Shakira's Biography

Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll was born in Barranquilla, Colombia in 1977. The daughter of a Colombian mother and a Lebanese father, Shakira means "woman full of grace" in Arabic.

She first broke into the Latin Music charts in 1995, and has since established herself as a crossover star with huge success in Latin America, Europe and North America. Shakira began modeling at age 13 in Bogotá, but after someone heard her singing she was signed to a recording contract with Sony Records. She released a self titled debut album in 1991. But this and the follow-up “Peligro” enjoyed little commercial success.

Shakira branched out into acting into acting and landed a role on the Colombian soap-opera “El Oasis.” She continued to write songs and record however and the more rock oriented album “Pies Descalzos,” released in 1996 was a breakthrough. The album featured chart-topping singles "Estoy Aqui" and "Dónde Estás Corazón?" and went on to top the album charts in several Latin countries.

Her follow-up album “Dónde Están Los Ladrones?” and an MTV Unplugged recording session were equally successful, and in 2000 Shakira won a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance ("Ojos Asi") at the inaugural Latin Grammy Awards.

Mainstream pop stardom beckoned. Shakira dyed her long brown hair blonde, romanced Antonio de la Rua (son of the former president of Argentina), and went to work on her first (mostly) English-language album, Laundry Service. The single/video "Whenever, Wherever" was released in advance of the album in late 2001, and made her a star in the English-speaking world almost overnight. It affirmed the singer's superstar status when it broke into the Top 5 of the mainstream US pop charts. The album went on to enjoy international acclaim, buoyed by the huge commercial success of the singles "Whenever, Wherever" and "Underneath Your Clothes."

Extensive touring to support “Laundry Service” led to a long break for the singer, so a remix collection (2002's Laundry Service: Washed and Dried) and a live album (2004's Live & Off the Record) appeared in lieu of a new album.

Shakira had 60 songs by the time she entered the studio to record a new album. Twenty of the songs were selected and divided up by language to make two different albums. Both appeared in 2005 and both hit the Top Ten, with the Spanish-language album Fijacion Oral, Vol. 1 and the English-language album, Oral Fixation, Vol. 2. Epic reissued the album in March 2006 with a bonus track, "Hip Don't Lie." The newly recorded song went on to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart in June, becoming one of the summer's biggest hits.