Columbian-born Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoli was an established South American superstar until she entered the English language market with 2001’s Laundry Service album.
Best known for her scintillating belly dance moves in the video of the song ‘Hips Don’t Lie.’ She has sold over 70 million albums worldwide. Having a keen interest in music from childhood, Shakira wrote her first poem when she was just four. At a young age, she would also dance impromptu at restaurants playing groovy music. She often used to sing and dance for her classmates and teachers at school, and earned the nickname ‘the belly dancer girl.’
As a teen, she began performing around her town and caught the attention of the local theater producer Monica Ariza who introduced her to ‘Sony Colombia’ executive Ciro Vargas. She released her first album ‘Magia’ when she was just 14. Though the album did not do well commercially, it gave her the much-needed exposure.
Her big breakthrough came in the form of her third album ‘Pies Descalzos’ which peaked at number one in eight different countries. She also earned several awards and nominations for the album, and became popular overnight.
Her success in Latin music encouraged her to try her hand at English language albums. Her first attempt at English language album ‘Laundry Service’ went multi-platinum, and is considered the most successful album of her career.
Despite having had a long career, Shakira has only ever had 2 number 1 singles in the UK out with 6 UK top 10’s.
Having spent 47 weeks in the top ten the star has charted for over 2 years in the top 40 and spent a total of 169 weeks in the official charts.
Shakira is at 25 in the Official Top 100 Most-Streamed Disney Songs with ‘TRY EVERYTHING from movie ‘ZOOTROPOLIS.
The 45 year-old singer, songwriter, producer has a net worth of $300 million. Shakira is still earning millions each year with a a beauty line, a rich soccer player boyfriend, and some valuable real estate on her side.
While other donors contribute to The Barefoot Foundation, and specifically the Colombian facet of the organization, Shakira isn’t afraid to pour her own wealth into the operations.
She frequently travels to Colombia to oversee the building of schools throughout the country, and to date, her foundation has erected five schools. The charity also feeds children and offers other services – and it’s something Shakira invests a lot of money on.
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