Julio Iglesias, Sr.
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Dr. Julio Iglesias Puga (Ourense, July 26, 1915 — Madrid, December 19, 2005) was a Spanish gynaecologist. He was the Galician-born father of singer Julio Iglesias and grandfather to singer Enrique Iglesias. He became one of the youngest gynecologists of Spain. He was nicknamed Papuchi, "Daddy".
Dr Iglesias was one of the youngest gynaecologists to work in the Spanish public health system. He helped to found the Madrid Maternity Clinic and became the head of its sterility, infertility and family planning unit.
During the 1980s he was kidnapped by Basque ETA and held for two weeks, eventually being found unharmed. He became a fixture of gossip magazines, always ready to chat with journalists revealing information about his famous descendants.
[edit] Family
In 1943 he married Rosario de la Cierva y Periñon and the couple had two sons Julio Iglesias and Carlos. They divorced in 1983.
In the early 1990s he met US citizen Ronna Keith. The two married in 2001 in a secret ceremony witnessed by close family and photographers from a magazine.
At age 87, his 40 year old wife gave birth to his 3rd son, James. Ronna underwent fertility treatment in order to conceive James, and in vitro is speculated to have been used for their 2nd child. Ruth was born July 26, 2006, 7 months after his father died.
After little Jaime made his debut in 2004, Julio Sr. rejected suggestions Ronna was the driving force behind their decision to start a family. "At my age, a child is marvellous" he declared. "If people say I just did it for my wife, I don't take it as an insult, but the truth is I wanted it just as much as her. "My wife wanted it and I owed it to her," he explained. "It was an act of generosity towards her. I leave her part of my blood, of my life. I need her so much that I said to her 'here, this is what you wanted for when I am gone' ".
Julio Iglesias Sr. died after suffering a cardiac arrest at his home in Madrid, just days after he announced he was to become a father for the fourth time at the age of 90. The child, Ruth, was born on July 26, 2006.
