Explore Shakira’s beautiful homes from Uruguay to Miami

Shakira’s magnificent property journey

Shakira has come a long way from her modest childhood in Colombia. With homes in the Bahamas and Uruguay, the star has built up an impressive portfolio over the years including the Barcelona home at the centre of tax fraud allegations and her post-break-up bolthole in Miami.

Read on to retrace Shakira’s road to fame and step inside some of the amazing homes she has picked up along the way…

Where does Shakira live?

Following her split from former professional footballer Gerard Piqué in 2022 and their subsequent custody agreement, Shakira moved from Spain back to Miami with the couple’s two sons, Milan and Sasha, to be close to the rest of her wider family and to concentrate on her career.

According to British tabloid newspaper The Sun, she began househunting in 2023 while living in the luxury Miami Beach mansion she bought early in her career. In June 2024, Shakira returned to her native Colombia after her father was taken to hospital with respiratory complications and was spotted out with her children visiting restaurants and shopping.

Where is Shakira from?

The global icon, who is often considered the most successful Latin star of all time, with a staggering 95 million records sold over her three-decade career, and an estimated net worth of $300 million (£236m), has properties at her disposal around the world.

But she wasn’t born into such privileged circumstances. Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll was born on 2 February 1977, in the small town of Barranquilla, Colombia (pictured). She was raised Catholic and attended Catholic schools growing up, speaking often about her faith throughout her career.

With a Lebanese father, William Mebarak Chadid, and a Columbian mother, Nidia Ripoll, the star has nine half-siblings from her dad’s previous marriage.

Shakira’s family struggles

When she was just seven years old, Shakira’s father’s jewellery business went bankrupt and the family was plunged into poverty. In an essay she penned for Newsweek magazine, Shakira looked back on that difficult time:

“We had gone from being middle class to poor almost overnight, and from my 7-year-old child’s perspective, it was hard to imagine anything worse. I can still viscerally remember the seeming desperation of that moment.”

Shakira took this early experience and used it for good. Since finding fame and fortune, she set up her successful charitable foundation in Colombia, Pies Descalzos, to help the nation’s poorest children.

Shakira’s promising childhood

And Shakira showed promise for fame from very early on. At the age of four, the budding star would entertain herself by writing poems and penned her first song at just eight years old. She began taking part in local talent compeтιтions and took belly dancing classes.

After signing her first record deal at 13, Shakira released her first album Magia in 1991 and her second, Peligro in 1993. When neither was successful, she decided to take a break from singing to act in the Latin soap opera El Oasis.

Shakira ‘breaks’ America

Shakira resumed her music career in 1995 and released two more albums, Pies descalzos and then ¿Dónde están los ladrones? in 1998. Both included hit singles, but the star still wanted to break into the American music industry.

In 2001 her fifth album Unplugged won the Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Album, but it was her next record Laundry Service that really kick-started her international career. Her first English-language album sold more than 13 million copies worldwide.

With her career finally setting off, it was time for the songstress to invest in some serious real estate.

Shakira’s romantic Uruguay farm

In 2000, a year before her hit single ‘Whenever, Wherever’ hit the charts, Shakira started dating Antonio de la Rúa, the son of the former Argentine president Fernando de la Rúa.

The former couple often stayed at Shakira’s sprawling farm in a small fishing village in Uruguay.

It is not known when the singer snapped up the property or how much she paid but we do know that in 2008 she holed up there to begin work on a new album.

Shakira’s romantic Uruguay farm

Set on over 12 acres of land, the home boasts seven bedrooms, four in the main home and two in the guest house, plus one in a single third building, and there’s also room for four staff.

The star described the farm as “idyllic and very romantic” in an interview with Hello!, perfect for her writing process. She said she hoped to be inspired by her favourite Uruguayan poet, Juana de Ibarbourou: “I’m preparing my future album and I’m getting started on that, being alone with myself, after which some musician friends will come and we’ll see what happens.”

Shakira’s romantic Uruguay farm

Inside, the main house has a cinema, a work office and a gym. It is also believed Shakira built an extensive recording studio within the grounds, so she could work on her music, while outside, there’s a heated pool surrounded by decking, a lake with boats, a sauna and a tennis court. Not a bad spot to work on your new album!

At the time, Shakira told a Uruguay newspaper that while she had no imminent plans to marry boyfriend Antonio, she dreamed of having kids and “being by his side for years to come”.

Shakira’s romantic Uruguay farm

However, pictured here in December 2009, the couple eventually went their separate ways in August 2010. Having owned several properties together, there was a huge disagreement over who owned what.

Just after the split, Antonio tried to sue the singer in a $100m (£79m) lawsuit for what he felt he was owed after acting as her business manager, despite there being no written agreement reported Billboard. The case was dismissed in 2013.

Shakira’s first Florida mansion

As soon as she hit the big time in 2001, Shakira started building her luxury property portfolio. In June of that year, she snapped up a Mediterranean-style estate located in the prestigious gated community on Florida’s La Gorce Island for a reported $1.1 million (£869k)

Home to big-name stars such as Cher, Matt Damon and Billy Joel, Shakira would have been a wonderful addition to the local celebrity roster of residents.

Shakira’s first Florida mansion

Unfortunately, pictures of the interior, even the facade are scarce, as La Gorce Island is notoriously private due to the amount of celebrities who live there. Many of the homes are behind huge gates like this one.

But the privacy was perfect for the star, who would now be spending much more time stateside working on becoming the next huge crossover Latin artist.

Shakira’s first Florida mansion

The home is spread over 2,700 square feet, with a swimming pool surrounded by decking and lush foliage. But sitting on less than half an acre of land, Shakira was looking for more space.

She decided to sell up in 2005 for £1.4 million ($1.8m), making quite a profit. If she had held on to it as an investment however, she would have made even more, as it’s currently estimated to be worth around $5.7 million (£4.5m) according to Realtor.

But that year Shakira was a rising star, performing with good friend Alejandro Sanz at the MTV awards where her song ‘La tortua’ was nominated for three awards and she had other homes under her belt…

Shakira’s luxury Miami mansion

In September 2001, not long after her first Miami purchase, Shakira snapped up another stunning home in the same area, but this time she upgraded and got a waterfront property.

The 8,708-square-foot (809sqm) home overlooks Miami’s waterfront skyline of the Julia Tuttle Causeway with more than 100 feet (30m) of water frontage, a private dock and ocean access. The prestigious home was bought by the singer for just shy of $3.4 million (£2.7m), according to TopTenRealEstateDeals.com.

Shakira’s luxury Miami mansion

Shakira made sure to renovate the mansion over the 12 years that she was based there and made several upgrades according to Variety.

These are said to have included new hardwood floors imported from Spain, a new front door, updated landscaping and brand-new indoor and outdoor lighting systems.

Shakira’s luxury Miami mansion

The double front doors open out into the roomy open-plan dining area, which boasts a wall lined with windows, a minimalist fireplace and lowered ceilings over the dining area.

Elsewhere there’s a fitness room that looks out onto the driveway, an office with a built-in desk and an entertainment wing, which is decked out with state-of-the-art sound equipment and an all-white pool table.