Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll was born on February 2, 1977, in Barranquilla, Colombia. Her mother was a native Colombian and her father was of Lebanese descent. So, naturally, Shakira imbibed music from both the cultures. She also loved to hear Led Zeppelin, the Beatles, the Police, the Cure, and Nirvana. At the age of eight Shakira wrote her first song. She won her first talent competitions at the age of ten, and started learning guitar at eleven. In 1990, Shakira moved to Bogotá in the hope of pursuing a modeling career, but ended up signing a deal with Sony's Colombian division.

Her first album Magia (Magic) was released in 1991. It comprises songs she had written herself over the past five or six years. But the album failed to create an impact. Her second album Peligro, released in 1993, too didn’t fare well. Disgusted with her failures, Shakira decided to take a temporary break and pursue her studies.

Shakira returned back to recording in 1995, with more control over the direction of her music, blending rock n roll rhythms and Arabic tinges into her Latin pop material. The album Pies Descalzos (Bare Feet) was released in 1995, which was a slow seller at the beginning, but soon it caught pace and became a hit all over Latin America, as well as Spain. The album soon became number one in eight different countries and eventually went platinum in the United States.

Shakira signed Emilio Estefan, a highly successful music-biz insider as her manager and producer. Her next album Dónde Están los Ladrones? (Where Are the Thieves?) became a hit worldwide. It remained at number one for 11 weeks on Billboard's Latin album chart and producing two U.S. number ones (on the Latin chart) with "Ciega, Sordomuda" and "Tu." In the meantime, she performed on MTV Unplugged, the channel's first Spanish-language broadcast. In the year 2000, MTV Unplugged was released as an album and it topped the Latin charts for two weeks. It became her third straight platinum album, and won a Grammy for Best Latin Pop Album. At the inaugural Latin Grammy Awards ceremony in 2000, Shakira gave a show-stopping performance of "Ojos Así," and won Best Female Pop Vocal ("Ojos Así") and Best Female Rock Vocal ("Octavo Dia").

Shakira decided to change her outlook, and dyed her long brown hair blonde. Then came her first English-language album Laundry Service in 2001. The video "Whenever, Wherever" was released in advance which made her a star overnight. Laundry Service entered the American pop charts at number three, and "Whenever, Wherever" at six in the Top Ten of the singles chart. The follow-up "Underneath Your Clothes" also became a hit and occupied ninth position in the Top Ten. In 2002, a remix collection Laundry Service: Washed and Dried and in 2004 a live album Live Off the Record were released. In 2005 Shakira released two albums: Fijacion Oral, Vol. 1 in Spanish and Oral Fixation, Vol. 2 in English. Both appeared in Top Ten. The lead single from the album Fijacion Oral, "La Tortura", which features Alejandro Sanz, spent a record of twenty-five weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart. "La Tortura" is the most successful song in spanish worldwide having peaked at number 2 at the United World chart. "Hips Don't Lie", the single from Oral Fixation became Shakira's first number one single on the U.S.Billboard Hot 100. On February 8, 2006, Shakira won her second Grammy Award in the category of Best Latin Rock/Alternative Album. Shakira in order to promote her albums Fijación Oral Vol. 1 and Oral Fixation Vol. 2 went on for a worldwide tour in June 2006. The tour had 125 shows on five continents. During this tour, Shakira performed a free concert in Mexico on May 27th, 2007 with over 210,000 audiences. This concert set a record of highest attendance in any concert in Mexican history.

Shakira also worked in collaboration with others singers. In 2006, Shakira and Alejandro Sanz worked together in the duet "Te lo Agradezco, Pero No", which was a top ten hit in Latin America, and topped Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart. In early 2007, Shakira worked with American R&B singer Beyoncé Knowles in the track "Beautiful Liar", which jumped 91 positions, from 94 to 3, on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, setting the record for the largest upward movement in the history of the chart. It was also No. 1 on the official UK Singles Chart.

In 2000, Shakira started dating Antonio de la Rúa, the son of the then president of Argentina Fernando de la Rúa, and both are engaged till now. ‎Shakira is well known for her dancing in various music videos and in concert. Her moves are based on the art of Arabic belly dancing, a part of her Lebanese heritage.

In 1997, Shakira founded the Pies Descalzos Foundation, which is a Colombian charity with special schools for poor children. In 2002 she sang at a Party in the Park concert fundraising for the Prince's Trust. That same year she performed at Divas Live which supports VH1's Save the Music Foundation. Shakira is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and is one of their global representatives. In 2007, Shakira's newest charity, ALAS Foundation (America Latina en Accion Solidaria--- Latin America for Solidarity), donated $40 million to help the victims of natural disasters. Shakira is to be the Honorary Chair for Action Week 2008 (April 21 to 28). The event is put together by the Global Campaign for Education to generate awareness on education for all.