Background

Robyn Rihanna Fenty was born on February 20, 1988, in Saint Michael, Barbados, to Monica Braithwaite, a retired accountant, and Ronald Fenty, a warehouse supervisor for a garment factory. Her mother, a native of Guyana, is Afro-Guyanese, and her father is of Barbadian and Irish descent. The eldest of three siblings, Rihanna has two brothers, Rorrey and Rajad Fenty. She also has two half-sisters and a half-brother from her father's side, each born by different mothers before Rihanna's father married her mother. Rihanna grew up listening to reggae music, and began singing at around the age of seven. Her childhood was deeply affected by her father's addiction to crack cocaine, alcohol, and marijuana, and her parents' turbulent marriage ended when she was 14. She grew up in a three-bedroom bungalow in Bridgetown and sold clothes with her father on a street stall.

Education

Rihanna attended Charles F. Broome Memorial Primary School and then the Combermere High School, where she formed a musical trio with two of her classmates. Rihanna was an army cadet in a sub-military programme that trained with the military of Barbados and fellow Barbadian and singer-songwriter Shontelle was her drill sergeant. Although she initially wanted to graduate from high school, she chose to pursue her musical career instead.

Career

In January 2005, music producer Evan Rogers landed Rihanna an audition for Def Jam Records and its newly minted president, the legendary rapper Jay-Z. "I was in the lobby just shaking," she recalled. However, once Rihanna opened her voice to sing she regained her composure. "I remember staring into everybody's eyes in the room while I was singing, and at that point, I was fearless," she said. "But the minute I stopped singing, I was like, 'Oh my God, Jay-Z is sitting right in front of me.'" The hip-hop icon was every bit as wowed by Rihanna's commanding presence as Rogers had been two years earlier, and he signed her on the spot.

Only eight months later, in August 2005, she released her first single, "Pon de Replay," a reggae-influenced club track that reached No. 2 on the Billboard singles chart and announced Rihanna as the next up-and-coming pop star. Her first album, Music of the Sun, released later that month, reached No. 10 on the Billboard albums chart and also featured the single "If It's Lovin' That You Want." Rihanna released her second album, A Girl Like Me, the next year, spawning two major hits in "Unfaithful" and "SOS," Rihanna's first No. 1 single.

In 2007 Rihanna effected a transformation from cute teen pop princess to superstar and sex symbol with her third album, Good Girl Gone Bad, fueled by its smash hit lead single "Umbrella," featuring Jay-Z. "It shows such growth for her as an artist," Jay-Z said about the track. "If you listen to the lyrics to that song, you know the depth and how far she's come."

"Umbrella" topped the Billboard singles chart and earned Rihanna her first Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. The album reached No. 2 on the charts and also featured the singles "Shut Up and Drive" and "Don't Stop the Music," with the latter featuring a sample of Michael Jackson's "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'." Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded, released the following year, scored further hits in "Disturbia," "Take a Bow" and "Hate That I Love You."

Continuing her onslaught of hit albums, Rihanna released Rated R in 2009 with the singles "Hard" and "Rude Boy." Her 2010 album, Loud, was once again a commercial success behind the songs "What's My Name," "Only Girl (In the World)" and "S&M."

Besides her own laundry list of hit songs, Rihanna is also featured on a host of popular songs by other artists, including Jay-Z's "Run this Town," Eminem's "Love the Way You Lie," Maroon 5's "If I Never See Your Face Again" and Kanye West's "All of the Lights."

In 2011 Rihanna released her sixth studio album: Talk That Talk. The album included "We Found Love," a track with DJ Calvin Harris that won the 2013 Grammy Award for best short form music video.

On her Grammy-winning 2012 album Unapologetic, Rihanna turned out such hits as the No. 1 Sia Furler tune "Diamonds" and "Stay," featuring Mikky Ekko. (Interestingly, Unapologetic was the first Rihanna album to hit No. 1 on the pop charts.) She also worked with Coldplay on the track "Princess of China" and, the following year, reached No. 1 again with another Eminem collaboration, "The Monster."

Known for her sexually provocative imagery and wild style, Rihanna made headlines for the sheer dress she wore to the Council of Fashion Designers of America awards ceremony in June 2014. She was there to receive the CFDA's Fashion Icon Award and told the crowd that "Fashion has always been my defense mechanism," according to an Associated Press report. Rihanna acknowledged that there were some rules to fashion, but explained that "rules are meant to be broken." Around this time, the singer made a bold professional move as well: she switched from the Def Jam label to Jay-Z's Roc Nation.

In August 2015, NBC announced that Rihanna would be the key adviser on The Voice's ninth season. That same year she contributed vocals to the single "FourFiveSeconds," a collaboration with West and famed Beatle Paul McCartney, as well as releasing "B**** Better Have My Money," a tune allegedly inspired by court wranglings with her former manager that also featured a highly controversial, violent music video. In 2015 Rihanna also became the first artist in history to have 100 million singles digitally downloaded and streamed.

In late January 2016, Rihanna released her next album Anti, allowing Jay-Z's online streaming site Tidal to exclusively feature the collection of tracks for a week. The gambit paid off for the struggling service, with one million trial subscribers joining Tidal in less than a day to partake in a download promotion for Anti. The lead single off the album is "Work," featuring rapper Drake.

Rihanna released several collaborations in 2017. First she was the featured part in Future's "Selfish", the lead single from the rapper's sixth studio album, Hndrxx. Summer 2017 saw the release of Rihanna's collaborations with record producer DJ Khaled, "Wild Thoughts", which also featured Bryson Tiller and was a worldwide success and peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100, and Kendrick Lamar's single, "Loyalty", which earned Rihanna her ninth Grammy Award at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards. In November 2017, Rihanna was part of N.E.R.D's comeback single "Lemon" from the band's album No One Ever Really Dies. Rihanna officially revealed that she had begun working on her ninth studio album, just months after releasing Anti. On 19 October 2017, Shakka revealed that he was working with Rihanna on her "absolutely insane" album.

Rihanna also began to do movie work, co-starring in the sci-fi flick Battleship (2012) and later lending her voice to the lead character in the animated blockbuster Home (2015).

In 2017 Rihanna made recurring appearances in season 5 of Bates Motel, and earned a prominent role in the science fiction flick Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. That year, fans also got their first glimpse of the pop superstar alongside Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett and Anne Hathaway in trailers for Ocean's 8, a female-led spinoff of the popular Ocean's Trilogy, set for a June 2018 release.

Early in her career, Rihanna made clear her interest in fashion and desire to work in the clothing design industry. In November 2011, Rihanna announced her first fashion venture with Armani. In February 2013, Rihanna presented her first women's spring fashion collection at London Fashion Week for British street fashion brand River Island, collaborating with her personal stylist Adam Selman. They published two more collections for the brand, a summer edition released on 25 May 2013 and an autumn edition released on 10 September 2013. The fourth and last collection for River Island, the winter edition was released on 7 November 2013. Rihanna went on to collaborate with numerous fashion house's including Dior, Stance and Manolo Blahnik. In March 2015, it was announced that Rihanna had been chosen as the new face of Dior; this makes her the first black woman to be the face of Dior.

In December 2014, it was confirmed that Rihanna would become the creative director of the fashion sportswear Puma, overseeing the brand's women's line which will include collaborations in apparel and footwear. In the fall of 2015, Rihanna released her first trainer with Puma, and the sneaker sold out online with three hours of its pre-sale launch. Over the next two years, Rihanna released various other footwear in different colorways and styles, which were all met positively by both critics and buyers. 2016 saw Rihanna debut her first clothing line in collaboration with Puma at New York Fashion Week; the collection was met with rave reviews from fashion critics. In the spring of that year, Rihanna debuted her second collection at Paris Fashion Week and was met with critical acclaim. Vogue magazine praised the collection and Rihanna, stating "Sometimes when a famous person tries his or her hand at another discipline, the results can be uneven. And yet there are those special cases when making the switch leads to a good surprise. Judging by the collection she showed today, we can add Rihanna to that list." In Autumn 2017, Rihanna x Puma returned to New York, for the debut of their autumn collection, like previous lines the collection was met with positive reviews. Vogue Magazine stated "Fenty x Puma has kept one step ahead, so to speak, thanks in part to shoe designs that think outside the box - Rihanna is the first woman to have won Footwear News's coveted Shoe of the Year award, after all."

Achievements

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  Rihanna is recognized by the media as a pop and fashion icon, particularly since her third studio album Good Girl Gone Bad (2007). Her single "Umbrella", famous for its "ella ella" hook, is considered by Rolling Stone to be one of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Time magazine included Rihanna on its 100 Most Influential People in the World issue in 2012 and 2018. On 2 June 2014, Rihanna was presented with Fashion Icon lifetime achievement award from Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), a special prize reserved for "an individual whose style has made a significant impact on popular culture on an international stage."
  
  Rihanna has received numerous awards throughout her career such as 9 Grammy Awards, 12 Billboard Music Awards, 13 American Music Awards, 8 People's Choice Awards, among others. Rihanna received the "Icon Award" at the 2013 American Music Awards and the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards. She currently holds six Guinness World Records. In the United States, Rihanna has sold over 10 million albums, while Nielsen SoundScan ranked her as the best-selling digital artist in the country, breaking a Guinness World Record for digital single sales of over 58 million as of 2012. On 1 July 2015 the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) announced that Rihanna had surpassed more than 100 million Gold & Platinum song certifications. In doing so Rihanna has the most digital single awards and is the first and only artist to surpass RIAA's 100 million cumulative singles award threshold. In the United Kingdom, she has sold over seven million albums, making her the third best selling female artist this century. According to Billboard, her total album sales stand at 54 million copies sold worldwide.

Works

More photos

• music

  • Unapologetic

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    2012
  • Anti

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    2016
  • Music of the Sun 2005
  • A Girl Like Me 2006
  • Good Girl Gone Bad 2007
  • Rated R 2009
  • Talk That Talk 2011

Religion

Rihanna has stated that she believes in God and that she focuses on obeying God and reading her Bible. She is a fan of Protestant charismatic minister Joyce Meyer. In 2015, Rihanna told Harper's Bazaar that her faith in God has helped her throughout her career.

Politics

Rihanna holds an official political title from her home country of Barbados and is heavily involved in promoting that country's tourism industry. In the states, she's shown support for Democrat President Obama.

Views

Rihanna's music has incorporated a wide range of genres including, pop, R&B, reggae, dubstep, hip hop and EDM. With its provocative subject matter and lyrics, her musical career has been an experiment with new musical ideas and stated that she wants "to make music that could be heard in parts of the world that I'd never been to". During a review for Good Girl Gone Bad (2007), Slant Magazine to write that Rihanna "finally figured out that she's a dance artist and the majority of the album is comprised of uptempo dance-pop [songs like]" "Push Up on Me" and "Don't Stop the Music". It represents a departure from the Caribbean sound of her previous albums, and is described as a turning point in her career. While the first half of the record shares a lot of 1980s pop influences with songs like "Don't Stop the Music" and "Shut Up and Drive", the second half retreats into standard R&B.

Rihanna is a philanthropist. In 2006, she created her Believe Foundation to help terminally ill children. In 2007, Rihanna was named as one of the Cartier Love Charity Bracelet Ambassadors, with each celebrity representing a different global charity. To help raise awareness and combat HIV/AIDS, Rihanna and other public figures designed clothing for the February 2008 H&M Fashion Against AIDS line. In 2008, Rihanna performed a series of charity concerts entitled A Girl's Night Out to benefit the Believe Foundation. The concerts were made free for the public. Money from sponsors and advertisers were to be donated to provide medical supplies, school supplies and toys to children in need. In September 2008, Rihanna contributed to the song "Just Stand Up!" with fifteen other female artists, who shared the stage to perform the song live on 5 September 2008, during the "Stand Up to Cancer" television special. The proceeds from the single were given to the fundraiser. The television special helped raise $100 million for cancer research.

Rihanna founded the Clara Lionel Foundation (CLF) in 2012, in honor of her grandparents, Clara and Lionel Braithwaite. Current programs include the Clara Braithwaite Center for Oncology and Nuclear Medicine at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Barbados, and education programs. The CLF hosts an annual Diamond Ball charity fundraiser event. The inaugural event in 2014 raised over $2 million, and the second raised over $3 million. On 12 February 2012, Rihanna performed a benefit show at the House of Blues to raise money for the Children's Orthopaedic Center and the Mark Taper-Johnny Mercer Artists Program at Children's Hospital. In November 2012, Rihanna gave $100,000 to food bank donation for Hurricane Sandy, On 3 January 2014, Rihanna was part of the MAC Viva Glam campaign, which benefits women, men, and children living with HIV/AIDS.

Quotations: "People don't do them around me. I would never allow it. The people who are around me are people that I love, and I don't want to see people that I love hurt themselves."

"He's one of my closest friends in the industry. He makes me feel like a teenager - I have to act and think like an adult so much. He makes me feel young again."

"[G]enetically my legs are supposed to be huge. I can't really think about it, or I'll go crazy."

"While in America beautiful is skinny, in Barbados it's thick - girls with huge butts and nice curves."

"People ask me the most naive questions. Someone asked me if we have indoor toilets. I can't get upset. They just don't know."

"The hardest thing for me is to say no. I feel like a bitch. But sometimes I don't have a choice."

"I was a little confused as a kid because I grew up with my mom, and my mom is black. So, I was cultured in a very 'black' way. But when I go to school, I'm getting called 'white.' They would look at me, and they would curse me out. I didn't understand. I just knew I saw people of all different shades, and I was light. Now, I'm in a much bigger world."

"They'd complain to my other neighbor, who was very close to my mom, so we always got the message: I'm too loud. But we didn't really care. They can't tell me what to do in my house!"

"You can't even go out with a friend who's a celebrity and have a good time without people making shit up."

"When the door closes you have two choices. Give up, or keep going. Let them shut you down or prove them wrong. We all start somewhere. It's where you end up that counts."

"Guys need attention. They need that nourishment, that little stroke of the ego that gets them by every now and then. I’ll give it to my family, I’ll give it to my work - but I will not give it to a man right now."

"I’m turned on by guys who are cultured. That’ll keep me intrigued. They don’t have to have a single degree, but they should speak other languages or know things about other parts of the world or history or certain artists or musicians. I like to be taught. I like to sit on that side of the table."

"Well, there’s always this human instinct about that, even from a very, very young age. I agreed that we are born with a sort of innate sexuality. But by like age 11, girls were talking about what they had and hadn’t done. I hadn’t even kissed a boy yet, so it always made me feel insecure like I was never gonna be good or ready or know what to do - I didn’t even have boobs."

Personality

Known for reinventing her style and image, Rihanna's music and fashion sense are noted by the media. In 2009, New York magazine described Rihanna's early look as that of "a cookie-cutter teen queen", noting she has the ability "to shift looks dramatically and with such ease". Around the time of the release of her second studio album, A Girl like Me (2006), many critics felt that Rihanna's style, sound, and musical material were too similar to those of Beyoncé.

Physical Characteristics: Rihanna is a mezzo-soprano, with a range spanning from B2 to C#6.

Described as one of the sexiest women of her generation, she revealed that being a sex symbol is not a priority and that "it's definitely flattering, but also uncomfortable." Her appearance has landed her on the cover of magazines such as Maxim, FHM, Rolling Stone and in December 2012, Rihanna became the first woman to be featured on the cover of GQ magazine's "Men of the Year" issue.

Rihanna is well known for having a wide collection of small tattoos around her body. Some of them refer to Egyptian antiquity, a subject of a particular interest of the singer.

Quotes from others about the person

• Jocelyn Vena: "Rihanna, like Madonna, also has a tendency to make truly thought-provoking music videos that fit the songs they represent. Smattered in between glitzier, more glamorous clips, Madge and Ri want us to think about bigger issues."
  
  Nico Amarca: "Over the course of her now 10-year career, [Rihanna] has undergone one of the most significant aesthetic metamorphoses the world has ever seen."
  
  Stella McCartney: "She's one of the coolest, hottest, most talented, most liked, most listened to, most followed, most impressive artists at work today, but she does it in her own stride. She works hard, very hard. She gives to her fans, friends and foundation not just herself but her energy and spirit."
  
  Adele: "I actually can't remember the first time I met Rihanna. I was probably numb from the shock of it. She is one year older than me, but I feel like she's been around forever. The progression of her superstardom feels steady, well deserved, and extremely natural."

Interests

• Favorite color: Green.
  
  Favorite actors: Terrence Howard and Denzel Washington.
  
  Favorite actresses: Jessica Alba, Halle Berry and Meryl Streep
  
  Favorite dessert: Cheesecake or chocolate ice cream.
  
  Favourite TV show: Entourage.

• Politicians

  Barack Obama

• Sport & Clubs

  Soccer, tennis, skydiving.

• Music & Bands

  Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Shania Twin, Mariah Carey, Bob Marley, Madonna, Beyonce.

Connections

She is not married.

On 8 February 2009, Rihanna's scheduled performance at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards was canceled. Reports surfaced that then-boyfriend, singer Chris Brown had physically assaulted her. He was arrested on suspicion of making criminal threats. On 5 March 2009, Brown was charged with assault and making criminal threats. Due to a leaked photograph from the police department obtained by TMZ.com - which revealed that Rihanna had sustained visible injuries - an organization known as STOParazzi proposed "Rihanna's Law", which, if enacted, would "deter employees of law enforcement agencies from releasing photos or information that exploits crime victims." Gil Kaufman of VH1 reported the "nonstop coverage of the Rihanna/Brown case has brought up a number of issues regarding the privacy of alleged victims of domestic violence, including the decision by almost all major news outlets to divulge the identity of the victim - which is not typically done in domestic-violence cases" and discussed the controversial distribution of the leaked photograph. Rihanna was subpoenaed to testify during a preliminary hearing in Los Angeles on 22 June 2009. On 22 June 2009, Brown pleaded guilty to felony assault. Brown received five years of probation and was ordered to stay fifty yards (46 meters) away from Rihanna, unless at public events, which then would be reduced to ten yards (nine meters). In February 2011, at the request of Brown's lawyer and with Rihanna's consent, Judge Patricia Schnegg modified the restraining order to a "level one order", which allows the singers to appear at awards shows together in the future.

From December 2009 to 2010, Rihanna dated Dodgers baseball player Matt Kemp. Rihanna has also dated Canadian rapper Drake. In a January 2013 interview with Rolling Stone, Rihanna confirmed that she had rekindled her relationship with Chris Brown, though he remained under probation for the 2009 domestic violence incident. The confirmation followed persistent media speculation throughout 2012 regarding the pair's reunion. In a May 2013 interview, Brown stated that he and Rihanna had broken up again. Rihanna has been in a relationship with Saudi Toyota heir Hassan Jameel since December 2016. She confirmed the relationship in Vogue's June 2018 issue.

Father:

Ronald Fenty

Mother:

Monica Fenty

Boyfriend :

Chris Brown

While Chris and Rihanna have known each other since 2005 as friends, they didn’t admit to being in a relationship until around 2008.

Their love was brought to a screeching halt in 2009 after an argument between the couple escalated to Brown getting violent with Rihanna, leaving her with physical injuries.

Since 2009, the two singers have interacted on and off and even shocked the world when they collaborated on two tracks in 2012 (“Nobody's Business,” “Birthday Cake (Remix)”), but they never made the move to get back together permanently.

Boyfriend :

Drake (Aubrey Graham)

Rumors about Rihanna and Drake dating have swirled for years thanks to multiple collaborations between the two artists and their insane chemistry.

During an interview with then-Hot 97 host Angie Martinez, Rihanna reportedly opened up about her and Drake trying it out romantically, but the timing just wasn’t right.

“I definitely was attracted to Drake, but I think it is what it is, like it was what it was,” Rihanna told Martinez. “We didn’t want to take it any further. It was at a really fragile time in my life, so I just didn’t want to get too serious with anything or anyone at that time.”

Drake also opened up about the brief relationship, telling The New York Times he was a "pawn."

“She was doing exactly what I’ve done to so many women throughout my life," he said, "which is show them quality time, then disappear. I was like, wow, this feels terrible.”

Boyfriend :

Matt Kemp

Rihanna and professional baseball star Matt Kemp called it quits after almost a year, but this was one of Rihanna’s most public relationships. The couple didn’t shy away from attending events together and showing off PDA. Rihanna even opened up about the relationship during interviews.

Boyfriend :

Hassan Jameel

Rihanna has been in relationships with Hassan Jameel.

Friend:

Melissa Forde

Melissa is the most visible member of Rihanna's lady squad: holding Rihanna’s hand at red carpet premieres, hanging behind the scenes at music video shoots, and snapping intimate portraits as they crisscross the globe. As the one friend that has been by Rihanna's side moving from Barbados to America together 14 years ago, Forde and Rihanna have become each other's family, Melissa a constant and unchanging presence during Rihanna's dizzying rise to mega-stardom.

Friend:

Jennifer Rosales

Another of Rihanna’s longtime friends and partners. in 2015, Jenn was Rihanna’s personal assistant and day-to-day liaison (she'd also recently gotten married). Now, she’s the official Project Manager at Fenty Corp - and she just had a baby.

mentor:

Jay-Z (Shawn Carter)

Rihanna has said that when she met and sung for the then president of Def Jam, Jay Z, he wouldn't let her leave the room until she signed on the dotted line. Since that moment Jay mentored the young singer, so much so that when Hov left Def Jam to run his own Roc Nation label, Rihanna followed a year later.

colleague:

Kanye West

In late 2010, Rihanna was featured on Kanye West's single "All of the Lights".

colleague:

Eminem (Marshall Mathers III)

In summer 2010, Rihanna collaborated with rapper Eminem on "Love the Way You Lie", which was a major worldwide success, reaching number one in over twenty countries.

References

• Rihanna: The Only Girl in the World
• Rihanna: All the ins and outs
• Rihanna: Rebel Flower
• Rihanna: The Unauthorized Biography
• Rihanna - The Biography
• Rihanna: Bad Girl
• Rihanna: Love in a Hopeless Place
• Superstars of the 21st Century: Pop Favorites of America's Teens