Thalía was born Ariadna Thalía Sodi Miranda in Mexico City on August 26, 1971.

Thalía Biography

Her father, Ernesto Sodi Pallares, was a criminologist and doctor of pathology among other things. Her mother Yolanda Miranda Mange was a painter and Thalía’s manager for 19 years. Thalía is the youngest of five daughters; her sisters are Laura Zapata (born to a different father), Federica, Gabriela and Ernestina Sodi. Thalía was inspired to work in entertainment by the Romanian gymnast Nadia Comăneci.

Thalía is known as a jack-of-all-trades, having worked as a singer, author, businesswoman and actor. She initially connected with acting when Zapata took her to the theater as a child. Thalía’s entry into the entertainment industry, however, began with singing.

Thalía Bio: Telenovelas

Thalía joined the children’s band Pac Man, later called Din-Din, in 1981 and performed in the Televisa musical festival program Juguemos a Cantar. The group released four studio albums: En acción, Recordando el Rock and Roll, Somos alguien muy especial and Pitubailando. The band broke up in 1984, leaving Thalía to perform solo for two Juguemos a Cantar festivals. After winning second place with a performance of “Moderna niña del rock,” she was invited to sing in the chorus for a children’s version of the musical Grease and ended up with the role of Sandy. The Mexican pop-rock band Timbiriche also participated in the musical and accepted Thalía as a member after Sasha Sökol left.

In 1987, Thalía made her television debut in a one-episode stint on the telenovela Pobre señorita Limantour. The following year, she and Timbiriche recorded the theme for the telenovela Quinceañera, in which she was one of the protagonists. Thalía recorded four studio albums with Timbiriche, and in 1989 gained her first protagonist role on Luz y sombra. She later left Mexico for Los Angeles, where she learned English at the University of California. She also took dancing, acting, singing, and music classes. Most recently, Thalía directed and produced the TV documentary series 15: A Quinceañera Story and performed on the soundtrack of the 2017 show Pasabalabra.

Thalía Bio: Music

Thalía released her first album, which was self-titled, in 1990. Among the hit singles on the album were “Pienso en ti” and “Un pacto entre los dos.” The latter song was so provocative that some labeled it a Satan-worship lyrics. Thalía released Mundo de cristal in 1991, and the album was certified double-gold in Mexico. Her third album, Love, was released in 1992 and recorded in Spain. On the album Thalía recorded the theme for “Maria Mercedes,” the telenovela she starred in from 1992-1993 that shot her to fame. She won a TVyNovelas Award for Best Young Actress.

In 1994 Thalía starred in the telenovela Marimar, a remake of the 1977 telenovela La venganza. The following year she released her fourth studio album, En éxtasis. “Piel morena,” one of the songs off the album, was an international hit and was named the best Spanish language song in the United States.

By 1996 Thalía was known globally for her work on telenovelas. She released the compilation album Nandito Ako in January 1997 which included songs sung in Tagalog, a majority language of the Philippines. Six months later she released another album, Amor a la mexicana. Later that year she recorded Spanish and Portuguese versions of the song “Journey to the Past” for the Anastasia soundtrack.

In 1999 Thalía filmed the 2000 movie Mambo Café, her first English language film. Following the film Thalía returned to telenovelas, her first love. She starred in Rosalinda as the title character from March-June 1999. Rosalinda was also her last telenovela role. Thalía’s 2000 album Arrasando earned her a nomination for a Latin Grammy in the category Best Female Pop Artist of the Year.

In 2001 Thaliía released a greatest hits album with an added ‘banda’ sound called Con Banda: Grandes Éxitos. She was nominated for the Best Banda Album at the 2002 Latin Grammys. Thalía released another self-titled album that year that included the Latin chart-topping “Tú y Yo.” It was nominated for several awards, including the Latin Grammy Award for Female Pop Vocal Album and four Billboard Latin Music Awards – Pop Track Female, Female Pop Album and Tropical Track Female. She won the awards for Pop Album of the Year and the Audience Award.

In 2003 Thalía released a remix album, Thalia’s Hits Remixed, and her eighth studio album, Thalía (English). Thalía (English) included a collaboration with Fat Joe. She released her first Greatest Hits album the following year, and went on her High Voltage Tour throughout Canada and the U.S. El Sexto Sentido was Thalía’s ninth studio album and included music sung in Spanish and English. The album was re-rereleased in 2006 as El Sexto Sentido Re+Loaded.

In 2007 Thalía started the radio talk show The Conexión Thalía Radio Show, which features discussions on music, fashion and political issues.

Thalía released her tenth studio album, Lunada, in June 2008. It peaked at number 10 on the Latin Billboard charts, faring worse than her past several albums. It was the last record she recorded with EMI. She announced her separation from the recording company in November of that year. In 2009, Thalía signed to Sony Music Entertainment and recorded the acoustic album Primera Fila. The album received diamond and triple platinum certifications, topping the charts for 55 non-consecutive weeks in Mexico and was Mexico’s best-selling album of 2010. She released an anniversary edition of the album entitled Primera fila… Un año después in September 2010.

In 2014 Thalía released two albums. Viva Kids, Vol. 1 in Mexico, her first children’s record which received a nomination for a Latin Grammy Award. Her second album, Amore Mio, was at the top spot on Mexico’s charts and hit the Top 200 in the U.S. 

In 2016, Thalía pre-released her single “Desde Esa Noche,” with reggae singer Maluma, which hit the Top 20 Hot Latin Songs chart and number five in Latin Pop Songs. She released her 13-track album Latina that May. Her album topped Latin Pop Albums chart within a week of its release and stayed on the list for 26 weeks. 

In 2017, she received People in Espanol’s annual Hall of Fame Award for Viva Kids Vol. 1. 

In 2018, Thalía and Dominican singer Natti Natasha released the single “No Me Acuerdo,” topping singles charts in five countries, and certified four times platinum. The single helped prompt her 2018 album, Valiente, to number one and two spots in the US and Mexico, making it certified gold and platinum. 

Thalía went on to tour in 2019. After she released the single “Ya Tu Me Conoces,” in January 2020, and released Viva Kids Vol. 2. In August of that year, she released a single with Myke Towers titled “La Luz.” She also released “Tick Tock” featuring Farina and Sofia Reyes.

In January 2021 she issued the single “Ya Tú Me Conoces” (feat. Mau y Ricky). In May she released her 17th studio album desAMORfosis. She later performed the single “Mojito” on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

In 2022, Thalía dropped another hit single, “Psycho B*itch.” She was deeply intent on sharing the message of the song with her audience; she acknowledged that people, often women, can face backlash as a result of stepping out of their “cookie-cutter” mold, but that they should block out the noise and continue to express themselves.

In 2023, Thalía opened at Billboard’s first annual Latin Women in Music event with a medley of her greatest hits. She also received the Global Powerhouse Award.

“I believe that we are all born with power,” Thalía said in her acceptance speech. “I believe we are strong, and no one is going to empower us. We already have it. It’s something that God gave us… don’t get distracted, keep going for your dreams and don’t let anyone take them from you. They are yours.”

Thalía Bio: Thalía and Tony Bennett

Thalía collaborated with Tony Bennett for his Viva: Duets album, released in October 2012. They performed “The Way You Look Tonight” on the Today Show and on Katie Couric’s show (name). Thalía released her 11th album, Habítame Siempre, in November 2012. It was certified gold in the U.S., platinum in Venezuela, and triple-platinum in Mexico. In March of the following year, Thalía launched her VIVA! Tour, her first in a decade, which spanned North America and Latin America.

Thalía Bio: Businesses

In addition to thriving in entertainment, Thalía has dabbled in the business world. She released a line of women’s clothing, home products and accessories through KMart in 2003, along with an eyewear line through Kenmark Optical. In 2007 Thalía revamped her eyewear line with new designs which were exported worldwide. That same year, she released a perfume and a cosmetics line, Fuller Cosmetics. In 2004 Thalía created her own magazine, Thalia, and a line of chocolate and candies through Hershey’s.

Despite Thalía’s massive success in telenovelas, she doubts such programming could find a solid audience in the U.S. “Right now everything is too fast-speed. The attention span right now is four to six minutes on YouTube, nothing else,” Thalía told uInterview exclusively. “This new generation, they don’t want to sit and hear a whole album, a whole CD, they just want one single. So that’s why it’s a little more difficult for new talent, for new stars, for new singers to just last longer or to build up bigger careers because everything is so fast-speed and everything basically is in your phone and your mobile is in your smartphone. There’s no time to kind of sit there and enjoy the ride, no?”

Thalía has written several books in her lifetime, including Belleza! Lessons in Lipgloss and Happiness; Radiante! Your Guide to a Fit and Fabulous Pregnancy; Growing Stronger; and Chupie: The Binky That Returned Home. Thalía spoke to Uinterview about the inspiration behind Chupie.

“My inspiration was my daughter Sabrina [Sakae],” Thalía said. “She was two years old, and I was determined to get her off her binky. I tried everything, you name it, everything and nothing really worked. And I didn’t want to see her cry. I didn’t want to see her suffer through this first detachment experience of her little life. So one night, at 3 a.m., when I entered her room, she was crying because she could not find her pacifier in her crib. I said, ‘You know what, Sabrina, what is going on is little binky, little Chupie, needs to go back to Mommy Chupie.’ And she was like ‘Mommy? My binky has a Mommy?’ I said, ‘Yes, your binky has a mommy. Imagine you and me being apart with no hugs, kisses, and love.’ And she was like, ‘Really?’ And I started inventing her this amazing fairy tale about Binkieland and blah blah blah and she gave me her pacifier and she said, ‘Here Mommy, send Binkie to Mommy Binkie.’”

In 2015, Thalia released her first fashion collection in the U.S. with Macy’s. 

Thalía Bio: Dating and Personal History

Thalía dated a few men before marrying in 2000. Notable among these were Mario Vasquez, Jaime Camil and Fernando Colunga. Thalía is also rumored to have dated Alejandro Ibarra. Thalía began her relationship with music executive Tommy Mottola in 1999, and the two wed in Manhattan on December 2, 2000. Thalía and Mottola have two children together, daughter Sabrina and son Matthew Alejandro. Thalía shared with Uinterview exclusively her tips for being a good parent: “I think the most important thing as a parent is to be patient and have a lot of love for that little person. It must be difficult being stuck in that little body and not being able to talk what is in your mind and to do things that you want to do and you can’t. So just be a little extra patient with them.”

Thalía is deeply involved in charity work She has historically been a March of Dimes celebrity ambassador and volunteer, attended Michael J. Fox’s charity event, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Cure Parkinson’s” and gained recognition from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Miami. Thalía performed with celebrities like Jennifer Lopez and Sharon Stone at the Foundation of the New York’s Police Department and closed a Mexican Telethon with the offer of a live concert. Thalía is a member of ALAS, a foundation for Latin-American children, and offered aid to the victims of Hurricane Sandy.

In 2002 Thalía’s sisters Zapata and Sodi were kidnapped. Zapata was released after 18 days, as was Sodi after 36. Thalía has refrained from speaking publicly about this incident along with her general familial issues, despite the harsh comments Zapata has made about her.

Thalía considers herself deeply religious and a firm believer in God. In 2002 she began studying the religious art Kabbalah, whose symbols were used in the artwork of her 2005 album El Sexto Sentido.

It was announced in 2008 that Thalía was suffering from Lyme disease. Despite her difficulties getting through the illness, Thalía was lucky to discover it early enough to effectively treat it with antibiotics. She was given the Your Voice Inspires Many Award from the Lyme Research Alliance.

Thalía has been invited to perform at the inaugurations of Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama in 2001 and 2009, respectively. She gained her citizenship in 2006 and now holds both Mexican and American citizenships. Thalía t received a star on the Hollywood Walk O\of Fame on December 5, 2013, holds the Guinness Telenovelas Record for most awards won in a day and the title of the “Queen of Telenovelas.”

Many musical artists have cited Thalía as an influence in their work, including Ricky Martin, Shakira, Gloria Estefan, Michael Bublé and Lindsay Lohan. Thalía has recognized Michael Jackson, Celine Dion and Billie Holiday her own major influences.

Updated by Jen Curran, May 2019