Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll is a Colombian singer, songwriter, dancer, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Barranquilla, she began performing in school, demonstrating Latin American, Arabic, and rock and roll influences and belly dancing abilities. Shakira released her first studio albums, Magia and Peligro, in the early 1990s, before signing with Sony Music Colombia in 1996. Her breakthrough came with the release of her fourth album, Dónde Están los Ladrones?, and its lead single, “La Tortura”, which topped the Billboard Hot Latin Songs for a record-tying 28 weeks.
Shakira entered the English-language market with her fifth album, Laundry Service. Its lead single, “Whenever, Wherever”, became one of the most successful singles of 2002. Shakira’s success was solidified with her sixth and seventh albums, Fijación Oral, Vol. 1 and Oral Fixation, Vol. 2, which generated hits such as “La La La (Brazil 2014)”, “Hips Don’t Lie”, and “Beautiful Liar”. She became the first female Colombian artist to top the Billboard Hot 100, and the second Latin American artist after Ricky Martin to achieve a number-one single in the United States.
As of 2018, Shakira has sold more than 75 million records worldwide and has won numerous awards, including four Grammy Awards, eight Latin Grammy Awards, twelve Billboard Music Awards, and two American Music Awards. She has been credited as a social activist for her humanitarian work, and is a UNICEF ambassador.
Table of Contents:
1. Early Life
2. Music Career
3. Acting Career
4. Humanitarian Work
5. Personal Life
6. Legacy
Early Life
Shakira was born on February 2, 1977, in Barranquilla, Colombia. Her father, William Mebarak Chadid, is a Lebanese American who emigrated to New York City at age 18 and worked as a jeweler. Her mother, Nidia Ripoll Torrado, is a Colombian of Catalan and Castilian descent, with her own clothing business. Shakira has eight older half-siblings from her father’s previous marriage. As a child, she was raised Catholic and attended Catholic schools. She has Lebanese, Spanish, and Italian ancestry.
Shakira spent much of her youth in Barranquilla, a city located on the northern Caribbean coast of Colombia. She is the only child of Nidia Ripoll Torrado and William Mebarak Chadid. Her father, a Lebanese American, emigrated to New York City at age 18 and worked as a jeweler. Her mother is of Catalan and Castilian descent and has her own clothing business. Shakira has eight older half-siblings from her father’s previous marriage.
Shakira was raised Catholic and attended Catholic schools. She has Lebanese, Spanish, and Italian ancestry.
Music Career
Shakira began her musical career at the age of 12 and quickly captured audiences with her mix of Latin American, Arabic, and rock and roll influences. She released her first studio albums, Magia and Peligro, in the early 1990s, before signing with Sony Music Colombia in 1996. Her breakthrough came with the release of her fourth album, Dónde Están los Ladrones?, and its lead single, “La Tortura”, which topped the Billboard Hot Latin Songs for a record-tying 28 weeks.
Shakira entered the English-language market with her fifth album, Laundry Service. Its lead single, “Whenever, Wherever”, became one of the most successful singles of 2002. Shakira’s success was solidified with her sixth and seventh albums, Fijación Oral, Vol. 1 and Oral Fixation, Vol. 2, which generated hits such as “La La La (Brazil 2014)”, “Hips Don’t Lie”, and “Beautiful Liar”. She became the first female Colombian artist to top the Billboard Hot 100, and the second Latin American artist after Ricky Martin to achieve a number-one single in the United States.
As of 2018, Shakira has sold more than 75 million records worldwide and has won numerous awards, including four Grammy Awards, eight Latin Grammy Awards, twelve Billboard Music Awards, and two American Music Awards.
Acting Career
In addition to her musical career, Shakira has also pursued an acting career. She made her film debut in the 2002 Colombian film Love in the Time of Cholera. She later appeared in the Hollywood films Zootopia (2016) and The Emoji Movie (2017).
Humanitarian Work
Shakira is a UNICEF ambassador and has been involved in various charitable organizations throughout her career. She founded the Pies Descalzos Foundation in 1997, which provides Colombian children with access to education and health care. She also founded the Barefoot Foundation in 2005, which supports children in poverty-stricken areas of the world.
Personal Life
Shakira has been in a relationship with Spanish footballer Gerard Piqué since 2011. The couple have two sons together, Milan and Sasha.
Legacy
Shakira is widely regarded as one of the most successful Latin American artists of all time. She is the only Latin American artist to have achieved number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and the second artist after Ricky Martin to have achieved a number-one single in the United States.
Shakira Quotes
“If you can prove the existence of God, it can only be proven through love.”— Shakira
“Nationalism is cured by traveling.”— Shakira
“I can be like a lioness when defending my people.”— Shakira
“I am trying to make my accent so it won’t bother anyone, but I am not going to drive myself crazy trying to pretend I am an American girl when I am from Colombia.”— Shakira
“I always believed that women have rights and that there are some women that are intelligent enough to claim those rights. There are some others that are stupid enough not to.”— Shakira
“Walking gets too boring, when you learn how to fly.”— Shakira
“I think a fragrance is all about sensations and imagery, and can evoke visions, feelings and thoughts.”— Shakira
“We know that many boys and girls leave school because of poverty, because they have to work. However, there are an important number of children who abandon their studies because of the abuses they’re subject to by teachers and their own parents.”— Shakira
“I just want to grow old with a man who takes care of me, and I want to eventually have kids and want them to be good children to me. Just want to be treated nice and have respect.”— Shakira
“In the full light of day, I don’t want to think about the sunset.”— Shakira
“I have such a respect and fascination for dance. I can be light as air or stay grounded. Dance is really another universe.”— Shakira
“My dad is a writer, and to see him always in front of a typewriter gave me the inspiration to write. He was my idol, my hero. I wanted to be just like him.”— Shakira
“There is no other investment that has the kind of social multiplier effect that early education has. It is an incredible thing to nurture and watch grow and spread.”— Shakira
“I pefer an ugly truth to a pretty lie. If someone is telling me the truth that is when I will give my heart.”— Shakira
“I started the Pies Descalzos foundation in Colombia when I was 18, and since then I have been very involved in the crusade for education.”— Shakira
“You want to be skinny and have a good body? You have to work out every day and say no to certain foods.”— Shakira
“Our leaders are lacking love, and love is lacking leaders.”— Shakira
“I love reading about history. Sometimes, I feel I was born in the wrong era. There was more creativity in the air when people were still discovering new worlds.”— Shakira
“You can’t achieve anything in life without a small amount of sacrifice.”— Shakira
“Scars remind me of just how far that I’ve come.”— Shakira
“We have to promote human solidarity, avoid indifference, and play a part with society in the solution of the problem of violence…”— Shakira
“I always had the intuition, even as a little child, that I was called for a big project.”— Shakira
“My hips don’t lie and I don’t lie either!”— Shakira
“People think I like to expose my body. But I don’t. It’s just because the dance moves require it.”— Shakira
“I apply the same amount of dedication to being a mom as I do to my music.”— Shakira
“I admire a person who, for the love of art, is able to take off their clothes in front of a camera. But I’m not capable, I’m too cowardly for that.”— Shakira
“The music teacher thought I sang like a goat. It was kind of devastating. A few months after that, I participated in a music contest and won. I took my little trophy to school and rubbed it in his nose. I said to him, “What do you say now?”— Shakira
“The worst mistake of a woman is to go to the kitchen, because then she never gets out of there.”— Shakira
“I’m a perfectionist in recovery. I’m trying to deal with that monster inside of me that wants to do everything right. Or better than right.”— Shakira
“It’s not easy to work with me, I recognize that. It’s not easy if those people aren’t as perfectionistic as I am.”— Shakira
“Sometimes, I ask myself how any other singer could substitute the inspiration of god in their songs.”— Shakira
“My team and I have reunited two elements that coexist with difficulty: respect and affection, because when they love you they don’t respect you and when they respect you they don’t love you.”— Shakira
“Live your life to the fullest.”— Shakira
“If I could, I’d live in the nude, like Eve in paradise.”— Shakira
“I consider myself a laborer, building my career brick over brick under the sun.”— Shakira
“It’s incredibly liberating to spend an hour talking to someone and not caring about what you sound like. It’s about understanding myself. Sometimes I’ll speak to my therapist for an hour a day. It’s become part of my routine.”— Shakira
“There’s no better makeup than self-confidence.”— Shakira
“I’m like a mosquito, I love humidity. I don’t sweat.”— Shakira
“In this life, to earn your place you have to fight for it.”— Shakira
“My brain, I believe, is the most beautiful part of my body.”— Shakira
“I want some day to be able to love with the same intensity and unselfishness that parents love their children with.”— Shakira
“Fame isolates people from reality. That happens to many artists, and I don’t want it to happen to me.”— Shakira
“I’m not a trained dancer, but I grew up in a culture that revolves around dance.”— Shakira
“Because of you, I’m running out of reasons to cry.”— Shakira
“I live for freedom, and freedom is a lie.”— Shakira
“I admire Madonna because she always did whatever she felt like doing. She went through some controversial periods when people rejected her, but she kept on reinventing herself.”— Shakira
“I’m Colombian and nothing will change that.”— Shakira
“A good fragrance should have a certain personality that makes people identify the scent with you.”— Shakira
“I thank God that I’m a product of my parents, that they infected me with their intelligence and energy for life, with their thirst for knowledge and their love. I’m grateful that I know where I come from.”— Shakira
“You’re a song written by the hands of God.”— Shakira
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