1977-present
Who Is Shakira?
Dubbed the “Queen of Latin Music,” Shakira is known for her groundbreaking blend of Colombian folk music and pop, rock, and reggaeton. She rose to global fame when her first English-language single “Whenever, Wherever” entered the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and soon followed up with the chart-topper “Hips Don’t Lie,” featuring Wyclef Jean in 2006. The highest-selling Colombian artist of all time, Shakira has sold more 95 million albums worldwide and has won multiple Grammy and Latin Grammy Awards for her music.
Quick Facts
FULL NAME: Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll
BORN: February 2, 1977
BIRTHPLACE: Barranquilla, Colombia
PARTNERS: Antonio de la Rúa (2000-2010) and Gerard Piqué (2011-2022)
CHILDREN: Milan and Sasha
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Aquarius
Early Life and Career
Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll was born on February 2, 1977, in Barranquilla, Colombia. The only child of William Mebarak Chadid and Nidia Ripoll Torrado, Shakira, who is of Lebanese and Colombian descent, has nine half-siblings from her father’s previous marriage. Growing up, she took an interest in music and dance at an early age. Shakira was just four years old when she began belly dancing and soon began to choreograph her own routines. While her dancing was encouraged at her Catholic school, it was her singing that was less welcome. In fact, she was rejected from her school choir because the music teacher thought her voice was too strong and would overpower the other students. But this didn’t stop her from following her passion.
Shakira started performing in talent competitions, which earned her praise and recognition in her hometown. She was just 13 when a local theater producer landed her an impromptu audition with Sony Music Columbia, which ended with the young singer securing her first record deal.
Albums and Songs
At age 14, Shakira released her first album, Magia, in 1991, followed by Peligro in 1993. Both records flopped, but Shakira soon took the reins of her third album, becoming involved in every aspect of its production. Released in 1996, Pies Descalzos, meaning “bare feet,” sold more than 3 million copies. The album featured her trademark sound, a blend of Latin, rock and Arabic musical styles. Her follow-up record, Dónde Están Los Ladrones? (1998), which reached the top of Billboard's Latin charts. Not long after, Shakira won her first Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Album for Shakira: MTV Unplugged (2000).
With the success of her albums, Shakira became a music superstar in the Spanish-language markets, known for her strong vocals and incredible hip-shaking belly dance moves.
Global Success with Laundry Service
While hugely popular throughout much of the rest of the world, Shakira had not yet achieved a major record on the U.S. pop charts. In an attempt to increase her American fan base, in 1997, at the age of 20, the singer moved with her family to Miami, Florida, and taught herself to write songs in English. There, she enlisted Emilio Estefan, of Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine fame, to act as her manager and producer.
In 2001, Shakira released her first English-language album, Laundry Service, which quickly brought her the success in the United States she had been waiting for. The album reached No. 3 on the charts, selling more than 200,000 copies in its first week of release. Laundry Service's big hits included “Whenever, Wherever” and “Underneath Your Clothes.”
Oral Fixation
Shakira returned to the Top 10 of the albums chart twice in 2005. She released the Spanish-language Fijación Oral, Vol. 1 in June of that year, followed by the English-language Oral Fixation, Vol. 2 in November. Fijación Oral, Vol. 1 garnered Shakira her second Grammy, this time for Best Latin Rock/Alternative Album, while the English album produced the monster hit “Hips Don't Lie.”
Touring extensively, Shakira went on to release two concert albums: 2007's Live and 2008's Oral Fixation Tour. In July 2009, she put out a new single, “She Wolf,” from her studio album of the same name. The album hit No. 15 on the Billboard charts in 2009, and went platinum in 2010. Around the same time, her hit “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)” from 2010's Sale el Sol became the theme song for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Shortly thereafter, the now-global superstar headed on tour to promote her album. By January 2016, the video for “Waka Waka” had been viewed more than a billion times.
By 2012, Shakira's U.S. album sales had reached nearly 10 million and her worldwide album sales had reached more than 70 million, making her the highest-selling Colombian artist of all time, and the second most successful female Latin singer after Gloria Estefan.
Shakira to El Dorado
In March 2014, Shakira released a self-titled studio album, which included a track with her Voice co-star Shelton. That same year, she took her signature grooves to the global stage again when she closed out the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
Meanwhile, the Latin superstar continued working on her music. In October 2016, she dropped a new single, “Chantaje,” from her upcoming album, El Dorado. Upon its May 2017 release, El Dorado revealed a tracklist comprised almost entirely of songs sung in Spanish. True to form, the album went multi-platinum for the Latin singer, who announced plans for a tour.
Unfortunately, the tour didn't go as planned. Shortly before her scheduled November performance in Cologne, Germany, Shakira canceled the concert because of strained vocal cords. Although she was hopeful of recovering in time for a show in Paris, she apologetically canceled that one and subsequent dates as well.
That December, Shakira announced that she was recovering and making preparations to continue her tour. Following another Grammy win, for Best Latin Pop Album, her El Dorado World Tour resumed in June 2018, though another snafu occurred when fans noticed that a necklace being sold on the performer's website bore a resemblance to a Nazi symbol. The tour promoter accepted responsibility for the design and apologized for the “inadvertent similarity.”
Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran
Shakira’s latest work, Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran, was released in March 2024. Inspired by her breakup with her ex-partner Gerard Piqué, the album, which debuted at No. 13 on the Billboard 200 chart, relays her journey from heartbreak to empowerment. The record featured a number of collaborations, including “Te Felicito” with Rauw Alejandro and “Puntería” featuring Cardi B, and went on to earn her another Grammy win for Best Latin Pop Album.
To promote the album, Shakira embarked on her seventh concert tour in 2025. It is scheduled to conclude in October 2026.
Super Bowl Halftime Show
In September 2019, it was announced that Shakira would be joining forces with Jennifer Lopez for the Super Bowl 2020 halftime show in Miami, Florida. "I feel incredibly honored and humbled to be, in a way, next to J.Lo, representing the Latino community that is such an important force in the United States," Shakira said.
Taking the stage first for the performance, Shakira showcased her hip-shaking moves while speeding through a medley of her hits, finding the time to squeeze in a few guitar licks, handle the drums and send social media users into a tizzy with her tongue-wagging ululation.
The Voice Judge
In late 2012, Shakira was confirmed as a judge/coach on NBC's popular singing-competition show The Voice. Along with R&B singer-songwriter Usher, Shakira made her Voice debut on the show's season 4 premiere, which aired in March 2013. Replacing Christina Aguilera and CeeLo Green, Shakira and Usher joined returning judges/coaches Adam Levine and Blake Shelton.
Shakira quickly became popular with TV audiences. Although both she and Usher left The Voice after the fourth season to make room for the return of Aguilera and Green, she returned to coach again for season 6.
Acting Work
Over the years, Shakira has appeared in a handful of films and tv shows. In 2009, she briefly playing herself in a 2009 episode of Ugly Betty, followed by a similar stint on the Disney series Wizards of Waverly Place in 2010. Six years later, Shakira lent her voice to the 2016 animated movie Zootopia, voicing Gazelle. She reprised her role in the Zootopia+ series in 2022 before returning for the film sequel Zootopia 2 in 2025.
Tax Fraud Cases
In 2018, Shakira was charged with tax fraud for allegedly evading $15.8 million in income taxes in Spain between 2012 and 2014. While a Barcelona court ordered her to stand trial, she was able to strike a last minute plea deal in 2023, accepting a three-year suspended prison sentence and $7 million fine. That same year, a separate investigation looking into her 2018 income tax was opened, but the case was dropped in 2024 due to insufficient evidence.
Two years later, in May 2026, a Spanish high court acquitted her of tax fraud for income earned in 2011. The court ruled that the singer had not lived in Spain long enough that year to be considered a tax resident and ordered the state to pay her more than $64 million. “For nearly a decade, I was treated as guilty,” Shakira said in a statement. “Today, that narrative crumbles, and it does so with the full force of a court ruling.”
Relationships and Kids
Shakira has two kids with her former partner Spanish soccer player Gerard Piqué. The former couple met in 2010 on the set of the “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)” music video and confirmed their relationship in 2011. They welcomed their first child together, a son named Milan, in January 2013, and their second son, Sasha, was born in January 2015. After 11 years together, Shakira and Piqué separated in 2022.
Prior to that, she dated Antonio de la Rúa, son of former Argentine President Fernando de la Rúa, from 2000 to 2010. In April 2013, de la Rúa made headlines when he sued the Latin songstress for $250 million, charging that he had helped create some of her hit songs as well as the “Shakira brand,” but the lawsuit was quickly dismissed.
Net Worth
As of May 2026, Shakira has an estimated net worth of $300 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
Quotes
- Sometimes I look at my reflection and I see garbage and I guess I was worried about the size of my breasts for a long time but now I think I have finally reached an age where I have accepted myself for who I am.
- The pop life is boring when you have nothing to say.
- Of course I am trying to make my accent not bother anybody but I am not going to drive myself crazy trying to pretend I am American girl when I am from Colombia.
- I want one day to be able to love with the same intensity parents love their children. Is that possible?
- I admire people who, for the love of art, is able to take their clothes off in front of a camera, but I'm not capable. I'm too cowardly for that.
- The leaders are lacking love, and love is lacking leaders.
- Fame isolates people from reality. That happens to many artists, and I don't want it to happen to me.
- My brain, I believe, is the most beautiful part of my body.
- The worst mistake of a woman is to go in the kitchen, because then she never gets out of there.
- Writing songs has a therapeutic effect, and it either kills off love or wins the heart of the lover.
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Legacy Recordings Laundry Service Vinyl
Shakira Perfumes Dance Eau de Toilette
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