50 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Shakira

Shakira is a Grammy-winning Latina pop singer, a philanthropist, activist, wife and mother, Here are 50 interesting facts about this talented singer.

1. Her father is a Lebanese, while her mother is a Spanish-Italian. Her father's name is William Mebarak Chadid and mother's name is Nidia del Carmen Ripoll Torrado.

2. Her full name is Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll.

3. Shakira is the youngest of eight siblings.

4. 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.

5. Shakira is Arabic for "grateful" or "full of grace."

6. When she was a teenager, she represented Colombia at the Festival Vina del Mar and earned the third place through her own song, "Eres."

7. Her Lebanese grandmother taught her the art of Arabian Belly Dancing so she can stay true to her Middle Eastern roots.

8. She recorded her very first album when she was only 13.

9. One of her first songs was called 'Tus Gafas Oscuras' (Your Dark Glasses), about her father's grief at the loss of his son in a car accident.

10. Her album "Laundry Service" is her first English Album. It's been certified 4 times platinum. She named it "Laundry Service" because she loves she feels "clean and fresh".

11. Steven Spielberg offered her a part in his film 'The Mask of Zorro' in 1998. However, she felt unable to accept, as she believed her English wasn't good enough. The role went to Catherine Zeta Jones.

12. Doll manufacturer Mattel has made several dolls inspired by the 'Shakira' look.

13. She was granted Humanitarian award on April 3, 2006 for starting a charitable foundation, Barefoot, to help children in her native Colombia escape violence.

14. She's fluent in Portuguese, Italian, English, Spanish and Arabic.

15. Shakira doesn't drink alcohol and coffee, nor does smoke.

16. Teamed up with fellow Colombian author Gabriel Garcia Marquez to launch a child poverty foundation, "America Latina en Accion Solidaria" or Latin America in Solidarity Action, aimed at fighting poverty in Latin America (December 2006).

17. She is immortalized with a 5-meter (16-foot) iron statue in her home city on Colombia's Caribbean coast.

18. If she wasn't a singer, she would like to be a psychologist or an astronomer.

19. Her favorite flowers are daisy and sunflower.

20. Her nickname is Shaki.

21. She is an avid painter and one of her favorite things to paint is fried eggs.

22. Shakira does not have a single tattoo on her body.

23. She is a huge fan of Gloria Estefan and appreciates what she has done for Latin music.

24. Her favorite colors are black and white.

25. Her favorite bands are The Police and U2 whose song, "With or Without You," is her most favorite tune.

26. Her favorite food is mojarra fried with patacon, Arabian food, seafood, and chocolate balls.

27. Her favorite book is Khalil Gibran's "The Prophet," while her favorite author is Oriana Falacci.

28. Shakira is a smarty-pants with an IQ of 140. The average is 100.

29. Shakira began dating the son of the then president of Argentina, Antonio de la Rúa in 2000. However, in 2011, after 11 years together, the couple announced their plans to separate.

30. She does not like her ears so that she does not like her hair up and often tries to cover them while her hair is arranged in ponytails.

31. Her favorite actor is Hugh Grant

32. Auctioned off more than 40 stage costumes she wore on her 2007 Oral Fixation tour on Website eBay Giving Works to raise funds for her "Bare Feet Foundation," a leading project to build a school for impoverished kids in Colombia (February 2008).

33. Despite having adoring fans, she did have a run in with a fanatic fan who had a bag of cement and attacked her. Fortunately, she was not hurt in the process.

34. She is not fond of wearing jewelry.

35. Shakira loves chocolate but is not fond of candy.

36. Her record label Sony maintsays Shakira is the biggest selling Colombian artist of all time, with sales between 50 to 60 million albums.

37. She has made cameo appearances on Ugly Betty and Wizards of Waverly Place, both times playing herself.

38. Shakira was invited to The White House by President Obama in 2010 to discuss early childhood development and in 2011 was appointed as a member of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics.

39. Shakira received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2011.

40. Shakira met Gerard Pique in 2010 when he appeared in her video for "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)," the official song of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

41. Shakira revealed in March 2011 that she is in a relationship with Spanish footballer Gerard Pique, who is ten years her junior.

42. Shakira and Gerard Pique share the same birthday, February 2nd.

43. The couple welcomed their baby boy Milan to the world on January 22, 2013.

44. Returned to work two months after giving birth to her son Milan in order to begin coaching on "The Voice".

45. Shakira is 5′ 2″, while Pique is 6′ 4″.

46. She owns homes in the Bahamas; Miami; Barranquilla, Colombia; and Barcelona, Spain.

47. She has three dogs - Coquito, Chan and Gordita.

48. She likes to play golf, tennis, basketball and swimming.

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