Having a $220 million net worth, Hugely successful Latin, Arabic, and English pop singer of all time who is eminent for the mega-hit songs Hips Don’t Lie and Whenever, Wherever with the achievement of 125 international music awards.
Shakira-Shakira
Contents
- Shakira-Shakira
- Shakira’s Birthplace and Early Life
- Social Media Platforms and Profile Names
- Beginning of Career with ‘Sony Music Colombia’
- Breakthrough: “Pies Descalzos”
- International Stardom: ‘Laundry Service’
- ‘Fijacion Oral’ Volume-1 and ‘Oral Fixation’ Volume-2
- Shakira’s Personal Websites
- She Wolf
- Sale el Sol and Shakira
- El Dorado
- Singing Judge in ‘The Voice’
- Humanitarian Work
- Financial Controversy
- SHAKIRA’s Bio in a Glance
- Achievements
Shakira is the highest-selling Colombian pop singer, dancer, entrepreneur, philanthropist, musician, and artist. At the age of 4, she wrote her first poem, “La Rosa De Cristal” (“The Crystal Rose”), and hit worldwide fame with Whenever, Wherever and Hips Don’t Lie at the age of 24. More than 700 million albums have been sold worldwide and got multiple MTV, Grammy, Billboard, NRJ, American, and International Dance Music awards. She is also the sole founder of the Colombian charity ‘Pies Descalzos Foundation’ with special schools where poor children get quality education free. Moreover, she is a contestant on the jury in an American singing competition on NBC’s famous show ‘The Voice.’
Shakira’s Birthplace and Early Life
Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll is the only child of William Mebarak Chadid and Nidia del Carmen Ripoll Torrado. In ‘Arabic’ Shakira means Grateful. She was born on 2 February 1977 in Barranquilla, Colombia. Shakira has loved her father so much since her childhood.
Once upon a time, when she was only four years old, her father took her to a local Middle Eastern restaurant, where Shakira watched the belly dance. Shakira started to dance at the table and got her first appreciation from the audience. When she was growing up, she watched her father very fascinatingly. Her father used to type poems and stories on a typewriter. When she was seven years, she asked her father for a Christmas gift. Her father gave her that typewriter as a Christmas gift.
Shakira had an extraordinary interest in music since childhood. she composed her first poem when she was only four years old. She wrote her first song (“Tus Gafas Oscuras“) meaning (Your Dark Glasses) (she wrote this song for her father, who used to wear dark glasses after the death of his son to hide his grief) at eight. Shakira signed her first record deal at 13 with Sony Music Colombia. In school, she used to dance and sing songs and was titled The Belly Dance Girl by the teachers.
Social Media Platforms and Profile Names
| Profile Name | Platform |
| Shakira | YouTube |
| Shakira | |
| Shakira | |
| Shakira | Spotify |
| Shakira | Deezer |
| Shakira | |
| Shakira | Music.Apple |
| Shakira | |
| Shakira | Tik Tok |
Beginning of Career with ‘Sony Music Colombia’
Shakira was not a singer by birth. She attended music classes for singing in her childhood. Her singing teacher refused to teach her and said, “Your voice is so heavy. You sing as a goat.” Her singing career started when a local theater producer Monica Ariza introduced her to Sony Colombia executive Ciro Vargas. She recorded her first two “Magia and Peligro” albums at “Sony Colombia Music Studio.” Magia was her debut album. She recorded it with Sony Music Colombia in 1990 at 13.
The songs were composed by Shakira, mixed with pop-rock ballads and disco-uptempo songs with an electronic soundtrack when she was only eight years old. Although the album did not earn much fame, it exposed the talent of young Shakira and sold 1,200 copies worldwide. Even though the first album could not get much popularity, she did not lose her heart. Shakira released her second album and got much exposure, but it was also not good commercially. In February 1993, she went to Chile’s Vina del Mar Internation Song Festival for a singing performance. Shakira got 3rd position in this competition.
Though her first two albums flopped and didn’t help her well commercially, she got a lot of fame. After releasing these two albums, she again went back to school and completed her graduation from high school.
Breakthrough: “Pies Descalzos”
Though Shakira’s first two albums flopped, she did not lose heart. She practiced with more passion and recorded her third album, ‘Pies Descalzos mean Bare Feet,’ which was released in October 1995 in Latin American countries and made history with 5 million sold copies worldwide. With the success of “Pies Descalzos”; Shakira got admirable appreciation and made her way on an extensive tour named Tour Pies Descalzos to boost her album.
The tour started in March 1996 and ended in 1997 after completing 20 shows. In 1996, “Pies Descalzos” was nominated for the album of the year, ‘Estoy Aqui’ song was nominated for the Video of the year, and Shakira was nominated ‘Best New Artist.’ Shakira knew the Latino and Arabic languages; because of her parents, she made the ‘Pies Descalzos’ album with a blend of Arabic, Latin, and Rock musical styles.
With successfully selling 5 million copies worldwide, it was one of the best and highest-selling albums of that time. In September 1998, she released her fourth studio album, “Donde Estan Los Ladrones?” meaning “Where are the thieves?” with Emilio Estefan, which got high popularity in the top 5 of Billboard’s Latin charts. With over 7 million sold copies worldwide, “Donde Estan Los Ladrones?” became the best-selling Spanish-language album in the U.S.
In 1999, she was nominated for her first Grammy Award for “The Best Latin Rock Album Shakira: MTV Unplugged (2000).” With the success of “MTV Unplugged (2000)”, sexy belly dance moves, and extraordinary strong voice, Shakira acquired fame as a music superstar in the Spanish-Music market in 2000.
International Stardom: ‘Laundry Service’
‘Laundry Service‘ was her first ‘English-language studio album and fifth studio album’; it opened the gates of popularity worldwide for her. After the success of “Shakira: MTV Unplugged (2000)“, Shakira moved to Miami, Florida to learn how to write songs in the English language, and hired Emilio Estefan as her manager and producer. Shakira had made millions of fans worldwide. She did not get the fame yet for what she had been struggling with for many years. Intending to become the number 1 artist in the U.S.A, she ventured to Miami, Florida.
After one year hardworking, she released her first English-language album ‘Laundry Service‘ with Latin rock and Latin pop music styles in August 2001. The ‘Laundry Service’ sold like hot cakes and whirled worldwide like a jungle fire. It was the time for what she had been waiting for for many years, people bought more than 200,000 copies in only one week, and the album enlisted No.3 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart.
The highest hit songs included in “Laundry Service” were Whenever, Wherever, and Underneath Your Clothes were simultaneously included in the Top Ten of the singles chart.
‘Fijacion Oral’ Volume-1 and ‘Oral Fixation’ Volume-2
After the highest-selling and extraordinary popularity of Laundry Service, Shakira did not release any album for four years. Shakira released her sixth collection Fijacion Oral Volume-1 in June 2005. The big hit of this album was La Tortura, which gained the top 40th position on the Hot 100. Shakira received high appreciation for this album and got 4th position on the Billboard 200 chart for the highest-selling copies (157,000) in its first week.
Moreover, it owned the title of the best-ever Spanish language album due to its best-selling, which awarded Platinum certifications from the RIAA, Colombia, and Latin America. It broke the selling records in Mexico, as all the albums sold on its first day before night. Fajicion Oral oral album was also the luckiest album for Shakira, which bestowed her four Latin Grammy Awards (Record of the Year, Song of the Year for “La Torutra” Album of the Year, and Best Pop Vocal Album) in November 2006.
In November 2005, Shakira released her seventh album Fixation Volume-2, with the highest-selling of more than 1.8 million copies in the U.S. and eight million copies worldwide. It reached number five on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart and sold over 128,000 copies within a week. “Fixation Volume-2’s superhit song was Hips Don’t Lie which became her first number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and number one in more than 55 countries.
In 2006, Shakira made her way on a worldwide tour to six continents for promoting the album and attended 125 shows between June 2006 – July 2007. In February 2007, Shakira was invited to the 49th Grammy Awards ceremony and was bestowed with Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals award for Hips Don’t Lie with Wyclef Jean.
Shakira’s Personal Websites
1- Shakira.com
She Wolf
Shakira launched her 8th studio album ‘She Wolf’ in the U.S. on 23rd November 2009 and internationally in October 2009. Before the ‘She Wolf’ album releasing, Shakira was nominated for the fourth top-earning female artist in the music industry by Forbes in 2008. This album earned a lot of fame and was included in AllMusic’s year-end ‘Favorite Latin Albums’ ‘Favorite Pop Albums’ and Favorite Albums” lists while it reached number fifteen on the U.S. Billboard 200.
Additionally, “She Wolf” stood first on the charts of Switzerland, Mexico, Italy, Ireland, and Argentina. Moreover, it entered in ‘Top Five’ in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Spain. Shakira’s this album made history when it was certified back to back Double-Platinum, Single-Platinum, and Gold by various European and other countries. In 2010, she was hired to sing the official song “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)” for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Shakira launched this song with the collaboration of the South African group Freshlyground and performed at the opening and closing ceremony of the World Cup.
“Waka Waka” was included in the Top 20 in Africa, South Africa, and Europe, put in the top 40 in the U.S. chart, and later became the highest-selling World Cup song forever.
Sale el Sol and Shakira
“Sale el Sol” was her ninth studio album of Shakira, it garnered sensational accolades and put in AllMusic’s Favorite Latin Albums of 2010 and Favorite Albums of the 2010 year end-lists, later awarded with “Best Female Pop Vocal Album” and “Album of the Year.”
“Sale el Sol” reached the highest-selling album in Spain, Croatia, France, Mexico, Portugal, and Belgium. It was her fifth album and came to number one on both the Top Latin Albums and Latin Pop Albums charts, announced at the seventh number on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart. The superhit song of this album was Loca which stood number one in many countries and sold more than four million copies worldwide.
El Dorado
In October 2016, Shakira released her eleventh studio album ‘El Dorado’ with the collaboration of Colombian singer Carlos Vives, winning the ‘Song of the Year and The Latin Grammy Award for Record of the Year.’ Though “El Dorado’s” songs did not include in the Top songs on the U.S. Billboard 200 charts, Shakira got her third Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Album for El Dorado.
She made the El Dorado World Tour plan, but unfortunately, she had to cancel the tour plan due to a hemorrhage on her right vocal cord. Afterward, in January 2018, she made her way for the ‘El Dorado World Tour’ and performed in Hamburg, Germany, Barcelona, Asia, Chicago, San Francisco, Mexico City, and Bogota.
In 2019, Forbes ranked her the world’s highest-paid woman in the Music industry at number 10.
Singing Judge in ‘The Voice’
Shakira became a singing Judge on NBC’s famous singing-competition show ‘The Voice’ in 2012. She worked with a well-known songwriter artist Usher in season 4. Both of them did extraordinary work and were again hired as coaches for season-6.
Humanitarian Work
Shakira told her childhood story. She said, “My father was a jeweler. He was bankrupt when I was seven years old. It was a very worst time for my family. My father took me to an orphanage. At that moment, I promised myself that if I were to help the poor people. I would.” In 1997, After a big achievement for her third studio album ‘Pies Descalzos.’ Shakira brought her childhood dream into reality.
She founded a charity foundation ‘Pies Descalzos Foundation’ in Colombia with special schools where the poor children of Colombia got a quality education. This institution has been working since 1997 with the funded aid of Shakira and other international charity groups. She was honored with a medal by the United Nations International Labour Organization in March 2010 for her philanthropy. In November 2010, She was also awarded by MTV European Music the ‘MTV Free Your Mind’ award for her continuous struggle for education.
Shakira was awarded the “Hero Award” at the “Radio Disney Music Awards” on 27 April 2014 for creating the “Pies Descalzos Foundation.”
Financial Controversy
Shakira is undertrial for not paying taxesto the Spanish government between 2012-2014. “The Colombian superstar of all time accused of 14.5 million-euro tax fraud.” Said the government prosecutor. According to the rules, A person who lives in Spain for six months has to pay tax. Shakira told her prosecutor that she was living in Spain with her family during that time. She said, “This case is a violation of her rights.” Shakira has to pay 23.8 million Euros if she would found guilty.
SHAKIRA’s Bio in a Glance
Shakira’s Personal Life Facts
| First Name | SHAKIRA |
| Middle Name | ISABEL |
| Last Name | MEBARAK |
| Family Name | RIPOLL |
| Famous as a | SHAKIRA |
| Occupation | Singer, Dancer, Songwriter, Record Producer, Philanthropist, Entrepreneur |
| Birthday | 2 February 1977 |
| Country | Colombia |
| Hometown | Barranquilla, Atlantico, Colombia |
| Nationality | Colombian |
| Residence | Nassau, Bahamas |
| Zodiac Sign | Aquarius |
Family Members
| Father | William Mebarak Chadid |
| Mother | Nidia del Carmen Ripoll Torrado |
| Step-mother | Lucila Mebarak |
| Step-Brothers | Tonino Mebarak, Edward Mebarak,Robin Alberto Mebarak, Antonio Mebarak, and Moises Mebarak |
| Step-Sisters | Lucy Mebarak, Ana Mebarak and Patricia Mebarak |
Married Life
| Fiance | No |
| Husband | No |
| Boyfriends | Two |
| Ex-boyfriend | Antonio de la Rua |
| Present Boyfriend | Gerard Pique (Spanish Soccer Player) |
| Children | Two |
| Sons | Milan and Sasha |
| Daughters | No |
Physical Appearance
| Skin Color | Fair (White) |
| Hair Color | Brown Shade (Dyed blonde) |
| Eyes Color | Dark Brown |
| Height | 5 feet and 2 inches (approximately) |
Education
| School | La Ensenanza School, Barranquilla, Colombia. |
| College/University | University of California, Los Angeles |
| Educational Qualification | No University Education |
Interesting Facts
| Ethnicity | Lebanese, Spanish, Italian |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Hobbies | Basketball, Frisbee, painting fried eggs, Watching Horror Movies, Skateboarding, Learning History and Languages, |
| Age (as of 2022) | 45 Years |
| Net Worth | $220 million |
| Houses | The Star Island Home (3.4 million Dollars Worth Barcelona, Spain (5.4 million Dollars Worth) La Colorado Farmhouse (700,000 million Dollars Worth) |
| Cars | BMW X5, Rangerover, BMW X6, Porsche Carrera, Audi A7, Mercedes |
Achievements
Famous Awards
| Quantity | Award Name |
| One | World’s Best-Selling Music Artist |
| Three | Grammy Awards |
| Twelve | Latin Grammy Awards |
List of Albums
- Magia (1991)
- Peligro (1993)
- Pies Descalzos (1995)
- Donde Estan los Ladrones? (1998)
- Laundry Service (2001)
- Fijación Oral, Vol. 1 (2005)
- Oral Fixation, Vol. 2 (2005)
- She Wolf (2009)
- Sale el Sol (2010)
- Shakira (2014)
- El Dorado (2017)
- List of Shakira’s World Tours
- Pies Descalzos International Tour (1996–1997)
- Tour Anfibio (2000)
- Tour of the Mongoose (2002–2003)
- Oral Fixation Tour (2006–2007)
- The Sun Comes Out World Tour (2010–2011)
- El Dorado World Tour (2018)
Television Career
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1994 | El oasis | Luisa | Maria Rico |
| 2002 | Popstars Brazil | Mentor assistant | Season 1 |
| 2002 | Taina | Herself | “The Bahamas Triangle” |
| 2005 | 7 vidas | Herself | “Todo por las pastis” |
| 2009 | Ugly Betty | Herself | “The Bahamas Triangle” |
| 2010 | Wizards of Waverly Place | Herself | “Dude Looks Like Shakira” |
| 2011 | Dora and Friends | Herself | “Dora’s Explorer Girl |
| 2013–2014 | The Voice | Coach/Mentor | Seasons 4 and 6 |
| 2014 | Dreamland | Herself | Episode: “3” |
| 2020 | Global Goal | Herself | Television special |
| 2020 | The Disney Family V-2 | Herself | Television special |
| 2022 | Dancing With Myself | Herself |
Film Career
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2002 | The Documentary Film | Herself | Documentary |
| 2007 | Pies Descalzos Foundation | Herself | Documentary |
| 2011 | Hagamos que Salga El Sol | Herself | Documentary |
| 2011 | A Day with Shakira | Herself | Documentary |
| 2016 | Zootopia | Gazelle[278] | Voice Role |
| 2020 | Miss Americana | Herself | Documentary |
| 2022 | Jennifer Lopez: Halftime | Herself | Documentary |
