Pierre Barbaud

Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, or Shakira for short, is a Colombian singer of Lebanese descent. She is a prominent figure in the Latin pop music boom of the late 1990s. She gained popularity particularly for her unique dance style, a blend of Arab and Latin influences. A songwriter as well as a performer, she has won two Grammy Awards and eight Latin Grammy Awards. Shakira's studio albums alone have sold over 60 million copies, a figure that rises to over 70 million when including compilation and live albums. She has received 158 awards. Her single "Hips Don't Lie" sold 10 million copies, making it one of the best-selling singles of all time. "Whenever, Wherever" sold 9 million and "La Tortura" sold 6 million. She was born in Barranquilla in 1977. Shakira is also the founder and honorary president of Pies Descalzos, a non-profit organization operating in Colombia. She wrote her first song at the age of six and has an IQ of 140, demonstrating exceptional intelligence for an artist. She learned her dance moves from her grandmother. Furthermore, Shakira doesn't drink alcohol or coffee, has three sisters and four brothers, loves chocolate, and is fluent in Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, English, and Arabic. Her name, Shakira, means 'grateful' or 'thankful' in Arabic. Shakira was in a relationship with Argentinian lawyer Antonio de la Rúa from 2000 to 2010. In 2010, she met Gerard Piqué, a Catalan footballer from Barcelona. They have two sons together: Milan, born in January 2013, and Sasha, born in January 2015.