Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll is a Colombian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Barranquilla, Shakira has been referred to as the Queen of Latin Music and is noted for her versatility in music. She made her recording debut under Sony Music Colombia at the age of 13

 

Bio
Full Name	Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll
Nickname	Shaki
Profession	Singer, Songwriter, Record Producer, Dancer, Philanthropist Entrepreneur
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	in centimeters- 157 cm in meters- 1.57m in Feet Inches- 5’ 2”
Eye Colour	Dark Brown
Hair Colour	Brown (Dyed blonde)
Personal Life
Date of Birth	February 2, 1977
Age (as of 2020)	43 Years
Birthplace	Barranquilla, Atlántico, Colombia
Zodiac sign	Aquarius
Nationality	Colombian
Hometown	Barranquilla
School	La Ensenanza School, Barranquilla.
College/University	University of California, Los Angeles
Educational Qualification	University drop-out
Debut	Latin -American Album: Magia (1991) English Album: Laundry Service Film - El Oasis (1996)
Family	Father- William Mebarak Chadid Mother- Nidia del Carmen Ripoll Torrado Step-Brothers- Tonino Mebarak, Edward Mebarak, Robin Mebarak, Alberto Mebarak, Antonio Mebarak and Moises Mebarak Step-Sisters- Lucy Mebarak, Ana Mebarak and Patricia Mebarak
Children	Milan Piqué Mebarak
Religion	Roman Catholic
Ethnicity	Italian, Spanish and Labenese
Inspirational Artists	John Lennon and Gloria Estefan
Fan Mail Address	Shakira Roc Nation 1411 Broadway 39th Floor New York, NY 10018-3410 USA
Hobbies	Skateboarding, Frisbee, Paint fried eggs and Watch horror movies, Learning History and Languages, Golf, Tennis, Basketball and Swimming
Favourite Things
Color	Black
TV shows	Scrubs (2001-2010), It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005)
Animal	Horse
Actor	Hugh Gran
Band	U2, The Police
Perfume	Issey Miyake Perfumes
Book	The Prophet (Khalil Gibran)
Writer	Oriana Fallaci
Food	Pancakes with Jam
Song	With or Without You (U2)
Boys, Affairs and More
Marital Status	Unmarried
Affairs/Boyfriends	Antonio De La Rúa (2000-2011) Gerard Pique (2011-present)
Husband/Spouse	N/A
Current Relationship Status	In a relationship with Gerard Piqué
Money Factor
Net Worth	$220 million
House	Barcelona, Spain (USD 5.4 million) La Colarado Farmhouse ($700,000) The Star Island Home $3.4 million
Car	Mercedes CLS, Porsche Carrera, BMW X6, Audi A7, Rangerover, BMW X5

 

Some Lesser Known Facts About Shakira

• Shakira can speak several languages. She is fluent in Spanish, English, and Portuguese.

• Shakira loves dogs and has three named  Coquito, Chan, and Gordita.

• In 2002, Wherever, Whenever became the best-selling song. Also, her single Hips Don’t Lie is considered to be the best-selling song of this century.

• Shakira has had the honor of singing the  2010 FIFA World Cup official song “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)”. The music video crossed over a billion views on YouTube and still is one of the most viewed videos.

• She has won two Grammys, 26 Latin-American Grammy Awards, five MTV Music Awards and has had a Golden Globe nomination too.

• Shakira also has Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 

• The first person to reach 100 million followers on Facebook was none other than Shakira.

• She was only four when she wrote her first poem.

• She wanted a typewriter for Christmas as she always watched her father writing stories on one. She got one when she was seven and has been writing poetry since then.

• She wrote the song “Dark Glasses” because her father always wore a pair of dark glasses hiding the grieving since her brother died in an accident when he was riding his motorcycle.

• She was inspired to be a performer when her father took her to a restaurant where a dancer was doing Belly-Dance to an Arabic drum beat.

• She was let off the school choir at the age of two because she had too strong of a vibrato. She used to perform Belly-Dance on a new number every Friday in School.

• Shakira shares her birthday with her partner Gerard Pique.

• Shakira was known as the “The Belly Dancing Girl” in her school, where she discovered her passion for performing live.

• Shakira found some recognition in her hometown by the time she was 13 when she used to be often invited to perform at different places. This is when  Monica Ariza noticed her and talked to Sony Executives to crack her a deal.

• Sony Columbia signed her after watching her perform three songs.

• Sony gave her only $100,000 to record her album  Pies Descalzos because they thought that it would not sell more than 100,000 copies. It sold itself well and sold 5 million copies.

• She is already immortalized by having a five-meter statue built in her home city Columbia’s Caribbean Coast.

• Hips Don’t Lie was the number one single in 55 countries. It was also the maximum played song on the radio totaling 9637 in a week.

• She was listed by Forbes the highest-earning female artist of 2008.

• Shakira runs  Pies Descalzos Foundation for helping poor children all around Columbia. Thanks to her father who used to take her to a park where orphans lived, to make her grateful for her life. Since then, she dreamed to help those kids after getting famous. She was also awarded Humanitarian Award in 2003 for the same cause.

• Her Fiance Antonio De La Rúa was the son of the president of Argentina at the time.

• Her IQ is 140.

• Her grandmother was the one who taught her Belly Dancing.

• She loves Bollywood and its music.

• She has been awarded and honored with a medal International Labor Organization.

• Steven Spielberg wanted to cast Shakira before Catherine Zeta-Jones in the movie The Mask of Zorro. She turned it down because she wasn’t confident enough with her English.