Shakira dressed up like man to attend University of California

Latin pop princess Shakira has revealed that she dressed up like a man to attend university so she could avoid attracting attention.

The She Wolf singer was so eager to study that she took time off from the world of music in 2006, after releasing her second English record Oral Fixation Vol. 2, and enrolled on a history course at the University of California in Los Angeles.

Not wanting to attract attention, she changed her name and dressed up like a man.

"I needed a break from me. The universe is so broad, I cannot be at the centre of it," News.com.au quoted her as telling The Guardian.

"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 recognised.

"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," she added.