Shakira Biography

Bravo Magazine January 2007	Harper's Bazaar March 2007	Elle Magazine April 2006

This short tale about Shakirs's life gives you a sense of respect and admiration for this wonderful singer and composer who is the youngest top Latin Pop artist. Read this Shakira biography to learn about her beginning, breakthrough, career, her love life and how she helps others.

She was born in the coastal city of Barranquilla to a middle class family, although I read one Shakira biography that stated she came from a poor family. She has an interesting mix, with an American father who is of Lebanese descent -William Mebarak- and a Colombian mother, Nidia Ripoll.

Fans adore her and with good reasons. The interpret Shakira is devoted to her fans, and in spite of her success she remains humble, and proud of her origins and her country.

She once said: "Hay algo que me hace sentir más orgullosa que mis canciones, incluso más que los premios o el aprecio del público: mi pasaporte colombiano" –there is something that makes me feel more proud than my lyrics, even more than my awards or the appreciation of the fans, it is my Colombian passport. (Source: Shakiramania.org)

Shakira's Childhood and Early Years

Many of her biographies talk about her high IQ (about 140), but not one Shakira biography cites where this statement comes from. What is well known is that at 18 months she knew the alphabet and spoke with great clarity, and at age three she was already reading.

On the Right Shakira Belly Dancing
Picture from the biography "Shakira Woman Full of Grace."

The unauthorized Shakira biography: "Shakira Woman Full of Grace" says that her mother still has the first poem Shakira wrote when she was three "La Rosa de Cristal" –The Crystal Rose.

From a very young age she wanted to sing and dance. Since the early days she dreamed of becoming a huge star in her native Barranquilla, sitting by the sea every Sunday afternoon as she told Chirs Conley in an interview in 2006 for the television program “20/20.”

By the age of 5 she was already participating in Arab dancing and singing competitions. In an interview for "USA Weekend" in December 2005 Shakira said: "I was known in school as 'the belly dancer girl' because every Friday I would do a number I learned. That's how I discovered my passion for live performance."

The unauthorized Shakira biography: "Shakira Woman Full of Grace" says she attended “La Enseñanza,” a Catholic school run by nuns where she learned about Catholicism. Faith plays an important role in her life, and in 1998 the pope Juan Pablo II received her at the Vatican.

In an interview with "Revista Sermana," her mother said that Shakira first became obsessed with science. Later on, she used to confine herself to her room to write what her parents thought were stories and poems. They soon discovered that she was writing songs.

No one Shakira biography tells you that besides her writing ability and playing the guitar, she also plays the harmonica. Nowadays we don’t see her playing the harmonica at all, but this instrument had a strong presence in her song “Dónde estás corazón” from her first famous album “Pies Descalzos”.

The Beginning

The unauthorized Shakira biography: "Shakira Woman Full of Grace" confirms her artistic career started when she was only eight by writing “Tus gafas oscuras.” a song inspired by her father.

Her next big step happened in 1998 when she was 10. The Colombian broadcasting station “Telecaribe” had the program "Buscando Un Artista Infantil" Searching for a Young Artist- in which several youngsters competed for first prize. She won first place for three consecutive years.

Believe it or not, at first Sony was not interested in signing Shakira but Ciro Vargas -an executive from Sony Colombia- made arrangements for top executives to go to a bar. Without them knowing the main attraction was Shakira. The performance was a complete success and it was at that moment that Sony decided to sign her.

It is ironic to know that her first two records were not successful. The first one “Magia” was released in 1991 when she was 13 and sold about 1,000 copies. The second record “Peligro” was released in 1993 when she was 15 and had less success than the previous one. Today Shakira has expressed her desire to keep these records off the market considering them very immature works.

The Breakthrough

After finishing high school and having mild success acting in a soap opera named “El Oasis”, the interpret Shakira decided to give music a second try.

Pies Descalzos

Her strong personality coupled with persistence and a passion for music helped her come back with breakthrough material that placed her in top ten lists in Latin America. In 1996, the album “Pies Descalzos” opened the doors for her outside Colombia.

“Pies Descalzos” hit number one in eight different countries and eventually went platinum in the U.S. She sold more than four million copies of that album, the best known songs were ”Pies Descalzos, Sueños Blancos” and “¿Dónde Estás Corazón?” Needless to say, she wrote them all.

Her next album “Donde Están los Ladrones” in 1998 had a more impressive success. By now Shakira was working with Emilio Estefan as her manager and producer. This was the album that opened the U.S. market for her with 11 weeks at number one on the Billboard's Latin album chart.

When Gloria Estefan offered to translate to English her song “Ojos Asi” she realized she needed to learn English to be able to write her own material and make a crossover. In 2000 her album "Shakira MTV Unplugged" compiled all her most important songs that were recorded live from a performance in 1999 in Manhattan. The album won a Grammy for Best Latin Pop Album in 2000.!

It's Crossover Time!

After all these accomplishments, Shakira was craving success outside the Latin American market. She went to work on her next, mostly English-language album “Laundry Service” which became an instant hit after releasing her single “Whenever, Wherever” ahead of her entire album in 2001. “Laundry Service” went triple platinum.

Extensive touring to support “Laundry Service” left her exhausted, but in 2004 she appeared ready for battle again with about 60 songs she created in English and Spanish. The team chose 20 songs to be divided in two sets. “Oral Fixation” and “Fijación Oral” were born in 2005 from these 20 songs. Both albums were released, again with incredible success.

And, what is all that frenzy about “Hips Don’t Lie”? This was simply a genius move that Epic did on 2006 by reissuing the album in March with a bonus track that caused sensation. “Hips Don’t Lie” became one of the summer's biggest hits and made sales of hip scarves fashionable everywhere!

In 2007 Shakira and Beyonce teamed up to participate in a one-time collaboration called “Beautiful Liar”. This invitation came from Beyonce. It is likely Beyonce is trying to appeal to the Hispanic market by joining efforts with Latin superstar Shakira.

The collaboration of Beyonce and Shakira has been subject to some mixed opinions, with some arguing the song does not have substance, and instead just contains great hip moves and two beautiful singers. It appears “Beautiful Liar” had high expectations amongst Shakira fans who were left a bit disappointed.

Love Life

Since 2000, her boyfriend has been Antonio de la Rúa, an attorney and son of the former president of Argentina, Fernando de la Rúa. Shakira has said she loves his understanding of her career and the flexibility that their relationship gives. She even said of him “I think I have won the Lottery” in an interview in 2006 for the television news program “20/20.”

Shakira and Antonio De la Rua
Picture by PEOPLE en Espan(ol, 2007.

Love did not come easy for the pop star. Her songs seem to reflect in their lyrics some deception about love that may have come through personal experiences, although no one Shakira biography can confirm this. I think this is one of the reasons why women all over the world love her music, as they can empathize with her lyrics.

Shakira the Humanitarian

She created the foundation “Pies Dezcalzos” –Bare Feet- named after her third album “to provide education, nutrition, health coverage and emotional and psychological support to children who have been displaced by violence and those living in poverty” as the foundation’s mission states.

In October 2003 UNICEF named Shakira a Global Goodwill Ambassador for the organization. At the time she was 26. She became the youngest UNICEF Ambassador in its history.

As Sony Music president Michele Anthony was quoted in the article “Love in the Time of Shakira” for Elle magazine in 2006: “Shakira's really defining what it means to be a truly global artist.”

According to the Shakira biography on Mundoandino.com, Shakira is as of 2007 the fourth most successful artist so far from the 2000s based on United World Chart.

There is no doubt we will be adding more successes to the Shakira biography judging by her flourishing singing career and her youth. The interpret Shakira likely has a great future in front of her and this may be just the beginning.