Shakira

Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll known simply as Shakira, is a Colombian singer-songwriter of Lebanese and European descent, musician, record producer, dancer and philanthropist who has been a major figure in the pop music scene of Latin America since the mid-1990s. She is a native Spanish speaker and also speaks fluent English, Portuguese, Italian, and some Arabic. In 2001, she broke through onto the English-speaking world with the release of Laundry Service, which sold over thirteen million copies worldwide. Shakira is the highest-selling Colombian artist of all time, having sold more than 50 million albums worldwide, according to BMI. She has also won numerous awards worldwide, including two Grammy Awards, eight Latin Grammy Awards, fifteen Billboard Music Awards, three MTV Video Music Awards, a People's Choice Award and receiving a Golden Globe nomination. She is also the only artist from South America to reach the number-one spot on the Billboard Hot 100, the Australian ARIA chart, the United World Chart and the UK Singles Chart.

According to the United World Chart, Shakira is as of 2008 the sixth most successful artist so far for the last decade, in terms of single sales. She is also the first, and currently only, artist to have two songs in the top ten of the most successful singles since 1999. Los Angeles Times declared Shakira "the most completely adapted crossover performer in contemporary pop music".

Shakira will be awarded with a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame, making her the first Colombian to receive this honor.

Early life

She is the only child of Nidya del Carmen Ripoll Torrado, a Colombian of Spanish and Italian ancestry, and William Mebarak Chadid who is of Lebanese descent. She has 8 older half siblings from her father's previous marriage, but she often omits the half in interviews because they are so close to her. Statue of Shakira in Barranquilla, Colombia