Trained in flamenco, fluent in reggaeton and now at home with a symphony orchestra, Rosalía has spent a decade refusing to stay in one lane. The Catalan singer, songwriter and producer has just won her third Latin Grammy for Album of the Year with Lux, a feat that puts her in rare company. Here is how a musicology student from a small town near Barcelona became one of the most influential artists in global pop.
| Full name | Rosalia Vila Tobella |
|---|---|
| Known as | Rosalía |
| Date of birth | September 25, 1992 |
| Age | 34 (as of November 2026) |
| Birthplace | Sant Cugat del Vallès, Catalonia, Spain |
| Hometown | Sant Esteve Sesrovires, Baix Llobregat |
| Nationality | Spanish |
| Profession | Singer, songwriter, record producer, actress |
| Albums | Los Ángeles (2017), El Mal Querer (2018), Motomami (2022), Lux (2025) |
| Major awards | Two Grammy Awards, three Latin Grammys for Album of the Year, BRIT Award (2026) |
| Net worth | Not publicly disclosed |
Early Life
Rosalia Vila Tobella was born on September 25, 1992, in Sant Cugat del Vallès and grew up in Sant Esteve Sesrovires, a small town in the Baix Llobregat area west of Barcelona. Her father, José Manuel Vila, and her mother, Pilar Tobella, raised two daughters. Her older sister, Pilar, known as Pili, would later become one of her closest collaborators, working as her stylist and creative director. Rosalía was named after her maternal grandmother.
Music took hold early. As a teenager she discovered flamenco and threw herself into it with unusual discipline, taking dance classes and training her voice under the singing teacher José Miguel Vizcaya, who drilled her in technique and the melismatic improvisation that defines the cante. She went on to study at the Taller de Músics in Barcelona before winning a place in the flamenco program of the Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya (ESMUC), a famously selective course. She graduated in 2017.
That academic grounding matters. Long before she was a pop star, Rosalía was a student of tradition, and her best work has always come from bending that tradition rather than ignoring it.
Career
2017: Los Ángeles and the flamenco foundation
Her debut album, Los Ángeles, was released in 2017 through a distribution deal with Universal Music. Made with guitarist and producer Raül Refree, it reworked old flamenco songs with a stark, haunting minimalism. It was not a commercial blockbuster, but it earned strong reviews in Spain, including album of the year honors from Time Out and the Premio Ruido, and it announced a singular voice.
2018-2020: El Mal Querer changes everything
The breakthrough came the following year. El Mal Querer began life as her final project at ESMUC and drew its storyline from Flamenca, an anonymous 13th-century Occitan novel about a jealous husband. Rosalía turned it into a conceptual album that fused flamenco palmas and melisma with trap beats, R&B and sampled sounds, much of it recorded with producer El Guincho in his Barcelona apartment.
Lead single “Malamente” went viral, and “Di mi nombre” gave her a first number one in Spain. The album won the Latin Grammy for Album of the Year in 2019 and, in 2020, the Grammy for Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album. Rolling Stone later placed it on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
Her profile exploded internationally. “Con altura” with J Balvin crossed one billion views on YouTube and won two MTV Video Music Awards, while “TKN” with Travis Scott became her first entry on the Billboard Hot 100. She also appeared in Pedro Almodóvar’s Pain and Glory (2019) in a small role as Rosita, and collaborated with artists ranging from James Blake to Billie Eilish.
2022-2023: Motomami and global stardom
Released through Columbia Records in 2022, Motomami was a hard left turn: abrasive, playful and built on experimental reggaeton, with tracks like “Saoko,” “La Fama” with The Weeknd and the summer hit “Despechá.” It was described as the best-reviewed album of 2022 on Metacritic. At the Latin Grammys it won Album of the Year, making her the first woman to take that award twice as a lead artist, and it brought her a second Grammy in 2023. The Motomami World Tour followed in 2022.
In 2023 she released the joint EP RR with Puerto Rican singer Rauw Alejandro, including the single “Beso,” and joined Björk on the charity single “Oral.”
2025-2026: Lux, her most ambitious work
After a long pause, Rosalía announced Lux in October 2025 with the lead single “Berghain,” and the album arrived on November 7, 2025. It is her most daring project yet: an art-pop record built around a full orchestra, sung in more than a dozen languages and inspired by the lives of female saints. Critics were dazzled; The Guardian called it “a demanding, distinctive clash of classical and chaos,” and it became Metacritic’s highest-rated album of 2025.
The record also gave her a commercial peak. Lux was her first top-ten debut on both the Billboard 200 and the UK Albums Chart, and it set a Spotify record for the most-streamed album in a single day by a Spanish-language female artist. “Berghain” and “La Perla” both topped the charts in Spain.
Why Rosalía stands apart
Few artists have bridged worlds as convincingly. As early as 2019, Billboard honored her with its Rising Star award, praising her for “changing the sound of today’s mainstream music with her fresh flamenco-influenced pop.” She also became the first act singing in Spanish to be nominated for the Grammy for Best New Artist. At home, she holds the record for the most number-one singles in Spain by a local female artist, with thirteen chart-toppers. Yet what really sets her apart is the way each album resets expectations: the austere flamenco of Los Ángeles, the concept-driven fusion of El Mal Querer, the chaos of Motomami and the classical grandeur of Lux sound like four different artists, all unmistakably her.
What’s New in 2026
2026 has been Rosalía’s biggest year to date. Early in the year she won the BRIT Award for International Artist of the Year and gave “Berghain” its live debut on the BRITs stage alongside Björk. In April, viewers saw her in the third and final season of HBO’s Euphoria, where she played a recurring character named Magick across six of the season’s eight episodes.
On March 16, she opened the Lux Tour at the LDLC Arena in Lyon, France. According to Billboard, the tour covered 42 dates in 17 countries across Europe and the Americas, closing on September 3 at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San Juan, her largest headlining run so far.
Then came the Latin Grammys. At the 27th ceremony, held on November 12, 2026, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Lux won Album of the Year, her third win in the category after El Mal Querer and Motomami. She also took Song of the Year for “La Perla,” recorded with the trio Yahritza y Su Esencia, whom she brought on stage to share the moment. You can read the full story in our report on Rosalía’s third Latin Grammy Album of the Year.
Personal Life
Rosalía has spoken about her relationships only sparingly, but a few have been very public. Her partnership with Spanish rapper and producer C. Tangana was both romantic and creative: the two co-wrote much of El Mal Querer before parting ways in 2018.
Her most visible relationship was with Rauw Alejandro. The couple went public in 2021, got engaged on December 31, 2022, and released the joint EP RR together the following spring. In July 2023, they confirmed their split. Neither has gone into detail about the breakup, and Rosalía has kept that chapter largely private.
Family remains central to her life and work. Her sister Pili has worked alongside her for years as stylist and creative director, shaping the look of each album era. Rosalía has also used her platform for causes she supports, including LGBTQ+ Pride and reproductive rights, and in January 2026 she performed at the “Act x Palestine” benefit concert in Barcelona.
Net Worth
Rosalía’s net worth has not been publicly disclosed, and no reliable official figure exists. Online estimates vary widely and are not backed by verifiable financial data, so we do not repeat them here. What is documented is the scale of her career: four studio albums, a sold-out arena tour across three continents, global ambassador deals with fashion and sportswear brands in late 2025 (Calvin Klein and New Balance, as reported in the press), and a Spotify single-day streaming record set by Lux.
FAQ
How old is Rosalía?
Rosalía was born on September 25, 1992, so she is 34 years old as of November 2026.
What is Rosalía’s real name?
Her full name is Rosalia Vila Tobella. She performs under her first name.
Where is Rosalía from?
She was born in Sant Cugat del Vallès and raised in Sant Esteve Sesrovires, near Barcelona, in Catalonia, Spain.
How many Latin Grammys for Album of the Year has Rosalía won?
Three: for El Mal Querer (2019), Motomami (2022) and Lux (2026).
Is Rosalía in Euphoria?
Yes. She played Magick, a recurring character in the third and final season, which premiered in April 2026.
Was Rosalía engaged to Rauw Alejandro?
Yes. They got engaged at the end of 2022 and announced their breakup in July 2023.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Rosalía
- Biography.com: Rosalía Vila Tobella
- Billboard: Rosalía’s 2026 Lux Tour dates
- Catalan News: Rosalía wins BRIT Award for Best International Artist
- Variety: Latin Grammys 2026 full winners list
- Yahoo Entertainment: Rosalía wins her third Album of the Year