Shakira Profile:
Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll best known as Shakira (pronounced /ʃəˈkɪərə/, Spanish: [tʃaˈkiɾa] or [ʃaˈkiɾa]) with nickname Shaki was born February 2, 1977 (star sign: Aquarius) at her hometown in Barranquilla, Colombia (born and raised). Shakira is a beautiful Colombian female (Latin pop, Rock en español, pop rock, alternative, world, dance, urban) singer, female songwriter, popular musician, music star (superstar), record producer, female philanthropist, top dancer, famous female artist, (film, movie, television, music) actress, Hollywood star, female model, and blonde women celebrity. She has a hair color: charming dyed blonde, eyes color: sexy dark brown, height: 5′ 2″ (157 cm), measurements: 32-24-37, assets: popular and famous name, beautiful Colombian, dance moves, great talent, sexy voice, charming blonde hair, sexy dark brown eyes, pretty face, native Spanish speaker, speaks fluent English and Portuguese, and amazing figure, hobbies: studying history, singing, music action, listening music, watching movies, dancing, world of music and modeling, photography acting, and pose in front of the camera, genres: Latin pop, Rock en español, pop rock, alternative, world, dance, and urban, instruments: Vocals, guitar, harmonica, drums, and percussion, and labels: Sony Music Colombia (1990 until 1996), Columbia (1996 until 2000), Epic (2000 until present), and Live Nation Artists (2008 until present).

Shakira Biography:
In her early life, Shakira (pronounced /ʃəˈkɪərə/, Spanish: [tʃaˈkiɾa] or [ʃaˈkiɾa]) was born with birth name is Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll on February 2, 1977 at her hometown in Barranquilla, Colombia (born and raised). Shakira is the only child of Nidya del Carmen Ripoll Torrado and William Mebarak Chadid, who are of Lebanese, Spanish (Catalan) and Italian descent. Shakira has eight older half-siblings from her father’s previous marriage.

Shakira means “thankful” in Arabic. Name of Shakira is the feminine form of the name Shakir. Her second name, Isabel, is also that of her paternal grandmother, meaning “my God is my oath”, “my God’s house” or “my God is abundance”, and her name is a Spanish given name for Elizabeth. Shakira’s second surname name Ripoll is Catalan. Shakira spent much of her youth in Barranquilla, a city located in northern Colombia. Shakira’s business acumen is often attributed to a high IQ, which is reported in the entertainment press to be 140.

Shakira wrote her first poem, entitled “La Rosa De Cristal” (“The Crystal Rose”) when she was only four years old. When Shakira was growing up, Shakira was fascinated watching her father writing stories on a typewriter, and asked for one as a Christmas gift. Shakira got her wish at age seven and continued writing poetry. These poems eventually evolved into songs. At the age of two, an older half-brother was killed in a motorcycle accident and at the age of eight, Shakira wrote her first song entitled “Tus gafas oscuras” (“Your dark glasses”) which was inspired by 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. Before Shakira knew it, Shakira was dancing on the table, as restaurant patrons responded by clapping enthusiastically. It was then that Shakira said she knew she wanted to be a performer. Shakira like 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. At school, Shakira says she had been known as “the belly dancer girl”, as she would demonstrate every Friday at school a number she had learned.

When Shakira was eight, Shakira’s father declared bankruptcy. While the details were sorted out, Shakira stayed with relatives in Los Angeles (LA), California (CA), United State of America (USA). On returning to Barranquilla, Colombia, Shakira was shocked to find that much of what her parents owned had been sold; as Shakira later said “In my childish head, this was the end of the world.” To show her that things could be worse, her father took her to a local park to see orphans who lived there, sniffing glue. The images stayed with her and Shakira said to herself “one day I’m going to help these kids when I become a famous and popular artist”.

Shakira was invited to various events in Barranquilla and gained some recognition in the area when Shakira’ ages between the ten and thirteen. It was at about this time that Shakira met local theater producer Monica Ariza, who was impressed with her and as a result tried to help Shakira’s 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. Shakira performed three songs for the executives and impressed them enough for her to be signed to record three albums.

In her career, Shakira emerged as a musical prodigy in the music scene of Latin America in the early 1990s. Shakira revealed many of her talents in school as a live performer, demonstrating her vocal ability with rock and roll, Latin and Middle Eastern influences with her own original twist on belly dancing. Shakira is a native Spanish speaker and also speaks fluent English and Portuguese.

Shakira decided to produce her own brand of music after commercial flops with local producers on her first two albums, and little-known outside Colombia. Shakira on 1995 released Pies Descalzos, which brought her great fame in Latin America and Spain, and Shakira’s 1998 album ¿Dónde Están los Ladrones? was a critical success. Since then Shakira has gained many fans in semi-Hispanophone countries, and many non-Spanish-speaking countries, especially the United States (US). On 2001, and aided by heavy rotation of the music video, “Whenever, Wherever”, she broke through into the English-speaking world with the release of Laundry Service, which sold over 13 million copies worldwide. Four years later, Shakira released two album projects called Fijación Oral Vol. 1 and Oral Fixation Vol. 2. Both reinforced her success, particularly with the most successful song in the 21st century to date, “Hips Don’t Lie”. From October-November 2009 Shakira released her latest album She Wolf worldwide.

Shakira has won two Grammy Awards, seven Latin Grammy Awards, twelve Billboard Latin Music Awards, and has been Golden Globe-nominated. Shakira is also the highest-selling Colombian artist of all time, and the second most successful female Latin singer having sold over 50 million albums worldwide. Additionally, Shakira is the only artist from South America to reach the number-one spot on the United State (U.S.) Billboard Hot 100, the Australian ARIA chart, and the UK Singles Chart. Shakira is to be given a star awards on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Shakira’s latest success story on 2010 is the superhit “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)”, the official song for a celebration of greatest moment the 2010 FIFA World Cup, along with its Spanish language version, titled “Waka Waka (Esto es África)”. The song “Waka Waka (Esto es África)” has received generally positive critical reception, and has become a worldwide top hit.

(Shakira Profile and Biography source: MadeMan.com, Zimbio.Com, FanPix.Net, and Wikipedia.Org)

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