GLORIA GETS CANDID

BELOVED SINGER AND FATHER OF THE BRIDE ACTRESS GLORIA ESTEFAN ON GETTING VULNERABLE IN FRONT OF FANS, CAMERAS AND THERAPISTS

For three-time Grammy and five-time Latin Grammy awardwinner Gloria Estefan, landing a leading role on the big screen wasn’t just a major career milestone, it was one that checked all of her boxes. “My criteria is first, will it advance me as an actor? And second, is it going to represent my culture?”

Starring opposite Andy Garcia in the 2022 Father of the Bride reboot (now streaming on HBO Max), Estefan, 64, celebrated her Cuban heritage on screen in the film’s Latin revival and continued to develop her skills as an actor. “I love to learn something every day” says Estefan, whose mantra is “Who knows anything?” With that approach, she’s happy to report that “life surprises me every single day,” she says. “Look for your passion. Find what makes you happy most days because if you find that, then the rest is great.”

Estefan is also reveling in the recent success of Red Table Talk: The Estefans, a Facebook Watch talk show she hosts with her daughter, Emily, and niece, Lili. On it, she’s opened up about everything from sexual abuse to working through a near-fatal tour bus crash that left her with metal rods in her back. These topics aren’t a breeze, she admits, but Estefan is grateful for the opportunity to give fans a candid look inside her life. “It helps to know that whatever I went through and shared might be of service to someone, because that’s my prime objective in this life. Maybe because I’m a Virgo—we love to be of service.”

Spry Living caught up with Estefan to discuss the secret to her 44-year-long marriage to music producer Emilio Estefan, the exercise habits she fits into her busy schedule and the role therapy played when her mother passed away.

The number [64] seems big, but I really don’t feel any age. I don’t have any restrictions to what I do. And I feel strong— we just went on a ski vacation and I skied all day, every day.

Exercise is crucial for me. I have hardware in my back (my band called me Robo-pop), so it’s very important for me to keep active. I do an hour on the elliptical or some other kind of cardio. And I do strength training with rubber bands. My muscles will bulk up a lot, so I like to keep them long and limber. Like most women, I am really trying to stay in top shape. And especially at this decade, it gets a little more difficult.

The rods [in my back] are like extra bones to me. They’re part of my body. If I sit in a hardback chair, I’m going to feel the screws because some are between the muscle and the spine. But it doesn’t really restrict anything. I won’t water ski because falling off of water skis is like concrete. However, snow skiing is great because it’s a different type of fall.

I’m all about balance. In the 44 years that Emilio and I have been married, we’ve never opened a bottle of wine, just him and I, alone at home at dinner. I love wine, but it’s a social thing for us. So, if we go out and have a nice dinner, we absolutely will indulge. But if I can avoid the calories at home, I do. If I’m out with my family, we’re on vacation and I want to have dessert or eat some pasta, I will. I’m not so hard on myself because life is meant to be lived and enjoyed. I want to avoid any extreme that is going to make me have to cut anything out permanently from my life. So that’s the way I’ve lived.