Birth name: Shakira Isabel Mebarak RipollBorn: February 2, 1977 (age 35)Barranquilla, ColombiaOccupations: Singer-songwriter, record producer, philanthropist, dancer

• Shakira is a Colombian singer-songwriter, dancer, record producer, choreographer and model who emerged in the music scene of Colombia and Latin America in the early 1990s. Born and raised in Barranquilla, Shakira began performing in school, demonstrating her vocal ability with rock and roll, Latin and Arabic influences with her own original twist on belly dancing. Shakira is a native Spanish speaker and also speaks fluent English and Portuguese as well as some Italian, French, Catalan and Arabic.

PITBULL PITBULL

Born: January 15, 1981 (age 31), MiamiHeight: 1.77 mFull name: Armando Christian PérezNationality: American

• Armando Cristian Pérez, better known by his stage name Pitbull, is an American rapper, songwriter, actor and record producer. His first recorded performance was from the Lil Jon album Kings of Crunk in 2002.

• Perez was born to Cuban parents in Miami, FL. When he was three, he could recite the works of Cuba's national hero and poet, José Martí. He encountered problems early in his career as a rapper because he is white, has blue eyes, is from the South and is Cuban.He was also influenced by the Miami bass genre of pop music and has cited Celia Cruz and Willy Chirino as sources of inspiration for his music. Perez's parents separated when he was young, and he was raised by his mother. He later spent time with a foster family in Roswell, Georgia. At age 16, his mother kicked him out of their house after he became a drug dealer, as had his father before him. He then graduated from Miami Coral Park High School and focused his career in rapping.

PITBULL EARLY LIFE