Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll (born February 2, 1977), known simply as Shakira, is a Colombian pop singer.

Shakira is a Spanish name that came from the Arabic word for "graceful". She speaks English, Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese, and Italian, and she can perform Arab belly dancing, which was taught by her Lebanese grandmother.

Shakira was born in Barranquilla to a Lebanese father and a Spanish-Italian mother, and moved to Bogotá at the age of thirteen. She released her first album, Magia (Magic), one year later, on the Sony label ... (read more )