Getty Shakira was born on February 2, 1977, making her 43 years old today. The Latin pop star stands at 5-foot-2-inches tall and has been dating Spanish footballer Gerard Piqué since 2011.
Shakira, whose full name is Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, was born on February 2, 1977, making her 43 years old today. The Latin pop superstar stands at 5-foot-2-inches tall, or 157 cm, and has been dating Spanish footballer Gerard Piqué since 2011.
Shakira will be performing alongside fellow pop star Jennifer Lopez during the Super Bowl LIV Halftime Show on February 2, 2020. With all eyes on Shakira during halftime, fans might be curious about her personal life, including her rise to fame, where she was born and raised and her dating history. Here’s what we know:
Shakira Signed Her First Record Deal at 13 Years Old
Shakira was born and raised in Barranquilla, Colombia, by a Lebanese father and Colombian mother. According to Biography, the Latin star has always attempted to honor both her Latin and Arabic heritage in her music. She was raised Catholic, and her name is Arabic for “grateful.”
Shakira got her start in the music industry at a very young age — she wrote her first song at 8 years old and signed her first record deal at 13, according to All Music. Her 1991 debut album, Magia, consisted of songs she’d written over several years of her childhood, including some of her earliest melodies. She released her 1995 album, Pies Descalzos, which featured several hit singles like “Dónde Estás Corazón?” “Antología,” “Pienso en Ti,” “Un Poco de Amor” and “Se Quiere, Se Mata” and quickly rose to fame. The album hit number one in eight different countries and eventually went platinum in the U.S., All Music reported.
After Shakira signed Gloria Estefan’s husband Emilio as her manager and music producer, the young pop star’s career soared. The album that followed — Dónde Están los Ladrones? — became an even bigger worldwide hit than its predecessor, according to All Music. From there, Shakira quickly became one of the youngest and most celebrated Latin artists in history.
She Has Won Three Grammy Awards & Shares a Birthday & Two Children With Gerard Piqué
Throughout the years, Shakira has won three Grammy Awards and was nominated for six altogether. The pop superstar won Best Latin Pop Album in 2001, Best Latin Rock/Alternative Album in 2006 and Best Latin Pop Album in 2018, according to IMDb. Shakira has also been nominated for a Golden Globe, several MTV Video Music Awards and a BET, among many others.
Shakira has been dating longtime partner and professional Spanish footballer Gerard Piqué since 2011. The couple shares two children together — Milan, 6, and Sasha, 4 — as well as a birthday (although Piqué is 10 years younger than Shakira).
Although the celebrity couple typically keeps their relationship and family life as private as possible, the Latin singer has opened up about her longtime love in the past. In a 2013 interview, Shakira told Elle that meeting Piqué restored her faith in God.
“I think, if you can prove the existence of God, it can only be proven through love. I even had lost my faith for a while. I was becoming an agnostic,” she said. “And it was really hard, because I was always very religious, and for a few years, maybe because — it sounds so corny — I was not feeling the love like it was supposed to be, I started to think that there was no God. And suddenly I meet Gerard and the sun comes out.”
Tune in Sunday, February 2, 2020, at 6:30 p.m. EST to catch Super Bowl LIV on Fox, followed by Lopez and Shakira’s halftime show after the second quarter. In the meantime, check out this author’s profile for all of your TV coverage and the latest in entertainment news.