After the kidnapping of his grandfather in 1985, Julio José and his siblings (by his father's side) relocated from Madrid to Miami. The Iglesias family lived in one of Miami's most famous mansions, and were constantly hounded by papparatzis.
Julio José first got into show business as a model. Spotted by photographer Bruce Webber, he went on to campaign for Versace. He also was featured at a Gap ad, and he modeled for designer John Bartlett.
Julio José went to college in San Francisco. He won a chance to participate in NBC's Out of the Blue, and he was contracted by the Travel Channel, where he hosted a travel show that took him across Latin America.
Next, he was offered two soap opera jobs, one at Televisa and one in the famous soap, All My Children. Julio José decided to turn those two jobs down because he wanted to focus on his music, which he says he has been writing since he was little.
Later he returned to Miami, where he began to record his first album, Under My Eyes, with Roberto Castillo. The recording of this album took them to New York and Los Angeles. Songs in that album included One More Chance and Anything.
The album, released in 2003, and subsequent video have received much attention from the Hispanic media in the United States.
