She grew up in a well accommodated family in the Philippines. Her parents knew show business figures such as Tyrone Power, Ricardo Montalban and others. When Preysler was little, she began to travel extensively as a tourist around the world.
After moving to Spain, the Preysler family became good friends with the Iglesias family. In the early 1970s, Preysler married buddying singer Julio. As Julio hit the airwaves, he and Preysler began growing a family, Chabeli being the first child to arrive to them. Later, Enrique, and Julio Jose joined the Iglesias clan. By the late '70s, Julio was a worldwide known singer, and the Iglesias family affairs became widely publicized. Photos of Julio, Isabel and their kids at places such as the beach or friends' parties seemed to be common on tabloid papers.
By 1985, the couple had divorced. That was the year that Julio's father was kidnapped, and he decided to move to Miami, alongside Isabel and Julio's children. Isabel stayed back in Spain, but she would visit her kids at least once a year.
Preysler soon re-married, and she had a fourth child, Tamara. as a result of her second marriage. This was a short lived marriage, however, and by 1987, she was seeing Miguel Boyer, a powerful politician. In January 2, 1988, they married. With Boyer, she has procreated a daughter, Ana.
Preysler and Boyer are still married. Preysler has slowly but steadily been disappearing from the flashlights of the tabloid photographers' cameras, living a more private life. Nevertheless, she is still a widely known figure in Spain.