Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, better known professionally as Shakira, is a Colombian singer, songwriter, dancer, businesswoman, and philanthropist. Born and raised in Barranquilla, she began performing in school, demonstrating Latin American, Arabic, and rock and roll influences and belly dancing abilities. Shakira's first studio albums, Magia and Peligro, failed to attain commercial success in the 1990s; however, she rose to prominence in Latin America with her major-label debut, Pies Descalzos (1996), and her fourth album, Dónde Están los Ladrones? (1998). As of 2001, she had sold over 10 million albums alone in Latin America.
