primarily by Estéfano. Although reception in the United States was modest, her popularity and sales in Mexico stayed unmatched. She gave birth to her first child in 2007 and issued Lunada the next year; Primera Fila…Un Año Después, her first live album, followed in 2009.

After focusing on family and filming a live DVD, she returned with Habítame Siempre in 2012, which quickly ascended the Latin pop chart. In 2014 she released two projects: the children’s album Viva Kids, Vol. 1, nominated for a Latin Grammy, and Amore Mío, which topped Mexico’s charts and entered the U.S. Top 200 while yielding two charting singles. Following tours in Mexico and the United States she introduced her first U.S. fashion collection at Macy’s in 2015. The 2016 single “Desde Esa Noche,” featuring reggaeton artist Maluma, reached the Top 20 of Hot Latin Songs and number five at Latin Pop Songs. Sergio George produced Latina, released the following May; its 13 tracks included appearances by Silvestre Dangond, De La Ghetto, Chiky Bom Bom “La Pantera,” One Moment, OMI, and Jacob Forever. The set debuted at number one on the Latin Pop Albums chart, remained for 26 weeks, and earned platinum certification. After issuing Viva Kids, Vol. 2, she received People en Espanol’s Hall of Fame award in 2017.

She collaborated with Dominican singer Natti Natasha on 2018’s “No Me Acuerdo,” which topped singles charts in five countries, reached the top ten in nine others, and received four-times-platinum certification from the RIAA. The track propelled Valiente to number one in the United States and number two in Mexico, where the album was later certified gold and platinum. After touring in 2019 she released the single “Ya Tú Me Conoces” in January 2020, followed by Viva Kids, Vol. 2. August brought the duet “La Luz” with Myke Towers, and year’s end saw “Tick Tock” featuring Farina and Sofía Reyes. In May 2021 she announced her seventeenth studio album, desAMORfosis; she performed its lead single “Mojito” on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon a week later, and the project arrived four days afterward, including the bonus track “Tu Boca” with Banda MS de Sergio Lizárraga. The three-part docuseries Thalia’s Mixtape: El Soundtrack de Mi Vida premiered in May 2023, celebrating the music that shaped her, and was accompanied by the covers album simply titled Thalia’s Mixtape.