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Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll (born February 2, 1977), known simply as Shakirapronounced /ʃəˈkiːrə/ in English, Arabic: شاکیرة [2]), is a Colombian contralto singer, songwriter, instrumentalist, record producer, dancer and philanthropist who has been a major figure in the pop music scene of Latin America since the mid-1990s. She speaks fluent English, Portuguese (Brazilian Portuguese), Spanish, some Arabic, French and Italian. In 2001, she broke through into the English-speaking world with the release of Laundry Service, which sold over fifteen million copies worldwide.[3] Shakira is the highest-selling Colombian artist of all time, having sold more than 50 million albums worldwide, according to BMI.[4] She has also won numerous awards worldwide, including two Grammy Awards, seven Latin Grammy Awards, fifteen Billboard Music Awards, three MTV Video Music Awards and a People's Choice Award. She is also the only artist from South America to reach the number-one spot on the Billboard Hot 100, the Australian ARIA chart, the United World ChartUK Singles Chart. ( and the
Shakira was born on February 2, 1977 in Barranquilla, Colombia. She is the only child of Nidya del Carmen Ripoll Torrado, a Colombian of Spanish and Italian ancestry, and William Mebarak Chadid who is of Lebanese Maronite[6] She has 8 older siblings from her father's previous marriage. descent.
Shakira means "thankful" (شاكِرة) in Arabic.[7] It is the feminine form of the name Shakir.[8] Her second name, Isabel, is also that of her paternal grandmother, meaning beautiful. Her family name Ripoll is Catalan. She spent much of her youth in Barranquilla, a city located in northern Colombia.[9]
Shakira wrote her first poem, entitled "La Rosa De Cristal" ("The Crystal Rose") when she was only four years old. As she was growing up, she was fascinated watching her father writing stories on a typewriter, and asked for one as a Christmas gift. She got her wish at age seven and continued writing poetry. These poems eventually evolved into songs. At the age of eight, after an older half-brother was killed in a motorcycle accident (she was only two when this happened), Shakira wrote her first song entitled "Tus gafas oscuras" ("Your dark glasses"). The inspiration came from her father, who for years wore dark glasses, to hide his grief.
When Shakira was four, her father took her to a local Middle Eastern restaurant, where Shakira first heard the doumbek, a traditional drum used in Arabic music and which typically accompanied belly dancing.[10] Before she knew it, Shakira was dancing barefoot on the table, as restaurant patrons responded by clapping enthusiastically. It was then that Shakira said she knew she wanted to be a performer. She enjoyed singing for schoolmates and teachers (and even the nuns) at her Catholic school but in the second grade was rejected for the school choir because her vibrato was too strong. The music teacher told her that she sounded "like a goat".[10][11] At school, she says she had been known as "the belly dancer girl", as she would demonstrate a number she learned every Friday at school.[10] "That's how I discovered my passion for live performance," she says.[9]
Between the ages of ten and thirteen Shakira was invited to various events in Barranquilla and gained some recognition in the area.[12] It was at about this time that she met local theater producer Monica Ariza, who was impressed with her and as a result tried to help her career. During a flight from Barranquilla to Bogotá, Ariza convinced Sony Colombia executive Ciro Vargas to hold an audition for Shakira in a hotel lobby. Vargas held Shakira in high regard and, returning to the Sony office, gave the cassette to a song and artist director. However, the director was not overly excited and thought Shakira was something of "a lost cause". Vargas, not daunted, was still convinced that Shakira had talent, and set up an audition in Bogotá. He arranged for Sony Colombia executives to arrive at the audition, with the idea of surprising them with Shakira's performance. She performed three songs for the executives and impressed them enough for her to be signed to record three albums.[13]
In 2000, Shakira started dating Antonio de la Rúa, the son of then president of Argentina Fernando de la Rúa, a romance that made headline news throughout Latin America. In March 2001, he proposed to her. De la Rúa and Shakira remain engaged.[26] She currently lives in The Bahamas. Shakira's future mother-in-law Inés Pertiné claimed the wedding would take place in September 2007 in the mansion which Shakira owns in the Dominican Republic (though this didn't happen). She also said that Shakira has already ordered Argentinian designer María Pryor to design her wedding dress,[27] and by Shakira herself in Mexico.[28]
In June 2007, Latin American media speculated that the couple had finally split up and that Shakira was involved romantically with Irish actor Colin Farrell since both were seen in a Los Angeles disco. This rumor was immediately denied by Shakira's assistants, stating that she was invited by Penélope Cruz, who later introduced Colin Farrell to Shakira. On the previous days, Shakira and Antonio were seen in a restaurant in New York City, facing and denying the rumors one more time.[29]
Shakira maintains an intense interest in history. She frequently studies the history and languages of the countries she visits. After her Oral Fixation tour ended in summer 2007, Shakira audited a class in Los Angeles at UCLA, on the History of Western Civilization. She used her middle and last names, Isabel Mebarak, and told the professor she was visiting from Colombia so as to avoid being recognized as a celebrity. [30][31]