Shakira Went Undercover For University

Singer and dancer Shakira has revealed how she went undercover so she could attend university without getting recognized.

The She Wolf hitmaker, 32, took a break from music in 2006, after releasing the album Oral Fixation Vol. 2, and enrolled on a history course at the University of California in Los Angeles.

And she was so desperate not to attract any attention, she dressed up as a man; changed her name; and wore a disguise so that people would not discover her true identity.

“I needed a break from me,” Shakira told UK newspaper The Guardian. “The universe is so broad, I cannot be at the center of it.

“So I decided to go to the university and study history for a summer course, just to kind of switch gears, taste the student life.

“I used to wear a cap and a big backpack, I looked like a boy. I didn’t get recognized. Some people looked at me very suspiciously, a few people asked me, but I told them my name was Isabelle. I would go to university over and over again if I could.”

“I should care less,” Shakira said of her career. “It has been 20 years, but I still care about my career. I care about the music. I’m not normal.”