Preysler was born in Baybay, Leyte, Philippines, the third of six children to a wealthy family. Her ancestry is Spanish and Kapampangan Filipino. 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 the Banco Español de Manila, while her mother, María Beatriz Arrastía y Reynares, was the owner of a real estate company in Manila. She is the niece of actress Neile Adams, who is her mother's half-sister. She is also a first cousin once removed of American actor Steven R. McQueen, who is Neile's grandson. The Pérez 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 celebrity-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 retired footballer named Julio Iglesias, who had just signed a recording contract to become a singer. Iglesias invited her to watch a concert. The couple was married seven months later on January 29, 1971. They were married for seven years and the couple had three children, María Isabel, Julio José and Enrique Miguel. They divorced 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 Carlos Falcó, 5th Marquess of Griñón on March 23, 1980. The couple had one daughter, Tamara Isabel Falcó. Her third marriage was to the former Spanish finance minister Miguel Boyer, the couple had one daughter, Ana Isabel Boyer. She currently is in a relationship with Peruvian Nobel laureate 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.
