GRAMMY Artist From Miami: Gloria Estefan

No musician is as synonymous with Miami as Gloria Estefan. The three time GRAMMY winner embodies the sound of the city, and her backing band, Miami Sound Machine, is named after the Magic City.

A three-time GRAMMY winner (and four time Latin GRAMMY winner), Gloria María Milagrosa Fajardo Garcíawas born in Cuba, but her family soon moved to Florida.

In the '70s, she joined a local group called the Miami Latin Boys, who later changed their name to Miami Sound Machine (she'd eventually marry bandmate Emilio Estefan).

They started releasing music in the mid-'70s, but they didn't score a mainstream breakthrough hit until 1985's "Conga," which featured a pretty adorable video, which took place at Miami's Copa Cabana. The song was from the Eyes of Innocence album, which also featured "Words Get in the Way" and "Bad Boy."

The Miami sound was now a national sensation. It would be a few more years before Gloria won her first GRAMMY Award though.

In 1993, she won Best Tropical Latin album for Mi Tierra; in 1995 she won Best Tropical Latin Performance for "Abriendo Puertas," and in 2000, she won Best Traditional Tropical Latin Album for Alma Caribeña.

Today, her life story (and many of her biggest hits) are on Broadway via the Get On Your Feet musical. A multi-talented artist, she's also written children's books and a cookbook. As an entrepreneur, she co-owns a few restaurants and hotels in the Miami area, and is a minority owner of NFL's Miami Dolphins.

Her most recent album was 2013's The Standards, and here's hoping that she returns with new music soon.