Shakira

Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll was born in Colombia in 1977. Her musical talent and her great vocal range became evident when she started performing in school plays and musicals. She gained critical acclaim when she entered the Colombian music scene in the early to mid-1990s. Her first two albums flopped and Shakira decided to let her producers go. She felt that developing her own signature style would lead to more fruitful musical productions. The album Pies Descalzos, which she released in 1995, gave her a reputation as a talented singer and songwriter in South America and Spain. Her next album, Donde Estan las Ladrones, sold more than 10 million copies worldwide.
Her first English song, Whenever, Wherever, made her an overnight superstar other. The single topped the charts of many nations and her first English album, Laundry Service, sold more than 20 million copies. Her song Hips Don't Lie became the best selling single of the 2000s. Several singles, among them collaborations with some of the most popular and reputable Spanish singers in South America, and albums have followed since.

Shakira was also cast in small television roles. In the Colombian telenovela El Oasis, she played the character of Luisa Maria in 1994. In 2009, she appeared as herself in the American hit show Ugly Betty.

Shakira likes to use her famous name for good causes. She founded the Pies Descalzos Foundation in 1995. This charity helps educate poor children from Colombia in special schools. She has serenaded her successful pop hits at countless charity concerts around the world. Due to her commitment, compassion and willingness to help those in need, she was awarded the role of UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. The good causes she supports are diverse and she is one of the most charitable celebrities (OK Magazine).

In 2010, Shakira was offered her own perfume line in collaboration with the house Puig. Her first fragrance, S, is an oriental-floral scent built around prominent notes of jasmine, sandalwood, benzoin, vanilla and amber. Her second fragrance, S by Shakira Eau Florale, is a floral-fruity composition with dominant moods of blackberry, raspberry, currant, heliotrope and vanilla.