The Colombian 'Hips Don't Lie' singer, 47, was an only child from a middle-class background, but has previously spoken about how her family became "poor almost overnight" when she was seven in the wake of her dad William Chadid's jewellery business crumbling.
She has now told Marie Claire about how she now never feels satisfied enough with her career as a result of the trauma: "Maybe it's a combination of the place where I was born, the way I was raised, the challenges I had to face growing up. It's just made me a very driven person.
"l always have the drive for more. There's never a time that I come off stage and don't think there's something I could have done better.
"I can never say no to a challenge. There are always new mountains to climb."
Shakira was taken by her father after his business folded to a park where street children were living to show her they were still privileged.
Her Marie Claire profile says she saw many of them orphaned and barefoot, and made her determined to make money and give back to those less fortunate.
It added she is still dogged by a fear of not "providing" as a result.
Shakira has recently struggled with life as a single mum to her two sons Milan, 11, and Sasha, nine, who she had with her Spanish footballer partner Gerard Piqué, 37, before their painful split in 2022 after 12 years together.
But she says she always draws joy from the roar of her fans at her shows.
She added about having a conversation with her mother Nidia Torrado after one of her gigs about how she should always stay grateful: "Mom was almost in tears. She was very emotional. She said to me, 'Remember, always be thankful to your fans.'
"One of the things mom always made very clear to me is my huge responsibility and duty as a public figure to other women, and people generally."