Trivia

Fluent in English and Portuguese, in addition to her native Spanish. She also speaks some Italian and French. Portuguese was the first language she learned after Spanish.

Her Lebanese grandmother taught her the art of Arabian belly dancing so she can stay true to her Middle Eastern roots.

Shakira means grateful in Arabic.

Has perfect pitch: the ability to recognize any note upon hearing it or sing any note without prior to hearing it.

Is a huge fan of Bollywood movies and music from India. She got in touch with Farah Khan, the most famous choreographer in India, and asked her if she could choreograph a dance for her performance at the 2006 MTV Video Awards. That night, Shakira's performance was the most memorable one as she sang and danced to "Hips Don't Lie" in traditional Indian clothing.

Lost her suitcase with all her songs from "Dónde están los ladrones?" in an airport in Bogotá, Colombia. This happened a couple of months before she walked into the recording studio to begin that album.

Returned to work two months after giving birth to her son, Milan, in order to begin coaching on The Voice (2011).

When she was two years old, her oldest half-brother died in an accident while he was riding a motorcycle and a drunk man hit him with his car.

Her mother is Colombian-born, with a background that includes Spanish (Catalan and Castilian), and some Italian. Her father was born in New York City to Alberto Mebarak Spath and Isabel Chadid Baizer, both of Lebanese ancestry, and moved to Colombia at a young age.

Mattel put out several Barbie dolls inspired by Shakira and her look.

She wrote her first poem, "La rosa de cristal", when she was four years old.

Her oldest half-sister, Lucy, is a surgeon; Alberto, her half-brother, is a lawyer; Moisés is the third child; Tonino is the fourth child and the closest to Shakira, having worked many years as her road manager. Then is Patricia, who lives in Spain and is a special education teacher; finally, there are Antonio and Edward, the youngest, who lives in Miami.

Is the youngest of eight siblings.

Has homes in the Bahamas; Miami; Barranquilla, Colombia; and Barcelona, Spain.

Lists John Lennon as her #1 music influence.

Her half-brother died at a motorcycle accident when she was age two. At the age of eight, she wrote her first song entitled "Tus Gafas Oscuras", which was inspired by her father because he always wore dark glasses to hide his grief.

While promoting "Pies descalzos", she returned to Barranquilla in 1997 for a huge homecoming concert, the first one since becoming a star. Tragedy struck that night when the venue failed to control the 50,000 fans rushing in to see their star. Two people ended up being trampled to death, and this deeply affected her.

Named her album "Laundry Service" because when she is in love she feels "clean and fresh".

Her cousin is fashion designer and Miss Colombia 2006, Valerie Domínguez Tarud.

Sports: likes to play golf, tennis, basketball and swimming.

Bought her parents a home in Nassau, Bahamas.

Shares the same birthday with her ex-boyfriend and the father of her children Gerard Piqué.

Ranked #9 in Stuff magazine's "102 Sexiest Women in the World". (2002)

"Hips Don't Lie" instantly soared to the top of the charts in many countries and was at the very top for many months. It won numerous awards and was performed all over the world along with Wyclef Jean. It is a remake of "Dance Like This", recorded by Wyclef for the Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights Soundtrack in 2004, with Claudette Ortiz.

Daughter of William Mebarak Chadid and Nidia del Carmen Ripoll Torrado.

The first English song she wrote was "Objection", from the album "Laundry Service" (2001).

Her manager for Latin America, Patricia Téllez, the woman who helped her go from being a local artist to Grammy-winning global artist, died of a heart attack in Bogotá, Colombia, on August 17, 2004.

Best concert she ever saw - Depeche Mode.

Was appointed by Barack Obama to serve on his Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics. However, her alleged expertise in early childhood education has been under scrutiny by educators who point out her zero years of teaching experience and lack of a college degree.

Dated Antonio de la Rúa from January 2000 to August 2010.

Protege of Emilio Estefan Jr..

Was one of a list of celebrities erroneously reported to have a certified-genius IQ by Mensa. A press release by the organization stated that, "Mensa International has not issued a list of celebrity members recently. Mensa International would like it to be known that it does not issue lists of Mensa members to the press or outside Mensa, nor disclose individual IQ scores to anyone." Other celebrities included in this false list were Madonna, Steve Martin, Quentin Tarantino and James Woods.

She is one of the few popular singers who releases her songs in both English and Spanish.

Was considered for the role of Ally Campano-Maine in Nace una estrella (2018) but Lady Gaga was cast.

Delivered her son, Milan, via caesarean section.

Ranked #76 in FHM magazine's "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2005" special supplement.

Attended La Enseñanza School in Barranquilla.

She was attached to play Mimi in a television miniseries based on the Broadway musical "Rent", with Neil Patrick Harris as Mark Cohen, Wilson Cruz as Angel, and Rikki Lee Travolta as Roger Davis, but the rights were pulled in order for Chris Columbus to make a film adaptation using much of the original Broadway cast.

Her recording of "La tortura" was a #1 hit in many countries, most of them in Europe.

Her favorite actor is Hugh Grant.

Has 2 sons: Milan Piqué (b. January 22, 2013) & Sasha Piqué (b. January 29, 2015) with ex-boyfriend, Gerard Piqué.

Ranked #18 in Men's Health magazine's 100 Hottest Women of All Time. (2011)

Ranked #38 on Maxim magazine's Hot 100 Women of 2007 list.

Ranked #33 on VH1's 100 Sexiest Artists.

Launch of her fragrance, S by Shakira. (2010)

Her album "Fijación oral, Vol. 1" is #1 on the Billboard Latin Albums Chart. (septiembre de 2005)

Her second English language album "Oral Fixation, Vol. 2" was released. (noviembre de 2005)

Ranked #20 in FHM magazine's "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2006" supplement.

In 1993, she performed as a contestant at the Viña del Mar International Music Festival (Chile). One of the members of the Jury was Ricky Martin. In 2013, she recalled this experience on Jimmy Kimmel Live! (2003). Learning that the city's name meant "Wineyard of the Sea" in English, Kimmel joked "it's like grapes in the Ocean, then!".

Her first tape was Donna Summers song "Bad Girls".