On February 2nd in 1977, little Shakira Isobel Mebarak Ripoll was brought

into this kind, fun-loving world in Barranquilla, Colombia. Her

parents decided to name her Shakira, which means "Woman full

of grace" in Arabic. They could have not dreamt of how well this

name described the now 23 year-old Rock singer. By the age of

10 Shakira had already conquered the art of writing songs and

had written over 40 songs. In hopes of becoming a singer,

she decided to leave her poverty-stricken family at the age of 13.

She moved to Bogota to become a model and later hoped to become

a singer. While on a long flight with some of her friends, her

friends urged her to take out her guitar and start singing some of

her music. After much pleading, she agreed. Not knowing that a Sony

Record Producer had been sitting nearby, he listened attentively.

Sony then offered her a record deal and she grasciously accepted.

When she turned 14, her first album, "Magia", was release (Only in

Colombia). Her second album, "Peligro" was released later. Both were

were unsuccessful. After these tragic outturn of events, Shakira decided

to start acting. Within a year, Sony wanted to record another record. They named it "Pies Descalzos".

It was recorded in 1995. Several months later "Estoy Aqui" gained lots of airplay around Latin America.

The CD sold over 4 million copies in several different countries. Shakira was nominated for a Grammy

award and won a World Music Award. In 1998, Shakira released a follow up album

named "Donde Estan Los Ladrones?". This album was even more

successful and made her the well known super star she is today. In the

year 2000, Shakira released an unplugged version of her biggest

hits, which also gave her a lot of attenti on. At the Latin Grammy

Awards she was nominated 5 times, but only walked away with 2

awards for "Best Female Rock Performance". She is

recognized all over the world today and you can hardly ever

turn to a Spanish station without hearing one of her many songs.