Ana Barbara, or Altagracia Ugalde Mota, is a Mexican TV personality, singer, songwriter, producer, actress, and model.
Since her professional debut in 1994, Ana Barbara established herself as a prominent figure within the Latin entertainment industry. From that moment on, Ana Barbara became one of the leading Mexican women musicians.
However, besides her undeniable musical talent, the world knows her well for her tremendous sex appeal.
The proof of Ana Barbara’s popularity in Mexico, the United States, South America, and Central America is the fact she sold over 6 million records across these areas.
Early Life
Ana Barbara is born on January 10, 1971, in Luis San Potosi, Mexico.
Her older sister, Viviana Ugalde, made a great influence on Ana Barbara, as she was a popular singer locally, so Ana developed an interest in music at a young age as well.
Ana wanted attention and was an impressionable child from the childhood days, and she wanted to be just like her older sister, Viviana. What is more, Ana started singing as a backup vocal for Viviana when she was only 8 years old.
Viviana later became part of Ana’s management team.
Ana Barbara’s beauty was evident even when she was a child, while it only gradually showed off more and more with years.
Winning of the title of Senorita San Luis Potosi in 1988 (she was 18 then) was a confidence boost for Ana Barbara, even though she always felt confident about herself. She did lose the national level, but this didn’t bring her down at all.
Her desire to become a famous singer pushed her forward, and she decided to prove her worth and sing for people at festivals and other events. And, that is when everything started.
Career Development
Ana Barbara finally got the opportunity to go to a tour in Colombia to represent mariachi music, and her feeling didn’t let her down – wider audience accepted her very well.
Barbara was titled as the Ambassador of Ranchera Music in 1993, and she won the El Rostro Bonito de El Heraldo de Mexico, or The Heraldo’s Beautiful Face award shortly after as well.
Pope John Paul II invited Ana Barbara to perform during a Mass at the Vatican.
However, she didn’t get the actual opportunity to sing, which made her furious, so Barbara interpreted the whole event, commanded the attention, and started singing.
After she was done with her performance, Pope gave her a blessing and wished her all the best in her future career.
The year 1994 was very important for Ana Barbara, as record executives from Fonovisa, one of the top labels in the regional Mexican market, noticed her, and offered her to record for them, which she accepted.
Everybody knew her as Altagracia Ugalde until then, while singing for Fonovisa brought her the nickname we know today – stage name Ana Barbara. Her debut album was self-titled – Ana Barbara.
She worked with Anibal Pastor, a producer and songwriter, and Joan Sebastian, a Mexican singer.
Barbara became a Grupero star thanks to songs Nada and Sacudeme.
Shortly after, Ana Barbara released her second album in 1995 – La Trampa. Anibal Pastor worked on this one as well.
The song La Trampa gave her immense popularity and became a commercial hit right away. Thanks to it, numerous Mexican artists (Vicente Fernandez, Los Tigres del Norte, and many more) invited her to perform on tours.
Ana was invited to numerous Latin American TV shows – Siempre en Domingo and Sabado Gigante. They played her music videos, such as Me Asusta Pero Me Gustaand La Trampa, which contributed to establishing Ana Barbara as The Queen of Grupero Music (La Reina Grupera).
Barbara achieved mainstream international success when she published Ay, Amor, her third album, which hit the Latin Billboard charts very soon.
Yet, there was a lot more than just good music about Ana Barbara. Her stunning figure, sensual dancing style, and attractive appearance made masses fall in love with her.
She was awarded a crown at the Calle 8 Music Festival in Miami, Florida, as the queen of the parade.
Ana Barbara released her fourth album in 1998, Los Besos No Se Dan En La Camisa, including one duet and one cover – “Como Me Haces Falta”.
In just two years, she released Tu Decisión – her fifth album, while the song “Engañada” got all the sympathies of the audience.
Tu Decisión actually was Ana Barbara’s debut when it comes to songwriting.
What is more, Ana received a Latin Grammy nomination for Tu Decisión as Best Grupero Album, while this album brought her to the list of The Latin Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.
The same year, in 2000, Ana made her debut as an actress as well, via Televisa and Univision – Hispanic most popular networks, in the film Todo Contigo.
From September 2003, Ana began with producing her own material, as she wanted to take control of the direction of her music, and released one of the most successful albums – Te Atraparé…Bandido, followed by Loca de Amar, the album from 2005.
After several compilation albums and DVDs, Ana returned to recording for Fonovisa.
Yet, it was obvious that she wanted to change something, and that is when she made a transition from Grupero to Latin pop, which became evident in 2009.
That year, she released Urban/Pop track Rompiendo Cadenas. The music video for this song knocked 39th place on Billboard’s Latin Pop Songs in November 2009.
In 2012, Barbara started with writing and producing tracks for a new album, and revealed she was about to film a TV show.
The same year, Ana migrated to Los Angeles with her children.
Her next album (Yo Soy La Mujer) from 2014, peaked Top Latin Albums in the United States and reached 11th position. This album was a crown of her 2o-year musical career.
Barbara made a celebration at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood of the 20th anniversary and performed numerous songs from the beginning of her career to the latest released ones.
In 2015, Ana kicked off the US tour going from San Francisco to Las Vegas, Chicago, Huston, and many more.
Personal Life
Ana Barbara started dating José María Fernández in 2005, who was an architect.
Even though the public didn’t approve their relationship, these two got engaged in October 2005 and became husband and wife only a few months later.
The marriage lasted for 5 years and ended due to his infidelity.
A couple of months since Ana split with José, she entered a new relationship with Elias Sacal, a wealthy businessman, which didn’t last either.
Ana has three children and is mostly dedicated to them and her career.
She had 2 car accidents, which triggered many rumors, especially the first one, in which one a 79-year-old woman was left dead.
Even though Barbara’s driver was the one to take the blame, there were speculations Ana was driving the car.
She suffered from anorexia and depression, and she was experiencing this just about before moving to Los Angeles. Treatment in Spain helped her improve overall well-being.
Quick Summary
Full Name: Altagracia Ugalde Mota
Date of Birth: January 10, 1971
Birthplace: Luis San Potosi, Mexico
Age: 38
Profession: singer, TV personality, producer, songwriter
Height: 1,72m
Weight: 58kg
Net Worth: $25 million