Yuri

Evolving from a pop starlet into a provocative, blonde bombshell, soul-searching balladeer and a praise-singing, gospel worshipper, Latin pop queen Yuri endures as a Mexican superstar diva decades after bursting on to the music scene in the late 1970s.

Born in the old port city of Veracruz on the east-central coast of Mexico, Yuri was a talented ballet dancer in her youth and was offered a scholarship at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, but when her parents stopped her from going she instead formed a band called Yuri y La Manzana Electrica and cut her teeth playing at local fiestas. Heading to Mexico City in 1978 to pursue her career, her debut album 'Tu Iluminas Mi Vida' made little impact, but Yuri did land a small film role and co-hosted a TV show, before her second, self-titled album produced the national hit 'Esperanzas' in 1980 and kick-started her career. She was still in her teens, but went on to act in television soap operas 'Colorina' and 'Veronica', before landing her internationally popular album 'Llena de Dulzura' and million-selling singles 'Matilda Primavera' and 'El Pequeno Panda de Chapultepec'.

As her sweet, innocent, salsa crooning grew more glossy and contemporary, she had another big hit with 'Karma Kamaleon' (a Spanish-language version of the Culture Club hit) and, after signing to EMI, her sixth album 'Yo Te Pido Amor' was nominated for a Grammy Award and produced chart topping singles 'Dame un Beso' and 'Dejala'. By 1987's 'Aire' she had fully transformed into a raunchy, pop idol and was turning traditional ranchero melodies into Euro-dance, club tunes and belting power ballads, whilst her single 'Que Te Pasa' became her biggest success and crossed over to spend 16 weeks at number one in the Billboard Hot Latin Songs Chart in the US. Comparisons to Madonna became more frequent as her image and stage antics became more provocative, and, despite a high profile divorce from her manager, Yuri became a massive star across Latin America with platinum album 'Isla Del Sol' and teamed up with Don Johnson for her first English-language track.

The emotional, soft rock duet 'Todo Mi Corazon' was another major triumph and featured Ricky Martin in its video in 1991 and she starred in the movie 'Soy Libre', but returned to television acting with the series 'Volvera Empezor' in the mid-1990s and reportedly struggled with addictions and developed a tumour on her vocal chords. Becoming a born again Christian, her album 'Mas Fuerte Que la Vida' was a mariachi tribute to God and she later released a series of Christian praise songs and faith albums, before making a low-key, pop music comeback with 'Yuri, A Lo Mexicano' in 2004. Re-establishing herself as one of Mexico's premier stars with duet album 'Acompaname' with Manuel Mijares, she went on to become a judge on TV talent show 'Cantando Por Un Sueno' and released the career-spanning live album 'Yuri: Vive la Histoira' and topped the Mexican charts again with her 23rd album 'Inusual' in 2010. In more recent times she collaborated with younger Latin pop favourites including Christina Aguilera, Enrique Iglesias and Juanes, embarking on an international tour in 2015 in support of belting, defiant Latin pop album 'Invencible'.