shakira biography book

Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Mitchell Lane Pub Inc (1 Jun. 2001)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Library Binding ‏ : ‎ 32 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1584150718
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1584150718
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 19.69 x 0.64 x 24.13 cm

About the author

Wayne l. wilson.

Wayne L. Wilson has authored novels, screenplays, PSAs, memoirs, biographies, history books, college textbooks, and a wide array of books for children and young adults. Furthermore, he’s served as a ghostwriter for various books and publications. Wilson received an MA in Education from UCLA and a BA in Sociology from UCSB. Before becoming an established writer he owned and operated a manufacturing company that published innovative multicultural greeting cards and related gift items. Wilson is a member of the Writer’s Guild of America. When he’s not writing Wayne is usually found playing with his German Shepherd, Koda.

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Who is Shakira?

Shakira is a Colombian musician who achieved success in both Spanish- and English-speaking markets. By the early 2000s she had become one of the most successful Latin American recording artists in the world. Her full name is Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll.

Who is Shakira married to?

In 2011 Shakira and Gerard Piqué made their relationship public. Piqué is a Spanish professional footballer (soccer player) who plays center-back for FC Barcelona . They have two children: Sasha Piqué Mebarak and Milan Piqué Mebarak. They are not married.

Does Shakira have an illness?

In 2017 Shakira suffered a hemorrhage of her right vocal cord , rendering her unable to sing. Despite being told by doctors that surgery was required, she refused and returned to the stage in 2018.

How did Shakira get her start?

Shakira started belly dancing as a child, and by age 10 she had begun writing songs and taking part in talent competitions. Her first largely successful album was Pies descalzos (1995), and in 2000 she won her first Grammy Award , for best Latin pop album ( MTV Unplugged ).

What awards has Shakira won?

Shakira boasts a large list of awards and nominations. She has received more than 700 nominations and has won more than 300 awards, including three Grammy Awards . In addition, Shakira has performed at many high-profile events, such as the 2020 Super Bowl halftime show along with Jennifer Lopez .

Shakira (born February 2, 1977, Barranquilla , Colombia) is a Colombian singer, songwriter, musician, and dancer who built a successful career in both Spanish - and English -speaking markets to become one of the most popular Latin American recording artists of the early 21st century.

Shakira, the daughter of a Lebanese father and a Colombian mother, started belly dancing at an early age. By age 10 she had begun writing songs and participating in talent competitions. A local theater producer helped her land an audition with a Sony Corp. executive in 1990, and Shakira was subsequently signed to a record deal. Her first two albums, Magia (1991) and Peligro (1993), were only moderately successful, however. After taking a break from recording to act in the Colombian telenovela El oasis , Shakira resumed her music career in impressive fashion with Pies descalzos (1995). The album produced several hits, including “Estoy aquí,” “Pienso en ti,” and “Un poco de amor.”

For her next English-language album, She Wolf (2009), Shakira adopted an electro-pop sound. The following year she scored another international hit with “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa),” a collaboration with South African band Freshlyground, after the song was chosen as the official anthem of the 2010 World Cup . The track also appears on her breezily eclectic Sale el sol (2010), which earned a Latin Grammy for best female pop vocal album.

In 2013–14 Shakira was a coach on the American televised singing competition The Voice . She returned to recording albums with Shakira (2014), which features duets with Rihanna and country singer Blake Shelton , one of her fellow coaches on The Voice . That same year Shakira performed the closing ceremony for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil . Her next album, El Dorado (2017), won the Grammy Award for best Latin pop album and the Latin Grammy for best contemporary pop vocal album. El Dorado ’s standout track was the single “La bicicleta,” a duet with Carlos Vives that won Latin Grammys for best record of the year and best song of the year. In 2020 Shakira and Jennifer Lopez performed in the Super Bowl halftime show. Their sensational performance showcased several Latin American music styles, including salsa , rumba , mambo, and samba . Shakira in particular was commended for bringing the mapalé and champeta , two Afro-Colombian dances that she performed, to a world stage.

Shakira had several hit singles in the next few years, including “Don’t Wait Up” (2021) and “Don’t You Worry” (2022), the latter of which paired her with the Black Eyed Peas . In 2024 she released her first album in seven years, Las mujeres ya no lloran , which features several songs that had proved themselves as hits in 2022 and 2023. These included “Te felicito” with Rauw Alejandro and a searing diss track aimed at her ex-boyfriend Gerard Piqué following their breakup called “Shakira: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53” with Bizarrap; the latter song was a global chart-topper and a top 10 hit in the United States.

Shakira lent her voice to the character of the Gazelle in the animated film Zootopia (2016) and appeared as a judge on the reality show Dancing with Myself (2022). She has also devoted considerable time and energy to social causes. In 2003 she became a UNICEF goodwill ambassador, traveling internationally to raise awareness of the struggles of children in less-developed countries. She also created the Pies Descalzos Foundation, which focuses on helping children displaced by violence in Colombia .

• Born February 2 , 1977 · Barranquilla, Colombia
• Birth name Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll
• Height 5′ 2″ (1.57 m)
• Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll was born on February 2, 1977 in Barranquilla, Colombia to Nidia del Carmen Mebarak (née Ripoll Torrado) & William Alberto Mebarak Chadid. She is of Lebanese, Spanish & Italian descent. Shakira began her musical career at the age of 12 and quickly captured fans around the world. She won the 2001 Best Latin pop Grammy for her MTV Unplugged album. - IMDb Mini Biography By: [email protected]
• Children Milan Piqué Sasha Piqué
• Parents William Mebarak Chadid Nidia del Carmen Ripoll Torrado
• Relatives Tonino Mebarak (Sibling) Patricia Mebarak (Sibling) Ana Mebarak (Sibling) Valerie Domínguez (Cousin) Adriana Tarud Durán (Cousin)
• Performs barefoot in most of her concerts
• Belly dancing
• Sexy dance moves
• Frequently wears tight clothes.
• Blonde dyed hair
• 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.
• The worst mistake of a woman is to go to the kitchen, because then she never gets out of there.
• I admire a person who, for the love of art, is able to take off their clothes in front of a camera. But I'm not capable, I'm too cowardly for that.
• It's not easy to work with me, I recognize that. It's not easy if those people aren't perfectionistic as as I am.
• The worst frustration for a singer is choosing a career in making music and then not being able to make music because you're always giving interviews.
• My brain, I believe, is the most beautiful part of my body.

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Rourke Educational Media Shakira: Stars of Latin Pop/Estrellas Del Pop Latino Biography-Biography About Award-Winning Colombian Superstar Shakira, . (32pgs) Reader (English and Spanish Edition)

Published by Carson Dellosa Education, 2021

ISBN 10: 1731642997 / ISBN 13: 9781731642998

Seller: Ergodebooks , Houston, TX, U.S.A.

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Softcover. Condition: Good. Bilingual. Book Features: 32 pages, about 7 inches x 9 inches Ages 8-14, Grades 3-8 Latin bi-lingual themed leveled readers Simple, easy-to-read pages with vibrant illustrations Features side-by-side English and Spanish text After-reading questions and activities includedThe Magic Of Reading: Introduce children to the magic of reading, culture, and music with Shakira: Stars of Latin Pop/Estrellas del Pop Latino. The 32-page book features vibrant photos and interesting facts about the world famous Colombian superstar.Stars Of Latin Pop: Shakira is an award-winning Colombian singer and dancer, but did you know that she also helps build schools and reduce poverty in struggling communities? Get to know all about Shakira's life, achievements, and passion!Features: More than just an engaging story full of interesting facts about the superstar, the kids book also features glossary words, vibrant photography, comprehension questions, and reading activities for added reading engagement.Bilingual Literacy: This pop culture book includes side-by-side English and Spanish text to promote bilingual literacy and enhance your childs reading comprehension skills.Why Rourke Educational Media: Since 1980, Rourke Publishing Company has specialized in publishing engaging and diverse non-fiction and fiction books for children in a wide range of subjects that support reading success on a level that has no limits.

Biography Shakira

Krohn, Katherine

Published by Lerner Publishing Group, 2007

ISBN 10: 0822571595 / ISBN 13: 9780822571599

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Shakira (Biography)

Published by Twenty First Century Books, 2007

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Author: Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara

Illustrated by: Laura Diez

As a child, little Shakira knew she was  born to be performer.  Even as a little girl, she was  full of natural rhythm  and she was  obsessed with singing, writing songs and dancing  whenever she got the opportunity.

At 14 years old she recorded her first album, and although it wasn’t a success,  she knew she had found her calling.  She persevered, and within four years she had  finally got her first hit!  She soon became a  Latin American icon , winning many awards and creating global hits across the world, becoming widely known as the  Queen of Latin Music.

With her fame, Shakira started a foundation to help children in her native country, Colombia and other developing countries across the world, providing them with  education and the chance of a better future.

This inspiring book features  stylish and quirky illustrations  and  extra facts at the back , including a  biographical timeline  with historical photos and a detailed profile of the iconic singer’s life.

Format: Hardback, 32 pages

ISBN: US 9780711283107, UK 9780711283091

Size: 9.449in x 7.677in / 240mm x 195mm

Published: February 9, 2023

• Illustrator

Reviews coming soon!

Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara

Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara, born in Barcelona, Spain, is a writer and creative director in constant search of new concepts for children's books. Working for more than fifteen years for clients in top advertising agencies, her books combine creativity with learning, aiming to establish a new and fresh relationship between children and pop culture.

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Meet Elton John, the piano wizard who rocketed to stardom with his music. As a child, Elton started playing his grandmother's piano in Harrow, London. … Read more »

Little People, BIG DREAMS Sticker Activity Book

Featuring coloring, stickers, search & find, connect-the-dots, spot the difference, mazes, and more, in paperback format, discover an activity book companion to the Little People, … Read more »

Little People, BIG DREAMS Coloring Book

Grab your coloring pencils and get creative, with Little People, BIG DREAMS! 15 famous faces are featured in this coloring book accompaniment to the best-selling … Read more »

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From the critically acclaimed, multimillion-copy bestselling Little People, BIG DREAMS series, discover the life of Shakira, the world’s most popular Latin American singer. As a child, little Shakira knew she was born to be performer. Even as a little girl, she was full of natural rhythm and she was obsessed with singing, writing songs and dancing whenever she got the opportunity. At 14 years old she recorded her first album, and although it wasn’t a success, she knew she had found her calling. She persevered, and within four years she had finally got her first hit! She soon became a Latin American icon, winning many awards and creating global hits across the world, becoming widely known as the Queen of Latin Music. With her fame, Shakira started a foundation to help children in her native country, Colombia and other developing countries across the world, providing them with education and the chance of a better future. This inspiring book features stylish and quirky illustrations and extra facts at the back, including a biographical timeline with historical photos and a detailed profile of the iconic singer’s life. ​Little People, BIG DREAMS is a bestselling series of books and educational games that explore the lives of outstanding people, from designers and artists to scientists and activists. All of them achieved incredible things, yet each began life as a child with a dream.

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The Creative Behind the Book

Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara, born in Barcelona, Spain, is a writer and creative director in constant search of new concepts for children’s books and the author of the multimillion-copy best-selling Little People, BIG DREAMS series of picture books that explore the lives of outstanding people. Working for more than fifteen years for clients in top advertising agencies, her books combine creativity with learning, aiming to establish a new and fresh relationship between children and pop culture. ​

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Are You There, Readers? It's a New Judy Blume Biography. Read an Exclusive Excerpt Here (Exclusive)

In 'The Genius of Judy' we meet the author like never before, and learn how she became one of the most-banned authors of the 1980s

Theo Wargo/WireImage; One Signal Publishers

Judy Blume 's frank, honest books about young people facing very real problems made teens and tweens feel seen. But that often landed her in hot water.

Now, The Genius of Judy: How Judy Blume Rewrote Childhood for All of Us by Rachelle Bergstein (out July 16) explores not only how Blume, 86, went from a mother of two looking for a way to express herself to a writer on the front lines of the culture wars.

Blume's novels — Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret , Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing , Blubber and others — seemed simple on the surface, but they dealt with the at-the-time revolutionary idea that girls deserved bodily autonomy, careers of their own and and even sexual enjoyment. By the mid-1980s, she was the country's most-banned author.

Now, book bans are surging across the country , with the American Library Association finding the number of titles targeted for censorship surged 65% in 2023 compared to 2022. That's the highest level ever documented in more than 20 years of tracking those statistics.

Below, read an exclusive excerpt on where some of Blume's inspiration came from.

One Signal Publishers

There’s nothing remarkable about Margaret Simon. She is 11  years old, an only child who has just moved from New York City to the (fictional) suburb of Farbrook, N.J. She likes boys, wants  to impress her friends, and is impatient to grow her hair longer. She  finds adults and their preoccupations a bit funny, like when it’s humid  outside, she catches her mother sneakily trying to sniff her own armpits.  She is neither shy nor especially outgoing. She’s being raised in a dual=faith household, which in practice means a no-faith household, because  the topic of religion is so fraught. As a result, it’s up to her to figure out  her own private understanding of God. 

All of these details add up to a portrait of a regular adolescent girl.  

And that’s what makes Margaret Simon special. She isn’t remarkable — but she is real. 

Letters to Jackson from 1969 reveal that while Judy was excited about publishing Iggie’s House , the project that had captured her imagination was her as-yet-untitled novel-in-progress. Unlike Iggie, which took a  child’s view of a contemporary social issue, Margaret Simon — as Blume  referred to the draft manuscript — was born from Judy’s own memories. “In Margaret , I decided I’m going to write about what sixth grade was really like for me,” she told the Daily News in 1976. “The personal parts  about Margaret were true.” 

Victoria Sirakova/Getty

Judy turned eleven in the winter of 1949, four years after the war ended with a cataclysmic blast on the other side of the world and well  into the Truman presidency, when everyone in America was just trying  to go back to normal. Well, not exactly normal — the post-war economy was booming. The middle class had gotten a buff and a polish. Families of four or even five could thrive on one income, which meant kids were liberated from hovering psychic burdens like work and the draft and could concentrate on being children for a little bit longer than previous  generations. That’s how the adolescent, focused on school and socializing, was born. 

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As a child, Judy was daddy’s little girl. Her parents, Rudolph and Essie, both grew up in Elizabeth and met when they were finishing high school. They married young, him dark-haired and dapper, her slender, serious and blond. They stayed in town, where they had lots of family living nearby. Essie, an introvert who loved books, was a guarded person, keeping her feelings under wraps. Rudolph, on the other hand, was  dynamic — he was funny and charming. He owned his own dental practice and was widely admired within the community. Judy thought of him  as a natural philosopher who just happened to fix teeth for a living. 

Her father was her go-to parent for comfort and affection, the one who indulged her in round after round of hide-and-seek, took her temperature when she was sick, and soothed her during thunderstorms (one boom was enough to send her leaping across the room). She rewarded  him with a special nickname: Doey-Bird. Every night before bed, she gave him his “treatment,” which was a series of kisses and hugs, always doled out in the same pattern.

Blume described it in her 1977 autobiographical novel, Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself, as “a sliding kiss, three quick hugs ... finished with a butterfly kiss on his nose.” 

The Sussmans were Jewish, so Margaret’s struggle with religion — in which she seeks out both Jewish and Christian experiences as part of a  yearlong project to clarify her faith — wasn’t Judy’s. But when it came to  Margaret’s secret, intimate relationship with God, that was all her. From the first page of the book, Margaret whispers a prayer, as if conjuring an imaginary friend. 

“ Are you there God? It’s me, Margaret,” she begins, as she does with every quiet appeal to God throughout the novel. “We’re moving today.  I’m so scared God ... Don’t let New Jersey be too horrible. Thank you.” 

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Judy spoke to God, too, mostly as a way of coping with her anxiety about her father’s mortality. He was ostensibly healthy, but much of her childhood was shaped by illness and death. Not just the Holocaust, though whispers about the camps made her shudder. With many generations of family around, there were inevitably a lot of funerals, followed by  intense, seven-day shivahs. She was terrified Rudolph was going to die  young — at the age of 42, to be exact. He was the youngest of seven children and two of his older brothers, also dentists, had unexpectedly  passed away at that age.

Please , she prayed to whoever might be listening,  not Doey, too. Sally has the same fear in Sally J. Freedman : “ Let Doey-Bird  get through this bad year ... this year of being 42 ... we need him God ... we love him,” Sally begs in her bed at night. “You wouldn’t let three  brothers die at the same age, would you? But somewhere in the back of her mind she remembered hearing that bad things always happen in threes.” 

Her fear of something happening to Doey was so overwhelming that Judy became compulsive. “I made bargains with God,” Blume wrote in  her 1986 collection of children’s letters, Letters to Judy: What Kids Wish They Could Tell You. "I became ritualistic, inventing prayers that had to be  repeated seven times a day, in order to keep my father safe and healthy.” 

She also felt like she needed to keep her worries to herself. Her brother, David, was the problem child, so she felt pressure to be perfect, fulfilling Rudolph and Essie’s expectations for both of them. From a young age, David was brilliant but inscrutable. He was rebellious — once, he got sent  home from kindergarten after kicking his teacher in the stomach.

When Judy was going into third grade, David developed a kidney infection so  persistent that Essie moved the three of them south to Miami for the year, hoping the sea air would cure him. It worked, but it also meant that Judy only saw her beloved father on holidays, when he could get away from the office and fly down. 

More and more she learned to hide things from her family. Essie needed her to be easy, talented, popular, happy — and so Judy learned to give her just that. 

Copyright © 2023 by Rachelle Bergstein. From the forthcoming book THE GENIUS OF JUDY by Rachelle Bergstein to be published by One Signal Publishers, an Imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc.. Printed by permission.  

 The Genius of Judy: How Judy Blume Rewrote Childhood for All of Us is out July 16, and is available for preorder now, wherever books are sold.

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