A well-known Colombian singer named Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll or “Shakira” was born on 2 February 1977. Her musical versatility has earned her the title of “Queen of Latin Music”, as she was born and raised in Barranquilla. At the age of 13, she made her recording debut with Sony Music Colombia. With her next albums, Pies Descalzos (1995) and Dónde Están los Ladrones (1998), she rose to prominence in Hispanic countries after her first two albums, Magia (1991) and Peligro (1993), were commercial failures.

Upon the release of her fifth album, Laundry Service (2001), she entered the English-language market, selling more than 13 million copies in total. As a result of the international success of her singles “Whenever, Wherever” and “Underneath Your Clothes”, the album cemented her reputation as one of the most prominent crossover singers in the industry. As described by Broadcast Music, Inc., Shakira was a “pioneer” who extended Latino singers’ global reach.

Her success was further cemented by the Spanish albums Fijación Oral, Vol 1 (2005), Sale el Sol (2010), and El Dorado (2017), all of which reached the top of the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart and were certified diamonds (Latin) by the Recording Industry Association of America. She also received gold, platinum, and multi-platinum certifications in a variety of countries around the world for her English albums Oral Fixation, Vol 2 (2005), She Wolf (2009), and Shakira (2014). She has charted at number one in several countries with songs such as “La Tortura”, “Hips Don’t Lie”, “Beautiful Liar”, “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)”, and “Loca”. During the 2013-2014 season of the American singing competition television series The Voice, she served as a coach.

In addition to her 145 songs, Shakira has sold over 80 million records, making her one of the most successful music artists of all time. In 2018, Forbes Colombia reported that she had become the top-selling female Latin artist of all time. As a result of her work, other Latin artists have been able to gain access to the international market. In addition to three Grammy Awards, twelve Latin Grammy Awards, four MTV Video Music Awards, seven Billboard Music Awards, 39 Billboard Latin Music Awards, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, she has received numerous awards.

In the 2000s and 2010s, Billboard named her the Top Female Latin Artist of the Decade. She was awarded the Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year and the Harvard Foundation Artist of the Year awards in 2011 for her philanthropic work with her Barefoot Foundation and her contributions to music. In 2011, she was appointed to the President’s Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics in the United States, and in 2012, she was made a Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French government.

Shakira Bio/Wiki

The table below reveals concise information about Shakira. It allows you to read through the famous singer’s profile as quickly as possible.

Birth Name	Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll
Nickname/ Popular Name	• Shakira • La Patrona
Age	46 Years (as of 2023)
Religion	Catholic
Sun Sign/Zodiac Sign	Aquarius
Birth Place	Barranquilla, Atlántico, Colombia
Date of Birth	2 February 1977
Nationality	Colombian
Residence	• Barranquilla, Colombia • Los Angeles • Barcelona
Home Town	Barranquilla, Atlántico, Colombia
Food Habit	Non-Vegetarian
Hobbies	Skateboarding, Frisbee, Paint fried eggs and Watch horror movies, Learning History and Languages, Golf, Tennis, Basketball and Swimming
Parents/Family
Mother's Name	Nidia del Carmen Ripoll Torrado
Father's Name	William Mebarak Chadid
Brother(s)	• Tonino Mebarak (Step) • Edward Mebarak (Step) • Robin Mebarak (Step) • Alberto Mebarak (Step) • Antonio Mebarak (Step) • Moises Mebarak (Step)
Sister(s)	• Lucy Mebarak (Step) • Ana Mebarak (Step) • Patricia Mebarak (Step)
Boyfriends/Affairs
Affairs/Boyfriends	• Antonio de la Rúa (2000–2010) • Gerard Piqué (2011–June 4, 2022)
Marital Status, Husband and Children
Husband/Spouse	Unmarried
Children	Daughter(s)- None Son(s)-• Milan Piqué Mebarak • Sasha Piqué Mebarak
Education
School	La Ensenanza School, Barranquilla
College/University	University of California, Los Angeles
Educational Qualification	University drop-out
Profession	Singer, Songwriter, Record Producer, Dancer, Philanthropist Entrepreneur
Height, Weight, and Figure Measurements
Height (Approx.)	in centimeters- 157 cm in meters- 1.57 m in feet inches- 5'2"
Weight (Approx.)	in kilograms- 54 kg in pounds- 119 lbs
Figure Measurements
Breast Size	34 inches
Hips Size	35 inches
Waist Size	24 inches
Extra Ordinary Features
Race / Ethnicity	Italian, Spanish and Labenese
Hair Color	Brown (Dyed blonde)
Eye Color	Dark Brown
S*xual Orientation	Straight
Distinctive Features	Not Available
Dress Size	6 U.S.
Shoe Size	7 U.S.
Favorite Things
Favorite Color	Black
Favorite TV shows	Scrubs (2001-2010), It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005)
Favorite Animal	Horse
Favorite Actor	Hugh Gran
Favorite Band	U2, The Police
Favorite Perfume	Issey Miyake Perfumes
Favorite Book	The Prophet (Khalil Gibran)
Favorite Writer	Oriana Fallaci
Favorite Food	Pancakes with Jam
Favorite Song	With or Without You (U2)

Shakira Life Journey

Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll was born in Barranquilla, Colombia, on 2 February 1977. A daughter of William Mebarak Chadid and Nidia Ripoll Torrado, she is the only child of the couple. Her ancestry is Colombian and Lebanese. Her father, William, was born in New York City to a family of Lebanese descent.

His family moved to Colombia when he was five years old. There are two Spanish surnames on the Colombian mother’s side, Ripoll and Torrado, the former being Catalan and originating from four brothers who immigrated from Catalonia to coastal Colombia during the 19th century.

Her ancestor with the surname “Pisciotti” has also claimed to have distant Italian roots. As a child, she attended Catholic schools and was raised Catholic. From her father’s previous marriage, she has eight older half-siblings. During her youth, Shakira lived in Barranquilla, a city on Colombia’s northern Caribbean coast.

When Shakira was four years old, she wrote her first poem, “La rosa de cristal” (‘The Crystal Rose’). Growing up, she was fascinated by her father’s ability to write stories on a typewriter and asked for one for Christmas.

Since receiving that typewriter at age seven, she has continued to write poetry. Eventually, these poems evolved into songs. At the age of two, Shakira lost her older half-brother in a motorcycle accident; six years later, at age eight, she wrote her first song, “Tus gafas oscuras” (‘Your dark glasses’), which was inspired by her father, who had worn dark glasses to hide his grief for years.

Shakira first heard the Doumbek when she was four years old, which is a traditional drum used in Middle Eastern music and usually accompanied by belly dancing. As she danced at the table, she realized she wanted to become a performer as a career.

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In second grade, she was rejected from the school choir because her vibrato was too strong, but she enjoyed singing for her schoolmates, teachers, and even nuns. According to her music teacher, she sounded “like a goat”. Due to her hyperactivity, she was often sent out of class at school.

As she demonstrated a number she had learned every Friday at school, she was also known as “the belly dancer girl”. This is how she discovered her passion for live performance. Her father took Shakira to a local park to see orphans to instill gratitude in her for her upbringing. She remembered the images and thought to herself: “When I become a famous artist, I will help these kids.”

Between the ages of ten and thirteen, Shakira was invited to various events in Barranquilla and gained some recognition there. She met local producer Monica Ariza at this approximate time, who was impressed with her and attempted to assist her career.

As Ariza flew between Barranquilla and Bogota, he persuaded Sony Colombia executive Ciro Vargas to hold an audition for Shakira in a hotel lobby. As a result of Vargas’ high regard for Shakira, he provided the cassette to a song and artist director at Sony. The director, however, was not overly enthusiastic about Shakira and believed that she was something of a “lost cause”.

Vargas, undeterred and convinced that Shakira possessed talent, set up an audition in Bogotá. In order to surprise Sony Colombia executives, he arranged for them to attend the audition. As a result of her performance of three songs to the executives, she was signed to record three albums.

Shakira Husband And Kids

She began a relationship with the Argentine lawyer Antonio de la Rúa in 2000. A 2009 interview with Shakira indicated that the couple already operated as a married couple and that they did not require legal documents to do so.

The couple separated in August 2010 after ten years of marriage. Shakira described their separation as a mutual decision to separate from one another romantically. According to the report, the couple views this separation as a temporary one, and de la Rai oversees Shakira’s “business and career interests as he has always done.”

As first reported in September 2012, de la Rúa filed a lawsuit against Shakira in April 2013 demanding $100 million he believed he was owed following Shakira’s termination of their partnership in October 2011. In August 2013, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge dismissed his lawsuit.

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In 2011, Shakira began a relationship with the Spanish football player Gerard Piqué. It was during Shakira’s music video for “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)” that Piqué and Shakira met, who is exactly ten years her junior.

The couple’s first son, Milan, was born on 22 January 2013 in Barcelona, where the family resides. On 29 January 2015, Shakira gave birth to their second son, Sasha.

Forbes included Shakira and Piqué on its list of “World’s Most Powerful Couples”. Following 11 years of marriage, the couple announced in a joint statement that they would be separating in 2022.

Shakira announced that she had completed an ancient philosophy course through the University of Pennsylvania in 2020, describing it as an impractical hobby.

Shakira Net Worth

The Colombian-born international pop star Shakira has a net worth of $350 million dollars. It is estimated that she has sold over 125 million albums and singles worldwide as of this writing, making her one of the most successful female singers in history.

In 2009, Billboard named her one of the Top Female Latin Artists of the Decade. One of only three female artists with two YouTube videos exceeding two billion views, she is the most-streamed Latin artist on Spotify.

Shakira released her fifth album in 2001, her first in English. In addition to selling 20 million copies, “Laundry Service” also launched the number-one international singles “Whenever, Wherever” and “Underneath Your Clothes”. A number of her subsequent albums, both in Spanish and English, reached the top of the charts and were certified gold, platinum, multi-platinum, or diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America.

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Live Nation Deal

Shakira signed a 10-year, $300 million contract with Live Nation in 2008.

Catalog Sale And The Voice Salary

The Hipgnosis Songs Fund acquired the rights to Shakira’s publishing catalog in January 2021. It included publishing rights to approximately 145 songs.

Based on comparable sales, the deal was likely worth at least $100 million, although the terms were not disclosed. It was reported in 2013 that Shakira earned $12 million from “The Voice.”

Real Estate

A minimalist Miami mansion owned by Shakira was listed for $11.6 million in 2018. Located on Miami’s North Bay Road, the 20,726-square-foot property overlooks the water and has direct access to Biscayne Bay.

There are six bedrooms and seven and a half bathrooms in the 8,708-square-foot house. Among the neighbors are Matt Damon, Ricky Martin, Jennifer Lopez, Alex Rodriguez, and Michael Bay.

Shakira Career

• A debut album entitled ‘Magia’ was released by her in 1991. She included songs she had written since she was eight years old. Commercially, the album did not perform well.
• She released her second album, ‘Danger’, in 1993. In spite of its better performance than its predecessor, this album was still considered a failure. It was after the release of this album that she took a break in order to attend classes and graduate from high school.
• With her third album, ‘Pies Descalzos,’ she returned to the music industry in 1996. The album yielded six hit singles, which were well-received by critics. For the promotion of her album, she embarked upon a tour called Tour Pies Descalzos.
• Her next album ‘Donde Estan los Ladrones?’ was released in 1998. There were elements of Latin Pop music as well as rock in Spanish in this album. As a result, the album became one of the best-selling Spanish language albums in the United States. More than seven million copies of the album have been sold worldwide.
• With the release of Laundry Service in 2001, she entered the English language market. As a result of the album’s Latin rock and Latin pop style, the lead single, ‘Whenever, Wherever,’ reached the top of the ‘U.S. Billboard Hot Latin Songs’ chart.
• Her Spanish album Fijacion Oral, Vol. The first edition of the book was published in June 2005. This was followed by the release of the English album ‘Oral Fixation, Volume II’. It will be released in November. A single from the latter, entitled ‘Hips Don’t Lie’, reached number one on the “U.S. Billboard Hot 100” and has since become her signature song.
• The album ‘She Wolf’ was released in 2009. Its blend of electropop, dancehall, and world styles set it apart from her previous works. Due to its uniqueness, it was appreciated.
• The official song of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa),” was sung by her and the South African band Freshlyground.
• As a result of the success of ‘Waka Waka,’ she released her album ‘Sale el Sol’ in 2010. Critically acclaimed and commercially successful, the album sold millions of copies worldwide.
• The tenth studio album by Shakira was released on 25 March 2014. Her song ‘Dare (La La La)’ was also performed at the 2014 FIFA World Cup closing ceremony.
• In 2016, she sang the song ‘Try Everything’ for the film Zootopia.

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2018 And Later

• She announced the dates of her El Dorado World Tour in January 2018. On 3 June, she began the first leg of her tour in Hamburg, Germany, and ended it on 7 July in Barcelona, Spain. On the 11 and 13 July, she spent a short period of time in Asia, followed by a trip to North America.
• Her time there began on 3 August in Chicago and ended on 7 September in San Francisco. The tour dates for Latin America began in Mexico City on 11 October and ended in Bogota, Colombia on 3 November. In 2019, Forbes ranked her as the tenth highest-paid woman in music in the world.
• During the halftime show of Super Bowl LIV in February 2020, she performed with Jennifer Lopez. 103 million people watched the halftime show, according to Billboard.
• As of that time, it was the most viewed halftime show on YouTube. It was during the COVID-19 pandemic that Shakira performed her songs in two television specials, including Global Goal: Unite for Our Future (with “Sale el Sol”) and Disney Family Singalong: Volume II (with “Try Everything”).
• It was announced in January 2021 that Shakira had sold her catalog of 145 songs to the Hipgnosis Songs Fund. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed by the company.
• Shakira released a single entitled “Don’t Wait Up” on 16 July 2021. As the first single from her upcoming twelfth studio album, she released the song “Te Felicito” with rapper Rauw Alejandro. In May 2022, Shakira confirmed that work on the album had been completed and that it would feature electronic influences with elements of urban and rock.
• Her songwriting in both English and Spanish was honored by the Ivor Novello Awards’ Special Award for Songwriting by the Ivor Novello Academy in the United Kingdom.
• Dancing with Myself premiered on NBC at the end of that month, on which Shakira served as an executive producer and co-creator along with Liza Koshy and Nick Jonas.

Controversies

The Paradise Papers named Shakira in November 2017. An investigation revealed that she owned the sole shareholding in a Malta-based company that used to transfer $30 million in music rights. In the opinion of her attorneys, the use of the company by her was entirely legal.

According to the Paradise Papers, Spanish authorities began investigating Shakira’s finances in 2018. Between 2012 and 2014, during which she lived with Piqué and his family in Spain, prosecutors alleged she did not pay taxes in Spain. Shakira claimed that during that period, she maintained her primary residence in the Bahamas and traveled internationally.

A Spanish court ruled in July 2021 that Shakira could be brought to trial on charges of tax fraud based on “evidence of criminality”. According to the Pandora Papers, Shakira applied for three offshore companies in 2019 according to the Pandora Papers in 2021.

She informed the source that this paperwork was not filed to establish new companies, but rather to dissolve existing companies. Moreover, they asserted that the companies had no income or activities and that Spanish authorities were aware of their existence.

After failing to reach a deal with the Spanish Prosecution Ministry, the singer decided to go to trial in July 2022 to prove her innocence. In connection with six alleged tax fraud crimes, the prosecutor requested an eight-year prison sentence from the judge.

After prosecutors accused her of failing to pay 14.5 million euros ($13.9 million) in taxes, a Spanish judge from Esplugues de Llobregat approved the tax fraud trial on 27 September 2022. The singer claims that she has already paid all of her debts as well as the interest of 3 million euros ($2.8 million).

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Facts About Shakira

• Shakira is able to speak a number of languages. In addition to Spanish, English, and Portuguese, she is fluent in all three languages.
• As a dog lover, Shakira has three dogs named Coquito, Chan, and Gordita.
• The song Wherever, Whenever became the best-selling single in 2002. In addition, her single Hips Don’t Lie is considered to be the best-selling song of the 20th century.
• “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)” was Shakira’s official song for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. One of the most viewed music videos on YouTube has crossed over a billion views.
• In addition to two Grammy awards, 26 Latin Grammy awards, five MTV Music Awards, and a Golden Globe nomination, she has also won two Grammy awards.
• There is also a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame dedicated to Shakira.
• It was none other than Shakira who reached 100 million followers on Facebook first.
• Her first poem was written when she was only four years old.
• Having watched her father write stories on a typewriter, she requested a typewriter for Christmas. Since receiving one when she was seven, she has been writing poetry.
• “Dark Glasses” was written by her because her father always wore dark glasses to hide his grieving since her brother died in a motorcycle accident.
• During a visit to a restaurant where a dancer was performing Belly-Dance to an Arabic drum beat, her father inspired her to become a performer.
• At the age of two, she was dismissed from the school choir due to her strong vibrato. Each Friday at school, she performed a belly dance to a new number.
• In her school, Shakira gained a reputation as “The Belly Dancing Girl,” where she discovered her passion for live performance.
• At the age of 13, Shakira began to gain recognition in her hometown when she was invited to perform at a variety of venues. During this time, Monica Ariza noticed her and approached Sony executives to secure her a contract.
• After watching her perform three songs, Sony Columbia signed her.
• Sony gave her only $100,000 for the recording of Pies Descalzos because they anticipated that it would not sell more than 100,000 copies. There were five million copies sold and it sold well.
• Columbia’s Caribbean Coast has already immortalized her through the construction of a five-meter statue of her.
• A total of 55 countries ranked Hips Don’t Lie as the number one single. During a week, it was also the most played song on the radio, with 9637 plays.
• Forbes ranked her as the highest-earning female artist of 2008.
• She is the founder and director of the Pies Descalzos Foundation, which helps poor children throughout Columbia. In order to make her grateful for her life, her father used to take her to a park where orphans lived. Since then, she has aspired to help those children after becoming famous. A Humanitarian Award was also presented to her in 2003 for the same purpose.
• It is noteworthy that her fiance, Antonio De La Ra, was the son of the president of Argentina at the time.
• She has an IQ of 140.
• Belly dancing was taught to her by her grandmother.
• The music of Bollywood is one of her favorite genres.
• A medal from the International Labor Organization has been awarded to her.
• Shakira was cast ahead of Catherine Zeta-Jones in Steven Spielberg’s film The Mask of Zorro. In her view, she was not confident enough with her English to accept the position.

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