The Samba Queen Shakira

Born Shakira Mebarak Ripoll on February 2, 1977, in the coastal city of Barranquilla, Colombia, Shakira is the youngest sibling of her parents' eight children. Her name, which in Arabic means "woman full of grace," belies her ancestry.

Her father William Mebarak, who is American of Lebanese descent--a jeweler and writer and Colombian mother, Nidia Ripoll, both supported their daughter's ambition of becoming a singer. Shakira knew early on that she wanted to be a professional musician and by the time she was 8, she was already writing her own songs. This undeniable prodigy even began playing the guitar by 11 years of age. Shakira was making her musical talent known by winning talent shows playing the guitar, and she was even kicked out of her school choir because her voice drowned out the other choir singers. She started winning local and national talent contests at age 10.
By 13, she had signed a record deal with Sony in Colombia, which resulted in her first album, Magia (Magic), a compilation of songs she wrote between the ages of 8 and 13. It was an effort that put Shakira in Colombia's musical map, and led to her being chosen to represent her country at the Fesival OTI in Spain. Because she was under the minimum age of 16, she wasn't allowed to participate. So instead, Shakira recorded a second album of original material, Peligro (Danger).
At that point, not neglecting her education, Shakira took a break from music and returned to school to receive her high school diploma and came back with a vengeance.

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