Shakira

Shakira began belly dancing as a child and was performing for classmates by age four. By age nine, she had received a guitar from her aunt and started composing songs, including "Tus Gafas Obscuras," which she dedicated to her father. She also entered and won local talent competitions after being rejected by her school choir.

Local theater producer Monica Ariza helped arrange an audition with Sony executive Ciro Vargas. Although Sony executives initially rejected Shakira's demo tape, Vargas organized a live audition that led to a three-record contract. Her early albums, Magia and Peligro, achieved limited success, and she later acted in the Colombian telenovela El oasis.

Her breakthrough came with Pies descalzos in 1995. The album included "Estoy Aquí," "Pienso en Ti," and "Un Poco de Amor," and established her as a major Latin American recording artist. She followed it with ¿Dónde están los ladrones? in 1998, an album that combined pop-rock with world music influences and produced several successful singles.

Shakira expanded her audience through MTV Unplugged, whose associated album won the Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Album in 2001. She wrote her own English lyrics while preparing to enter the English-language market, rather than relying on translations of her Spanish songs.

Her first English-language album, Laundry Service, was released in 2001 and reached number three on the Billboard album chart. It sold more than 13 million copies worldwide, while "Whenever, Wherever" and "Underneath Your Clothes" became top-10 hits in the United States.

In 2005 she released the Spanish-language Fijación Oral, Vol. 1 and the English-language Oral Fixation, Vol. 2. The releases served both her established Latin American audience and her growing international following. "La Tortura," featuring Alejandro Sanz, remained at the top of the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart for 25 weeks, while "Hips Don't Lie," featuring Wyclef Jean, became an international number-one hit in 2006.

Shakira adopted an electro-pop sound for She Wolf in 2009, then recorded "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)" as the official song of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The song appeared on Sale el sol, which won the Latin Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Album.

Shakira served as a coach on the American singing competition The Voice in 2013 and 2014. Her self-titled album, Shakira, followed in 2014 and included duets with Rihanna and Blake Shelton, one of her fellow coaches. She also performed at the closing ceremony of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Her 2017 album El Dorado won the Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Album and the Latin Grammy for Best Contemporary Pop Vocal Album. The album's "La bicicleta," a duet with Carlos Vives, won Latin Grammys for Record of the Year and Song of the Year. A vocal-cord medical emergency delayed part of the tour connected with the album.

In 2020, Shakira and Jennifer Lopez performed together during the Super Bowl LIV halftime show. Their performance incorporated salsa, rumba, mambo, samba, mapalé, and champeta. Shakira later released singles including "Don't Wait Up" and "Don't You Worry," the latter featuring the Black Eyed Peas.

Her 2024 album Las mujeres ya no lloran included "Te felicito" with Rauw Alejandro and "Shakira: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53" with Bizarrap. The latter became a global chart-topper after the end of Shakira's relationship with Spanish footballer Gerard Piqué, with whom she has two sons, Milan and Sasha. The album won the Grammy for Best Latin Pop Album in 2025.

Shakira voiced Gazelle in the animated film Zootopia in 2016 and recorded a song for its soundtrack. She later served as an executive producer and judge on the television competition Dancing with Myself in 2022, which ran for one season.

In 1995 she founded the Pies Descalzos Foundation, also known as the Barefoot Foundation, to support Colombian children affected by violence. Its programs have addressed education, nutrition, clothing, and other essential needs, and the foundation has opened schools in impoverished areas of Colombia.

Shakira became a UNICEF goodwill ambassador in 2003 and used her international profile to advocate for children's issues, Colombia, and Latin America. She has also performed at benefit concerts, supported disaster-recovery efforts, donated face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic, and spoken about human rights violations in Colombia.

Shakira faced a lengthy Spanish investigation into tax fraud allegations after her name appeared in the 2017 Paradise Papers leak. Spanish authorities charged her, and the case was approved for trial in 2022.

In 2023, she reached a settlement that ended the case. Her later music, including "Shakira: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53," addressed the end of her relationship with Gerard Piqué while contributing to the public profile of Las mujeres ya no lloran.