 |  | | Full Name: | Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll | | | Birthday: | 2/2/1977 | | | Sign: | Aquarius | | | Eye Color: | Brown Height: 4’11” | | | Hometown: | Barranquilla, Colombia | | | | | Relationship Status: | Shakira became engaged to Antonio de la Rua, son of a former president of Argentina, in March 2001. | | | Big Break: | In 2001, Shakira released her first album in English. It was an overnight sensation. Over 15 million copies of “Laundry Service” have been sold, including 3.5 million copies in the United States, making Shakira one of the most important Latin American female musicians before the American public. | | | Best Known For: | Shakira is a poetic lyricist who writes most of the powerful songs she sings. She is famous for her exciting (and very telegenic) dancing style, which is heavily influenced by belly dancing. She is also respected for her ability to blend different styles in her music. | | | Cool Facts: | Shakira was choreographing belly dance routines from the time she was about nine years old. On Fridays, she used to demonstrate her dancing for her classmates, who nicknamed her “the belly dance girl.” Shakira was denied a spot on the school choir because her singing voice was too powerful. According to the Nielson Broadcast Data Systems, Shakira’s song “Hips Don’t Lie” has been played on the radio more times in a single week (9,637 times) than any song in pop music history. | | | Quick Bio: | Shakira was born in 1977 to a Lebanese father and a Colombian mother. She wrote her first song at the age of eight, and began winning talent competitions two years later. Shakira took up the guitar when she was 11 years old. At 13, she moved to Bogota, Colombia to try to find work as a model, but soon ended up signing a record contract with Sony. Her first record, “Magia” (Magic), released in 1991, sold only about a thousand copies. Her second album, “Peligro” (Danger), released in 1993, sold more copies, but Shakira was disappointed by the pop tunes she was asked to record. She vowed to have more creative control over her next project. In 1994, Shakira became a cast member of a Colombia TV drama called “The Oasis,” a commitment that lasted four years. Shakira’s third Sony album, “Pies Descalzos” (1995), enjoyed success all over Latin America and Spain. It was a number one album in eight different countries, and has enjoyed great success among Spanish speakers inside the United States. In 1998, her album “Where are the Thieves?” had an even bigger impact. It won a Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Album. The song “Ojos Asi,” which owes a debt to the Lebanese music she heard from her father, became a huge hit worldwide. When Gloria Estefan offered to translate and perform this song, Shakira decided it would be better for her to learn English so that she could do her own translations and write original songs for the U.S. audience. Her next album represented a total transformation: in addition to singing in a new language, Shakira colored her hair blonde. Shakira spent two years on tour performing the songs from “Laundry Service.” By the time she was ready to go back to the recording studio, she had already written enough songs – more than 60 – to more than fill two albums: “Fijacion oral 1” in Spanish and “Oral Fixation 2” in English. “Hips Don’t Lie,” a bonus track added when “Oral Fixation” was reissued in March 2006, became the biggest summer hit of 2006. Shakira dominated the Latin Grammy Awards this year with five awards. | | | Other Notes: | Want to have some fun with Shakira? Check out her word search puzzle! | | | |
