Shakira Net Worth

Biography of Shakira

Shakira is a famous singer of Colombian origin, one of the most successful Latin Americans on the world pop scene. Shakira’s music is characterized by a special unique style – a mixture of pop-rock, Latino and folk, and her performances are always whole shows of oriental dances and memorable productions.

Childhood

Shakira Isabel Merabak Ripoll (this is the full name of the singer) was born on February 2, 1977 in Barranquilla, Colombia. The girl was the only child of Nydia Ripoll and William Shadid, she also had 8 half-brothers and sisters on her father’s side. Her dad is Lebanese by origin, whose ancestors left for New York, and her mother has Spanish and Italian roots.

The future celebrity grew up surrounded by books, musical rhythms and precious stones – her father owned a large jewelry store. From early childhood, Shakira began to show interest in literature and music, her parents introduced her to this – her dad William even wrote books. Already at the age of 1.5, the girl knew the alphabet, at 3 she learned to read and write, and at 4 she was already prepared for school.

Later, experts gave Shakira a test and unanimously declared that she was a child prodigy. The mother of the future singer believed that her daughter would grow up as an artist or writer, since the girl drew a lot, and then, at the age of 4, she already began to compose poetry. At the age of 8, Shakira had already written her first song – “Your dark glasses”, dedicated to the death of one of her brothers.

At school, an active and beautiful girl was predicted to have a career as a ballerina or dancer, because she simply loved to perform oriental dances and often performed on stage. Then the rising star won the contest “Long live the children!”.

A few years later, a journalist named Monica Arias introduced Shakira to an official, Ciro Vargas from Sony Music. The man was impressed by the singing talent of the young talent, and after some deliberation, he signed a contract with her. The girl began to combine her studies with the recording of her first album “Magia”.

By the way, at first Shakira sang in the school choir, but soon she was expelled from there, as one of the teachers said that her voice was like the bleating of a goat.

Carier start

Already at the age of 14, with the release of her first album, the charming and talented Colombian gained fame – first in her hometown, and then throughout the country. In 1993, Shakira represented Colombia at the Chilean Music Festival and took third place with her own song “Eres” (“You”).

The following year, the young singer has already released her second album “Peligro” (“Danger”). From a commercial point of view, the album was unsuccessful, in addition, Shakira had to make concessions with the management during its recording, which is why the disc lost its originality. Despite unjustified expectations, after graduation, the girl came to grips with the creation of the third album.

At this time, she and her mother moved to the Colombian capital of Bogotá, where she received an invitation to the main role in the TV series Oasis.

In 1994, Sony representatives already wanted to terminate the contract with the singer, but it was at that moment that the girl presented her song called “Dónde Estás Corazón?” (“Where are you, heart?”), which became an instant hit.

The heyday of a musical career

In the fall of 1996, Shakira, having a rather modest budget at her disposal, presented her third studio album Pies Descalzos (Bare Feet). Finally, a huge success awaited her, thousands of discs sold, an army of fans and the first world tour.

In 1996, Shakira was named “Woman of the Year” and “Man of the Year” – she became the first Colombian who conquered overseas countries, for example, she was very warmly received in Japan. At the same time, the girl received awards from the Billboard Music Awards.

Meanwhile, the public was waiting for the singer’s fourth album. When the materials for the disc were already ready, the suitcase with the lyrics was stolen by an unknown person. But still the album “Dónde Están los Ladrones?” (“Where are the thieves?”) was not long in coming. This disc went platinum as much as five times, and on the first day of sales, fans bought up 300,000 copies of it. It was the top Latin American album on the chart for 11 weeks.

In 1999, the singer received her first Grammy nomination for Best Latin Rock/Alternative Album, and in 2001 she released a live version of her MTV Unplugged songs. This album made her popular in the USA, and the success was secured by the Grammy Award in the same year.

It’s time for an international album – for the most part, the English-language disc “Laundry Service” (“Laundry”) conquered the American charts, and the first single “Whenever, Wherever” made Shakira a world star. The US triple platinum album contained other memorable songs that many still love most in the singer’s repertoire. These are “Underneath Your Clothes”, “The One” and “Objection (Tango)”.

Shakira managed to demonstrate the amazing possibilities of her voice, but many – both critics and Latin American fans – were unhappy that the singer preferred American pop music to authentic folk motives. Nevertheless, from a commercial point of view, it was undoubtedly a breakthrough. The young star moved in this direction, soon recording several songs for Pepsi advertising.

In 2005, Shakira released a Spanish CD Fijación Oral Vol. 1″, whose singles were rotated mainly in Spanish-speaking countries. In the same year, a “translation” disc in English “Oral Fixation Vol. 2″ with the singles “Hips Don’t Lie” and “Illegal”, which became mega-popular. The girl went on a world tour and gave 150 concerts in 37 countries.

In 2007, the singer moved even further, receiving an MTV VMA award and a Grammy nomination along with Beyoncé for the duet “Beautiful Liar”. From that moment began her constant collaborations with other pop stars – she sang with Annie Lennox, Steve Wonder and Usher.

After a long break in her career in 2009, Shakira released the album “She Wolf”, unlike anything previous in her discography – more electronic. This did not prevent him from becoming popular, and the single of the same name from winning the hearts of many listeners.

In 2010, the singer was honored to record the official song for the World Cup, which was held in South Africa. The groovy track “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)” turned out to be, indeed, a real hymn to summer, positive and joy.

In the fall of 2010, the next disc of the singer “Sale el sol” followed. It recorded songs in both Spanish and English, the most popular of which was “Loca”. The album became quite successful and won 13 Billboard de la Musica Latina nominations.

In 2012, Shakira replaced Christina Aguilera as a mentor on the popular vocal show The Voice. In 2014, she released her tenth album, simply titled “Shakira”. The track and video recorded with Rihanna – “Can’t Remember to Forget You” – was especially popular. In 2016, the singer presented to the audience the first single from the next album – “Me Enamoré”, and in 2017 she released a disc called “El Dorado”. The album was warmly received by the audience and sold well.

Shakira’s personal life

In 1997, it became known about the singer’s romance with the fashionable actor Oswald Rios. The lovers hid their feelings in public, but everyone was well aware of their relationship. However, this romance did not last long – the couple broke up after 8 months.

In 2000, Shakira began a relationship with the son of Argentine President Fernando de la Rua Antonio. A year later, the young man proposed to the singer. The lovers planned to get married, but the artist said that all these were rumors. However, the romance lasted long enough. Only in January 2011, Shakira officially announced the break with Antonio.

For almost 11 years, we passionately loved each other … These were the most wonderful years of our lives … Meanwhile, since August 2010, our love affair by mutual agreement was temporarily interrupted, although we continued to work together, keeping what happened a secret.

On the set of the Waka Waka video, the girl met Barcelona defender Gerard Pique. The couple have been together since the fall of 2010, but the lovers spoke about their relationship only in March 2011. Soon they moved to Barcelona, ​​and in 2013 their first child, Milan Pique Mebarak, was born. In January 2015, another son, Sasha, was born in the Shakira family.

Shakira now

In 2024, Shakira again began to delight fans with creativity – in January, she presented the song “Me Gusta”, recorded together with rapper Anuel AA. A few months later, the singer shared a video recorded for her. At the same time, Shakira performed at the finals of the National Football League of America along with J. Lo. Shakira hinted to fans about her future musical plans by posting a photo from the studio on Instagram – probably in the spring of 2024, the singer began to prepare for the release of a new composition or album.

Shakira continues to amaze with her youthful appearance – the singer is already over 40, but her charming photos from the beach quite often appear on social networks, in which her ideal figure is noticeable.