'''Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll''' (born IPA pronunciation:
According to the ''Colombian of Spanish and Italian ancestry, and William Mebarak Chadid, an American of Lebanese descent. Her father also had eight children with his former wife.
Shakira means "grateful" or "thankful" (شاكِرة) in Arabic
Shakira wrote her first poem, entitled "La Rosa De Cristal" ("The Glass Rose") when she was only four years old. After receiving a typewriter as a gift, she began to write poems constantly. Her poems eventually evolved into songs. At the age of eight, after an older brother was killed in a motorcycle accident, Shakira became inspired to write her first song.