Family is everything to Shakira, and the 2023 MTV VMA Video Vanguard Award honoree has an entire support system through her brothers and sisters.

Shakira grew up as the only child her parents, William Mebarak Chadid and Nidia Ripoll Torrado, shared. However, her father had nine children from a past marriage, so the “Acróstico” singer has several half-siblings: Robin, Moises, Tonino, Alberto, Jose, Lucila, Ana, Edward and an older brother who died when she was a child.

Despite finding fame and fortune after humble beginnings, Shakira still prioritizes quality time with her family, some of whom accompany her to events and on tour.

“No matter what, meals will always take a long time with Shakira,” Sony executive Luana Pagani told Rolling Stone in April 2002 about the singer enjoying meals with her loved ones. “It’s very important for her to eat with someone from her family. It’s how Colombians are.”

More often than not, it’s her brother Tonino Mebarak who, as her road manager and closest confidant, is a fixture on the sidelines of her performances and TV appearances. He’s also a real estate agent responsible for managing her portfolio of homes through the years. While many of her brothers and sisters lead more private lives, Mebarak is frequently by Shakira’s side.

Here’s everything to know about Shakira’s siblings — Robin, Moises, Tonino, Alberto, Jose, Lucy, Ana, and Edward — and their relationship with the superstar.

Shakira and her siblings grew up in Colombia

Shakira was born and raised in the city of Barranquilla, Colombia. Though all nine of her siblings had a different mother than her, they still lived right down the street, and she shared a close relationship with them.

“The city is not a zoo, you know,” she told Rolling Stone in 2002 of her hometown. “Or maybe it is, but with one kind of animal.”

While William’s kids were raised in Colombia, he was born in New York City to Lebanese parents, and his family relocated to South America when he was 5 years old.

Shakira comes from a close-knit family

The “She Wolf” singer’s parents doted on her and her siblings, and she credits her close family for shaping the way she raises her children — Milan and Sasha, whom she welcomed with ex Gerard Piqué.

“Their dad and I both grew up in very close-knit families, and that has made us openly affectionate parents,” the three-time Grammy winner told Parents Latina in April 2015, per ABC News.

Shakira lost a sibling at a very young age

Shakira’s oldest half-brother died when he was 19 years old after a motorcycle accident involving a car. The singer was only 2 years old then, but she recognized her father’s heartache in the following years.

“Somehow it made me very necrophobic,” she told Rolling Stone. “For a long time I was somebody who feared death in all the aspects. And loss. Losses.”

To cope with her feelings, she wrote a song about her father’s pain when she was 9 called “Tus Gafas Oscuras” (“Your Dark Glasses”).

“One day, Shakira said to me: ‘Papa, I want you to hear this song, the name is ‘Your Dark Glasses,’ ” William said in a VH1 2006 interview. “From the moment I lost my eldest son, I hid the pain behind a pair of [sun]glasses, and she formed a connection between that and the glasses I used.”

The song was released in 1991 as part of her album Magia.

Most of Shakira’s siblings are very private

Not much is known about the majority of Shakira’s siblings. Besides Tonino and Lucila, they have largely stayed out of the spotlight.

Shakira’s sister Lucila supported her through Milan’s 2013 birth

When Shakira welcomed her first son Milan in 2013, her sister Lucila Mebarak Otero was spotted supporting her at Teknon Hospital in Barcelona, along with her parents.

Lucila spent many years in Spain as a renowned neurosurgeon, but she recently moved back to her native Barranquilla, Colombia, to work at the La Misericordia International Clinic as a specialist in bone marrow tumors.

Shakira moved to Miami to be closer to her family post-split

On June 4, 2022, Shakira and Piqué announced their separation in a joint statement. Amid the split, Shakira left Barcelona, where she shared a home with Piqué, to bring her kids back to America.

“For eight years they have been living in Barcelona, but she and the kids are moving to Miami, where all her maternal family live,” a source told PEOPLE.

“I settled in Barcelona to give my sons stability, the same that we are now looking for in another corner of the world besides family, friends and the sea,” she wrote on Instagram. “Today we started a new chapter in the search for happiness.”

There, she has the support of her parents and some of her siblings, including Tonino. 

Shakira appears to be closest with her brother Tonino

Shakira appears to spend the most time with her brother, Tonino, who is 10 years her senior. He has supported her personally through every stage of her fame and worked with her professionally as the road manager for her Dorado World Tour in 2018.

Tonino is usually spotted backstage at most of her performances and by her side at special events, including attending the UEFA Euro 2016 in France, the Zootropolis premiere in Spain and on set in 2015 when Shakira was filming a fragrance commercial. He’s also been featured dancing with his sister on Instagram, and he’s one of the only siblings she’s posted birthday shout-outs for.

In 2018, when Milan and Sasha watched their mom’s live performance for the first time, Tonino was seen backstage holding Milan while he waved proudly at the crowd.

Tonino has supported Shakira through her legal woes

No matter what’s happening, Tonino appears to have Shakira’s back. When she went to court for allegedly plagiarizing the song “La Bicicleta” on March 27, 2019, Tonino was by her side.

He was there for her again, albeit looking solemn, in June 2019 when she had to stand trial on a tax fraud case.

Shakira’s brother Tonino is a real estate agent

Shakira’s brother Tonino is a real estate agency in Miami, currently working with Fortune International Realty. In fact, he’s been responsible for managing the singer’s vast portfolio of homes.

In 2018, Shakira put her stunning Miami Beach, Florida, property on the market for $11.648 million, with Tonino as one of her agents, according to Architectural Digest. They listed it again in 2021 for $15.9 million before taking it off the market.

Shakira leaned on her family amid her split

Following her 2022 breakup, Shakira said she was throwing herself into her music and spending more time with her family.

“[Music] just helps me process my emotions and make sense of them,” Shakira told Elle in October of that same year. “I think it’s the best medicine, and along with the love of my family and my kids that sustains me, music and writing music is definitely one of those tools — one of the few tools I have for survival in extreme conditions.”

Tonino has been by her side every step of the way. When Shakira appeared in court on Dec. 1, 2022, in Barcelona to handle the separation lawsuit and hammer down a custody agreement, Tonino escorted her inside.