Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll or Shakira, as we know her, is a multi-faceted personality born on 2 February 1977. This Columbian singer has made a mark for herself in varied fields including singing, songwriting, acting, dancing, and record production, among others. At the tender age of 13, she made her recording debut with Sony Music. But her first commercial success came five years later with Pies Descalzos, in 1995. There was no looking back after that.
Before Being A Celebrity
Shakira derives her name from an Arabic word meaning "graceful." She was the youngest in the family with eight siblings and yes, she is the most talented among them too. She inherits her looks and intelligence from her Lebanese father and Spanish-Italian mother. She showed an interest in music, poetry, painting, and dance as a young girl. At four years, when her friends were learning to speak in complete sentences, she is said to have written her first poem. Her classmates and teachers fondly remember this bubbly girl who was always ready to sing, and dance whenever asked. This is how Shakira got her nickname "the belly dancer girl" in school.
Soon she became famous in her area and was being invited to perform at small events and gatherings. She once represented Columbia at the Festival Vina del Mar and won the third prize. This was her first step into the world of music and fame. It was in one such event that she was spotted by a theater producer who was also an executive for Sony Music. There was no looking back from then. She went on to sign a deal for three records with Sony Music after that.
A Celeb With Brains And High IQ
Unlike many other celebrities, Shakira is very well educated and has a high IQ of 140. She is said to have attended university at UCLA disguised as a boy in 2005 because by then she was already a big celebrity and attending college as an average person would have been impossible. As per CBS News, Shakira is fluent in multiple languages, including English, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese. No wonder she has such a high IQ.
Shakira truly is a beauty with brains and a golden voice. She has a net worth of around $300 million mostly for the sales of her records and her numerous world tours. She was one of the judges on The Voice through seasons 4 to 6 and gained immense public love and money during the time. She is a big fan of Gloria Estefan and follows Bollywood music and movies too.
The Other Side Of Shakira
As a child, her father used to take to the park to see how the orphans lived. Those images left an everlasting impression on her mind, and she promised herself to help the under-privileged kids once she had the money and resources. To this end, she has done a lot after she became rich and famous. She has received a Humanitarian Award on 6 April 2006, for her charitable foundation, Pies Descalzos Foundation, that helps the children in her home town of Columbia. She was also awarded as the Academy Person of the Year in 2011 for her contributions towards philanthropy and Latin music.
Rewards And Recognition
Shakira has received several awards and nominations for her contributions to music and movies. These include 3 Grammy Awards and 12 Latin Grammy Awards – the highest by any female artist. She is one of the best-selling singers of her times and has sold more than 75 million records across the globe. A huge achievement to say the least. She was featured among the top 100 world's most powerful women consistently for three years from 2012 to 2014. She also received the honor of Chevalier De L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2012. In 2014, she became the first musician to perform thrice at the FIFA World Cup.
Apart from all the recognition, she also has several monuments in her name, a symbol of the love from her fans. She has a 16-foot-tall statue in her hometown Barranquilla designed by the German artist Dieter Patt. She also has a square in the forest in Cedars Reserve in Tannourine named after her!
A singer par excellence we hope to see Shakira receiving many more awards and recognition in the future too. There is still a lot more to come from this talented singer.