Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll known simply as Shakira, is a Colombian contralto singer, songwriter, instrumentalist, record producer, dancer, philanthropist and occasional actress who has been a major figure in the pop music scene of Latin America since the mid-1990s. In 2001, she broke through into the English-speaking world with the release of Laundry Service, which sold over fifteen million copies worldwide. A two-time Grammy Award-winning, seven-time Latin Grammy Award-winning and Golden Globe-nominated, Shakira is the highest-selling Colombian artist of all time, having sold more than 50 million albums worldwide according to BMI. She is also the only artist from South America to reach the number-one spot on the Billboard Hot 100, the Australian ARIA chart, the United World Chart and the UK Singles Chart.

According to the United World Chart, Shakira is as of 2007 the 6th most successful artist so far from the 2000s. She is also the only artist to have two songs in the top ten of the most successful singles since 1999. She has a total of four, the lowest one being number 51.

‎Shakira is well known for her dancing in various music videos and in concert. Her moves are based on the art of Turkish-Arabic belly dancing, a part of her Lebanese heritage (her father is Lebanese). She knows the power of her feet and often performs barefoot. Shakira says she learned this form of dance as a young teen to overcome her shyness. The intense training has afforded her a fluidity in her body movement most seen in the videos to her hits "Ojos Así", "La Tortura", "Hips Don't Lie" and "Beautiful Liar". She has had several belly dance choreographers, including award-winning Bellydance Superstar Boženka. As the MTV Making the Video for "La Tortura" reveals, she worked with Jamie King on the choreography, but ended up creating most of it herself.

Birth name: Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll
Also known as: Shaki
Born: February 2, 1977, Barranquilla, Atlántico, Colombia
Genres: Pop, latin pop, rock en Español, pop rock
Occupations: Singer-songwriter, record producer, philanthropist, dancer, actress, music video director
Instruments: Vocals, guitar, harmonica, drums
Years active: 1990's – present
Labels: Sony BMG, Epic
Associated acts: Alejandro Sanz, Gustavo Cerati, Wyclef Jean, Carlos Santana, Beyoncé Knowles, Miguel Bosé