Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, known professionally as Shakira, was born on February 2nd 1977 and is a Colombian singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, dancer, and philanthropist who emerged in the music scene of Colombia and Latin America in the early 1990s. In 1995 she released 'Pies Descalzos', which brought her great fame in Latin America and Spain, and her 1998 album '¿Dónde Están los Ladrones?' was a critical success selling over 7 million copies worldwide. In 2001, aided by the worldwide success of her first English single 'Whenever, Wherever', that became the best selling single of 2002, she broke through into the English-speaking world with the release of her album 'Laundry Service', which sold over 13 million copies worldwide. Four years later, Shakira released two album projects called 'Fijación Oral Vol. 1' and 'Oral Fixation Vol. 2'. Both reinforced her success, particularly with the best selling song of the 2000s, 'Hips Don't Lie'.
In 1995, Shakira founded the Pies Descalzos Foundation. It is a Colombian charity with special schools for poor children all around Colombia. During her career, Shakira has performed at a large number of benefit concerts. Among the most famous are the Live 8 benefit concert in July 2005, the Live Earth concert, Hamburg where she headlined the show, as well as the "Clinton Global Initiative". She has won two Grammy Awards, seven Latin Grammy Awards, twelve Billboard Latin Music Awards and has been Golden Globe-nominated. She is also the highest-selling Colombian artist of all time. Shakira's 'Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)', was chosen as the official song for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The song has become a worldwide smash hit and the biggest selling World Cup song of all time.
