MANILA, Philippines—Best-dressed. Most glamorous. Most elegant. Most beautiful. Superlatives, it seems, are the norm when describing Isabel Preysler.

“La Reina del Glamour,” as the Spanish press has dubbed her, continues to fascinate celebrity watchers in Europe, and everywhere.

Her face is ageless. She has the sophistication that women d’un certain age possess—women who are confident of their beauty, sure of their style and comfortable in their allure. Her body is in enviable shape, especially after having five children—Chabeli, Julio Jr. and Enrique, from her first husband, Julio Iglesias; Tamara, her daughter from her marriage to Carlos Falco, the Marques de Griñon; and Ana, her daughter with current husband, Miguel Boyer.

Britney Spears, a good 30 years younger than La Preysler, should be tearing her hair extensions out in envy!

Born in Manila in 1951 to Betty Arrastia and Carlos Preysler, Isabel was the third in a family of six children. Like many prominent mestizo families, she grew up in comfortable affluence, attending the Assumption Convent. At 18, she was sent to Madrid with an aunt and uncle, Tessie and Miguel Perez-Rubio, to study at Mary Ward University.

Julio Iglesias was not the heartthrob crooner he is today when he and Isabel met in 1970 at a party hosted by the de Terry family in Madrid. The one-time promising soccer star had spent years recuperating from a horrific car accident that left him partially paralyzed and unable to walk. While convalescing, a friend had given him a guitar, and the budding singer began setting his own poems to music.

By the time the couple married in 1971, Julio had recorded a few songs, won a national singing contest and appeared in a movie. Isabel was a model.

Theirs was a marriage that united astounding good looks, upper-middle-class pedigrees, and exotic glamour—the press often called her “La Perla de Manila.” Overnight, they became media celebrities, the ’70s equivalent of Brangelina, feted throughout Spain and Latin America, where Julio’s records became instant hits.

The golden couple’s happiness, however, did not last. In 1978, they separated after seven years of marriage, and three children. Julio’s career took him away from home a lot, and his hectic schedule, plus rumors of infidelities while on the road, took their toll on the marriage.

Her next marriage, to Carlos Falco, was also short-lived, but catapulted her to a different league in European society. At the very least, it made her a marquesa, and the chatelaine of an acclaimed wine estate in the Rioja region of Spain. The Marques de Griñon’s family is firmly anchored in Spanish aristocracy, and traces its roots all the way back to William the Conqueror.

Their daughter, Tamara, was born in 1981, but the marriage ended not long after. Isabel met then Spanish Minister of Finance Miguel Boyer. At first, rumors of the relationship were hush-hush, but by 1985, she and Carlos Falco separated, Boyer separated from his wife, and he and Isabel moved in together. In 1989, her third daughter, Ana, was born.

Isabel’s first two weddings were grand affairs, the first in a church in Illescas, followed by a honeymoon in the Gran Canarias, and the second in a Finca in Toledo owned by Carlos Falco. By contrast, her third wedding was a small, intimate ceremony attended by family and close friends.

Third time lucky, perhaps, as 20 years later, she and Miguel Boyer are still together, still in love and still happy.

According to ¡Hola! magazine, Isabel Preysler, no se considera guapa ni inteligente. Tampoco tonta, ambiciosa o calculadora. Se define a sí misma como un ama de casa, devota de sus hijos, a la que la pasión y el azar ha colocado en el centro del huracán. Tímida y prudente, ha sabido sobrellevar con paciencia y educación la constante persecución de los medios.

In other words, Isabel Preysler, the celebrated beauty, considers herself neither beautiful nor intelligent. Nor is she stupid, ambitious or calculating.

She defines herself first and foremost as a homemaker, devoted to her children, even as passion and chance have frequently put her at the center of the storm. Shy and prudent, she has learned to overcome with patience and grace the constant barrage of the media.

Isabel Preysler on style:

My style, I believe, is not sophisticated as I try to be as natural as possible. It’s menos es mas. Less is more. When I have to choose jewelry, I usually do not choose jewelry that’s very elaborate.

On being Filipino and feeling Spanish:

Nationality, I have Spanish nationality because when I got married, I can only have one. I can get my Filipino nationality now because now you’re allowed to. When I got married in the ’70s, I could only have one. I don’t ever feel like I have to choose, I feel 100-percent Filipino and then I can feel 100-percent Spanish. I feel very lucky to have grown up in the Philippines. We all speak in Spanish. My father was Spanish, my grandmother was Spanish. I always had that mixed combination. Of course when I was in the Philippines, I felt much, much more Filipino, definitely. I didn’t feel Spanish at all. I only realized that I’m Español when I got in Spain.

On the men she has loved:

My wishes and feelings toward them are very positive. Julio, his father died last December and I went to visit him; he really appreciated it.

They are all great friends of mine. He kept repeating to me, “My father loved you.” I said, “That’s why I’m here.”

With Carlos, I had a wonderful relationship. He was a gentleman and he comes to pick up Tamara. Now, he’s married again and he has a son and a daughter and they’re very, very cute. I have them here at home sometimes.

My relationships with them, I’ve never given it a second thought because they’ve always been perfect gentlemen. They made it easy for me. And even if they did not make it easy for me, I’m sure I would still have exerted efforts because it’s very, very important if you have children.

On her husband, Miguel Boyer:

I’ve been married to him for 20 years on Jan. 2. Ana just turned 18 in April. Miguel is an extremely intelligent man, a charmer, has a good sense of humor, and very quick. We’re completely different but we complement each other.

On her children:

My kids all want to come home. They all come home for Christmas. They really enjoy it. When Enrique leaves, for example, he’d tell me, “Mom, being home is like being in heaven.” For me, that line makes me so grateful. They call this home. They have their own rooms here.

Ana, she’s very good in Mathematics; she’s never given me a single problem. She’s a very good kid. She’s an excellent student.

Tamara stays here, too. Chabeli is married and she comes home for Christmas. She’s in LA because her husband works in LA. Julio’s living here now He’s been living here since last Christmas, but before he lived on his own. All my kids are welcome here.

I’m really lucky that all my kids love each other. I feel very, very blessed to have them because we know that it’s hard to have five children who grew up well and who love each other. They tell me that it’s easier when it’s from a mother; it’s easier to be close to each other.

Enrique, in his interviews, when they ask him about his stepsisters, he’ll answer, “Stepsister? My goodness, they’re my sisters. ”

On the media:

I’ve had a really, really bad time with the media. Especially during the bad moments like the divorce, it was really, really difficult. I have lots of things to be grateful for. If I were to be able to choose, I would’ve never let them take a single picture. If you haven’t been up to this point, by the media, it’s very difficult to understand.

There are many, many things that I would’ve loved to do which I don’t do. That’s the price I have to pay. I don’t go to the supermarket, to the boat trips that I have to go to because we’re going to be photographed and the other people will be bothered by the paparazzi.

You have to give up a lot of things for the good things they offer. I’m also lucky because everybody wants to be loved. I feel that when I get some fan mail. You have to live for a few things because there are a lot of people who love you, who admire you.

On her greatest achievement:

My children. They are not my achievements because of their achievements but they are something I’m very proud of. They’ve done a lot on their own and it’s good when they say it happened because of how good they were raised.

They’ve seen that Julio is a very hardworking man. You have to struggle to get something. All my children know that they are very privileged but if you ever meet them, they are not at all spoiled kids. Not at all. They are very normal children. They always have the things that could not be bought.