Background and career
Julieta Venegas Percevault (Latin American Spanish pronunciation: [xuˈljeta βeˈneɣas]; born 24 November 1970) is a Mexican singer-songwriter. She specializes in Spanish indie pop rock and embarked on her musical journey by joining several bands, including the Mexican ska band Tijuana No!. Venegas is proficient in playing 17 instruments, including the acoustic guitar, accordion, and keyboard.
Born in Long Beach, California, Venegas grew up in Tijuana, Mexico, since the age of one month old, and began playing instruments at the age of 8 when her parents first sent her to piano lessons. In the years that followed, music became her passion. She speaks Spanish, Portuguese, and English. Additionally, she has a twin sister named Yvonne, who is a photographer. In 1997, she released her debut album, "Aquí," to favorable reviews in Mexico from the rock audience. Her subsequent production, "Bueninvento" (2000), also produced by Gustavo Santaolalla, garnered praise from international critics and was considered the third-best album in the history of Spanish Rock by Rolling Stone. In later years, she established herself as one of the most prominent songwriters in Latin pop, achieving fame in 2003 in Latin America and Spain with the album "Sí" and singles such as "Andar Conmigo" and "Algo está cambiando," which topped the Latin Billboard charts. In 2006, she released her most successful album, "Limón y Sal," which remains her best-selling album to date. "Limón y Sal" attained Platinum status in several countries, propelled by the worldwide hit "Me Voy," certified Gold in Mexico. Her first live album, "MTV Unplugged" (2008), sold more than 400,000 digital copies, earning a diamond certification in Mexico. Under Sony Music, Venegas released her fifth studio album, "Otra Cosa" (2010). She followed with her sixth studio album, "Los Momentos" (2013), marking a transition to indie pop. Her seventh studio album, "Algo Sucede" (2015), debuted at number 1 on the Latin Pop Albums chart.
Since 2017, she has resided in Buenos Aires, where she made her debut as a theater actress in the play "La Enamorada" by Argentine writer Santiago Loza. Additionally, she released the album "La Enamorada" (2019), featuring themes based on the play. It is estimated that she has sold 10 million records worldwide. Throughout her career, she has earned eight Latin Grammy Awards, seven MTV Awards, seven Broadcast Music, Inc. Awards, five VEVO Certified awards, three Oye! Awards, two Billboard Music Awards, and over 100 other awards. She has also received accolades such as the Master of Latin Music Award at Berklee College for her career and a Musa Award in honor of her compositions. She had described the inspiration for her music with the following quote:I mostly aspire to be a storyteller. I loved people like Suzanne Vega, and Lou Reed, or Cat Stevens, but it never occurred to me to write in English. I started listening to people like Silvio Rodriguez, who wrote some wonderful lyrics. When I went to live in Mexico City, I met a lot of people who helped and influenced me, like Café Tacuba, Gustavo Santaolalla, and they helped me to find my voice. Gustavo produced my first record, Aqui, in 1998, which was very important for me.
At the beginning of her career, she collaborated with a few bands in Tijuana, and then later in Mexico City.
With the support of BMG, Julieta Venegas recorded her first solo album with producer Gustavo Santaolalla. Released in 1997, Aquí contained twelve tracks composed by Venegas and was distributed in Mexico, Spain, and several Latin American countries. The material proved Venegas to be an extremely inventive artist in Mexican popular music. The first single from the album, "De Mis Pasos," was dramatically accepted by a young audience and quickly positioned as one of the best female rock songs of that time. The second single, "Como Sé," won the MTV award for "Mejor Interpretación Femenina." Following the international release of the album, Venegas received a large number of invitations to collaborate with different musicians and performers in Latin America, including Sasha Sokol, Enanitos Verdes, Sr. Gonzalez, Los Tres, Liquits, Cartel de Santa, León, and Enrique Bunbury. In 1998, she participated in the tour "De Diva Voz" with Ely Guerra and Aurora y La Academia, appearing at different locations in Mexico and the United States. Soon after, she toured in "Calaveritas y Diablitos" next to Aterciopelados and Los Fabulosos Cadillacs in Spain. The same year she participated in the album Volcán: Tributo a José José, a tribute to the legendary Mexican singer José José. Venegas recorded the song "El Triste." Her participation in international festivals increased the following year, and Venegas performed at "Midem Americas (Miami)," Generation Ñ "(in Spain)," Rock Al Parque de Bogotá (Colombia) and Festival "El Hatillo" (in Venezuela). In 1999, she appeared in the Mexican version of the video "Infinito" by Bunbury. In 2000, Nacho Mastretta invited her to participate in her album "Luna de Miel," which consists of twelve songs performed by twelve female vocalists from different countries. Soon after that, Venegas contributed three songs to the soundtrack of En El País de No Pasa Nada. Soon after, Julieta Venegas wrote and recorded the song "Amores Perros Me Van A Matar" for the film "Amores Perros." The song was produced by Emmanuel del Real and Quique Rangel (Café Tacuba), who would also collaborate with Venegas on her next album, Bueninvento.
Bueninvento, also produced by Gustavo Santaolalla and Joe Chiccarelli, was launched in September 2000. It was recorded in Los Angeles (California), Monterrey and Mexico City. Thirteen of the fourteen songs are authored by Julieta Venegas including a tribute to Juan Gabriel – "Siempre En Mi Mente." In the same year, she participated in the "Arezzo Wave Love" in Italy, where she sang a version of the song "Amores Perros ..." in Italian, and joined the tour "Evolucion 2000" with Jaguares, Jumbo, and Gusana Ciega. She was also involved in the Hannover Fair as part of Music Bridges Around the World, which links to composers from around the world. Venegas joined the Cubadisco Festival in Havana, Cuba and the tour 'Femina Rock' with Maria Gabriela Epumer and other female figures in rock. In 2002, the singer Victor Manuel called, offering for her to participate in a tribute to Joaquín Sabina along with other women by singing "Corre Dijó La Tortuga." She participated in several soundtracks including Maria Full of Grace with the song "Lo Que Venga Después," and Demasiado Amor with a two versions of the cover of Lupita D'Alessio's "Acariciame," one in collaboration with Mastretta and one with Joan Valent. She worked with Mastretta for the main theme of the Spanish film "El Sueño del Caiman." Venegas sang "Niños," a duet with Spanish Pedro Guerra Ofrenda, and received by the same in the Persian Gulf where they sang a duet on the song "Cómo Sé" against the European media. She performed on the Soda Stereo album tribute to the song "Disco Eterno" which was nominated for a Grammy for "Best Rock Song: Hoy No Quiero" and "Best Alternative Rock Disco: Bueninvento." She took a brief break in her career and was dedicated to singing themes José José ("El Triste"), José Alfredo Jimenez ("Serenata Sin Luna") and Los Tigres del Norte ("La Jaula de Oro") and did duets with Celso Piña and ska "Los de Abajo" while preparing the songs for her upcoming album Sí.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
