Cristina Saralegui

In 1960, following the Cuban Revolution, Saralegui and her family fled to Miami, Florida, United States, and settled on Key Biscayne.

After graduating from the Academy of the Assumption in 1966, Saralegui enrolled at the University of Miami. In 1973, she began an internship at the magazine Vanidades. This allowed her to improve her written Spanish to the level of her spoken language. By 1979, Saralegui was editor of the Spanish version of Cosmopolitan magazine. She continued in this role through most of the 1980s.

In 1989, Saralegui transferred her journalistic success to television, by launching the Miami-based Spanish-language talk show, El Show de Cristina (The Cristina Show) on Univisión. She concluded each episode with a double thumbs-up salute and the Cuban expression "Pa'lante, pa'lante, pa'tras ni pa' coger impulso", ("Forward, forward; don't step back, not even to gain momentum"...could also be understood as "to get a running start".)

In 1992, Saralegui had an English-language syndicated talk show, Cristina, which was cancelled after half a season.

Saragelui's talk show last aired on November 1, 2010 after 21 years. Hosted by Mexican actor, Fernando Colunga, Cristina was celebrated by her colleagues Daniela Romo, Cesar Evora, Thalia, Shakira, Gloria Estefan, Emilio Estefan, Angelica Maria, Carmen Salinas, Don Francisco, Jorge Ramos, and others. Some of her Univision colleagues were in the audience from where they interacted with Cristina herself, sharing anecdotes and messages of hope and admiration.

Saralegui remained under contract with Univision until December 31, 2010. It was discussed that she might continue as a collaborator, for special programs and interviews, and that a new Cristina show would debut in March, 2011, but this did not happen.

It was announced on May 17, 2011 that Telemundo had hired Cristina for a weekly variety show, Pa'lante con Cristina (Forward with Cristina), beginning in the fall of 2011. The program debuted on Telemundo on May 31 of that year, hosting a one-hour special retrospective featuring the stars of the just-completed telenovela La Reina del Sur.

On May 31, 2012, it was announced that Pa'lante con Cristina would end its run and will not be renewed for another season.

In 2012, Saralegui began Cristina Radio on Sirius XM.

In June 2012, Saralegui endorsed President Barack Obama for a second term, marking her first political endorsement ever.