Famous Spanish Media Personalities

The daughter of a US Embassy employee, Lilian Garcia was born in Spain. She was a singer as a child and worked as an RJ after graduation, following which she soared to fame as a WWE announcer. She scripted history when she became the first female announcer at WrestleMania.

Spanish model, actor, and TV presenter Pilar Rubio had initially decided to study economics but later quit it without a degree, to join the entertainment industry. Best known for presenting the show Sé lo que hicisteis..., she also appeared naked on Interviú. She is married to Spanish footballer Sergio Ramos.

Chabeli Iglesias is a Spanish journalist and socialite. Born into the popular Iglesias family, she is the daughter of singer Julio Iglesias and Filipina socialite Isabel Preysler. She has been featured on the covers of numerous gossip and entertainment magazines worldwide. She is married to businessman Christian Fernando Altaba and has two children. 

Spanish singer-actor Edurne started her career as a child actor and later soared to fame with the show Operación Triunfo. She then released hit singles such as Amores Dormidos and Despierta, and was part of the Spanish version of Britain’s Got Talent. She is also the wife of Spanish footballer David De Gea.

Sara Carbonero is a Spanish-Portuguese TV personality and sports journalist. She is best known for her association with the popular free-to-air TV channel Telecinco, where she worked as a presenter. Carbonero made headlines in 2010 when she covered the 2010 FIFA World Cup, including the match between Switzerland and Spain that featured her then-boyfriend Iker Casillas whom she later married. 

Michael Servetus was a Spanish physician, Renaissance humanist, cartographer, and theologian. In 1553, he published a book titled Christianismi Restitutio in which he described the function of pulmonary circulation, becoming the first European to describe it accurately. A polymath, Michael Servetus was well-versed in many fields, such as mathematics, geography, meteorology, astronomy, human anatomy, pharmacology, medicine, poetry, jurisprudence, and translation.

Maxi Iglesias is a Spanish actor, television presenter, and model. A household name in Spain, Iglesias has played important roles in popular TV series like Física o química, Velvet, Dueños del paraíso, and Desaparecidos. His popularity increased in 2020 when he was cast to play Victor in the popular Netflix show Valeria.

A retired war correspondent and best-selling author, Arturo Pérez-Reverte Gutiérrez began his writing career while serving as a journalist, publishing his first novel, El hussar, set during the Napoleon Wars, at the age of thirty-five. Outside Spain, he is best known for his Captain Alatriste series, which contains seven novels set around a seventeenth century soldier of the same name.

Best known for her roles in series such as Los Serrano and The Sea Inside, Spanish actor Belén Rueda is also a Goya Award winner. Quitting her architecture course, she became a salesgirl and then a model, eventually turning toward presenting shows on TV and then acting.

Guillem Balagué is a Spanish soccer journalist, pundit, and author. A regular guest on Sky Sports' popular football show Revista de la Liga, Balagué is also credited with contributing to several Spanish and English newspapers like The Observer and The Metro. In 2016, his book, Cristiano Ronaldo, was named Football Book of the Year at the Polish Sports Book Awards.

Best known for co-authoring the sword-and-sorcery comic book Groo The Wanderer, Spanish-Mexican cartoonist Sergio Aragonés had initially soared to fame with his margin cartoon insertions in MAD Magazine. He also became the first Mexican to win the Eisner Award and inspired the Comic Art Professional Society’s award The Sergio.

Spanish actor and TV presenter Concha Velasco initially trained in dance and performed in a revue with Celia Gámez. She later gained fame with films such as Tormento and was critically praised for her performance as Teresa of Ávila in the mini-series Teresa de Jesús.

Ana Obregón is a Spanish actress, socialite, and television presenter. She is best known for her performances in popular TV series like A las once en casa and Ana y los 7 where she played Paula and Ana García Palermo respectively. Over the years, Obregón's personal life, which includes a relationship with footballer Davor Šuker, has overshadowed her professional achievements.

Spanish countess and novelist Emilia Pardo Bazán had initially gained fame with the essay The Critical Issue. She was an advocate of naturalism and free will. Known for novels such as The House of Ulloa, she also taught Romance literature and was divorced by her husband because of her literary success.

Spanish communist Marina Ginestà became famous for an iconic photo by Juan Guzmán that featured her on the rooftop of Hotel Colón in Barcelona, carrying a gun, during the 1936 military uprising. Part of the Socialist Youth, she was a reporter and translator for Pravda correspondent Mikhail Koltsov.

Legendary Spanish footballer Ricardo Zamora was a skilled goalkeeper and had been part of teams such as Barcelona and Real Madrid. Known as The Divine One, he refused to pay heed to his doctor father’s advice to take up medicine and pursued football instead. He won an Olympic silver at age 19.

Known for series such as Hospital Central and films such as Backseat Fighter and Héctor, Spanish actor Elia Galera also gained fame for co-presenting shows such as 100% cine and Popstars. She is married to Spanish actor, model, and producer Ivan Sanchez and is a mother of two.

Risto Mejide is a Spanish author, publicist, music producer, songwriter, talent show judge, and TV presenter. He is best known for appearing as a judge on popular talent shows like Factor X, Got Talent España, and Operación Triunfo.

Cayetana Álvarez de Toledo is a Spanish historian, journalist, and politician. A prominent member of the People's Party, she became a member of the Congress of Deputies for Barcelona in 2019. From 2018 to 2020, she served as the spokesperson of the popular group in the Congress of Deputies. As a journalist, she has worked for newspapers like El Mundo.

Raquel Sanchez-Silva is a Spanish writer and television presenter. She is best known for her association with TVE where she hosts programs, including daily talk shows like Lo siguiente. Raquel Sanchez-Silva is also known for hosting the Spanish version of the popular British reality show, The Great British Sewing Bee.

Pedro Delgado is a Spanish retired road bicycle racer best known for winning the 1988 Tour de France. He also won other major competitions like the Vuelta a España during his illustrious cycling career. After retiring, Delgado became part of Televisión Española where he serves as a sports commentator. The Scottish rock band The Delgados is named in his honor.

Best known as the director of the Goya Award- and Academy Award-winning Spanish film Belle Époque, filmmaker Fernando Trueba initially worked as a film critic for El Pais. He also launched the journal Casablanca. His first foray in to animation, Chico and Rita, too was a huge success.

Remembered as the "Spanish Lord Byron," Romantic poet José de Espronceda y Delgado became famous for his affair with Teresa Mancha. Initially imprisoned in a monastery for his revolutionary activities, he fled Spain and later lived in England and France. El estudiante de Salamanca remains one of his notable works.

Catalan artist Ramon Casas was primarily known for his portraits. Born into an affluent family, he also gained fame for his oil paintings that he sold as postcards and posters, giving rise to the movement known as Modernisme. He also partially funded the Els Quatre Gats bar.

Spanish journalist, playwright, and satirical author Mariano José de Larra had his own newspapers and also worked as a drama critic for La revista Española as Figaro. Part of the costumbrismo movement, he penned the play Macías. He later took his own life after being rejected by a woman he loved.

Juan Gómez-Jurado is a Spanish author and journalist. One of the most popular and successful Spanish authors of his generation, Gómez-Jurado has won several prestigious awards, including the Premio de Novela Ciudad de Torrevieja for The Traitor's Emblem. Juan Gómez-Jurado's work has been translated into more than 40 languages.

TV3 weather presenter Tomàs Molina is a renowned meteorologist who heads Televisión de Cataluña’s meteorology department and is also associated with the Catalan channels Canal Méteo and Teletiempo. The IABM vice president has authored several books and won the Spain Zapping Award for the Best TV Personality in 2012.