Robyn Rihanna Fenty was born in a parish in Barbados called St. Michael, to Monica (Braithwaite), an accountant, and Ronald Fenty, a warehouse supervisor. Her mother has Afro-Guyanese ancestry and her father has Afro-Barbadian, English, Scottish and Irish ancestry (known as "Redlegs" in the Caribbean). Rihanna lived the life of a normal island girl going to Combermere, a top sixth form school. Rihanna won numerous beauty pageants and performed Mariah Carey's single "Hero" in a school talent show. Her life changed forever when one of her friends introduced her to Evan Rodgers, a producer from New York who was in Barbados for a vacation with his wife, who is a native. Rodgers arranged for her to go to New York to meet Jay Z, CEO of Def Jam Records. He heard her sing and knew she was going to be incredibly successful. She was age 16 when she was signed to Def Jam. Since then, she's amassed phenomenal success.
Rihanna Was signed to Def Jam Records at age 16.
Her musical inspirations include Alicia Keys, Beyoncé Knowles and Destiny's Child, Madonna, Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston, Gwen Stefani, Bob Marley and Brandy Norwood.
Attended Combermere which is a sixth form school similar to high school in America.
Performed Mariah Carey's single "Hero" at her school's talent show.
Won a beauty pageant at her school.
Her father is from Barbados and her mother is from Guyana. Rihanna's paternal grandfather, Reginald Leslie Forde, had Afro-Bajan ancestry. Rihanna's paternal grandmother, Betty Fenty, who is Caucasian, has English, Scottish and Irish ancestry. Rihanna's mother has Afro-Guyanese ancestry.
She has two younger brothers, Rorrey and Rajad Fenty, two half-sisters and a half-brother from her father's side, each born to different mothers from previous relationships.
Stated in an interview that her friend and former Island Def Jam record label artist Fefe Dobson was someone that she admired and looked up to. Having a fellow black artist writing, singing, and performing the music she truly loves.
Ranked #8 on Maxim magazine's Hot 100 Women of 2007 list.
Ranked #15 on Maxim magazine's Hot 100 Women of 2008 list.
Sampled Michael Jackson's 1983 song "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" in her song "Don't Stop the Music".
According to Fashion Lifestyle, she has had over 150 hairstyles since her music career took off in 2005. Her trademarks are her Long Straight Brown (2006), Medium Length Black Bob (2007) and Short Cropped look (2008).
According to Forbes magazine, she made an estimated $15,000,000. [2008]
Was tagged "The Digital Download Queen" due to her songs being downloaded over 75,000,000 times combined.
Her third studio album "Good Girl Gone Bad" (2007) was the third highest selling album in the world in 2007 and was the eighth highest 2008. It has sold just under eight million copies worldwide and has spawned three number one Hot 100 hits and two worldwide number ones.
Has appeared on the cover of Italian Vogue for there "Extreme Couture" edition. [September 2009]
On August 29, 2009, her ex-boyfriend, Chris Brown, was sentenced to five years of probation, six months of community service and one year of domestic violence counseling as a result of his attack on her in February 2009.
Her third single "Rude Boy", from her fourth studio album "Rated R", became her sixth American number one single. This makes her the most successful female artist of the last 10 years.
She and then-boyfriend Chris Brown canceled their performance at the Grammy Awards just hours before the show started after Brown was caught up in a late-night domestic dispute, which later turned out to be a physical attack on Rihanna. [February 2009]
She's the highest paid female celebrity to sit front row at fashion shows. She's paid an estimated $100,000, followed by Beyoncé Knowles, who is estimated at $80,000.
Is a huge fan of Depeche Mode, The Prodigy and Chase & Status. She worked with Chase & Status on her album "Rated R" after calling member Saul Milton up at 3 AM.
Selling 62 million records since 2005, she's the most successful artist over the last decade. She's also the first ever artist ever to have five, 3X platinum selling digital singles.
Broke her own record by scoring her seventh US number one. "Love the Way You Lie" with Eminem became her seventh number one single in five years. This gives her the most number ones from an artist in the last 10 years.
Has attained nine number one Hot 100 singles. Three of them were achieved in 2010. She become the only female in American history to have her first single to go number one after the second. February 2011
In the United Kingdom, she became the only female; and the only artist in 52 years to have three top ten songs at once on the "UK Official Chart". She also became the first female artist; in the history of the chart, to have a number one in five consecutive years.
She has seven number one singles in Australia as of February 2011, making her the only non-Australian artist to do so in the last 20 years.
Her fifth studio album "Loud", sold 2.8 million copies worldwide in three months. The album also marks the launch of her business "Rihanna Entertainment". [February 2011]
Billboard magazine named Rihanna the Digital Songs Artist of the 2000s decade.
Is worth an estimated $143 million [Forbes magazine]. [February 2011]
Her controversial music video for "S&M", was banned in 11 countries within a day of its release. This is Rihanna's second video to cause controversy as "Te Amo" was banned in many countries due to its same-sex nature.
As of March 1, she has reached over 1.2 billion YouTube views on her official Vevo page.
Q magazine named her one of the top 100 acts of the last century. [November 2009]
Became the youngest black female to grace the cover of American-Vogue magazine. [March 2011]
The song "S&M" featuring Britney Spears become her 10th No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100.
At the 2011 BET awards, Rihanna was mistakenly announced as the winner of the Viewer's Choice Award. The actual winner was her ex-boyfriend Chris Brown, who later received the award.
Ranked #43 in the 2010 FHM UK list of "100 Sexiest Women in the World".
On October 12, 2011, she has been named "Sexiest Woman" for 2011 by Esquire magazine. Esquire gives the title of "sexiest woman" to a different celebrity each year.
While filming a music video for her song "We Found Love" in Ireland, the farmer whose land was borrowed as a setting for the video, asked the crew to stop filming and leave the land after he objected to Rihanna's revealing outfits and state of undress, which he deemed as "inappropriate". [2011]
In a 2011 interview with Esquire magazine, Rihanna stated that she's a huge fan of the music by Chris Brown.
The song "We Found Love" featuring Calvin Harris became her 11th No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100.
Organised a bachelorette party for her close friend Katy Perry. [2010]
In the 2011 Billboard online poll, Rihanna's song "We Found Love" was voted as the third Best Music Video for 2011 (receiving 11% of all votes), behind "Till the World Ends" by Britney Spears (45% of all votes), and "Born This Way" by Lady Gaga (23% of all votes). Rihanna also won for Best Awards Show Performance with Britney Spears at the 2011 Billboard Music Awards.
In 2012, she collaborated with Chris Brown. On February 20, 2012 (her 24th birthday), Rihanna released the remix of her fourth single "Birthday Cake" featuring Chris Brown. The single comes from her album "Talk That Talk". Brown also released a remix of his song "Turn Up the Music" featuring Rihanna.
Ranked #4 on Forbes The Celebrity 100 in 2012, with earnings of $53 million.
Named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World. [2012]
Rihanna Was arrested on August 17, 2005 in Berlin for not having a visa to enter the country. She was taken into custody for two hours before being released with a temporary visa.
Ranked #11 on Maxim magazine's Hot 100 Women of 2014 list.
Her name is pronounced ree-ANN-a, not ree-AHN-a.
Is a self-confessed huge fan of the Star Trek franchise. In 2016, she released a single, "Sledgehammer", which was used to promote Star Trek: Sans limites (2016), the third film in the Star Trek reboot series.
In her article in the August 2012 issue of "Harper's Bazaar", she said that, growing up, she watched horror movies and professional wrestling, saying the Undertaker was her favorite. This is actually appropriate, since the Undertaker (Mark Calaway) is a horror-themed wrestler.
Currently resides in Manhattan, New York City and owns a penthouse there that's worth $14 million. [August 2016]
The music video for her 2016 single, "Sledgehammer", was the first to be recorded entirely with IMAX cameras.
Received the Peter J. Gomes Humanitarian Award from Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. [February 2017]
In 2012, Rihanna founded the Clara Lionel Foundation Scholarship Program, named after her grandmother and grandfather for students attending college in the United States and from Caribbean countries.
Since September 2016, her foundation supports the Global Partnership for Education and Global Citizen Project, a multi-year campaign that will provide children with access to education in over 60 developing countries, giving priority to girls and those affected by lack of access to education in the world.
She held her second Diamond Ball at Santa Monica Airport's Barker Hanger. The Ball was hosted by Kevin Hart and included performances from singer Lionel Richie. The ball went onto raise $3 million in order to help those in need through health, education, arts and culture. [December 2015]
Personal Quotes (30)
I love the high-risk (guys). I don't like cream puff, corny guys. Usually, they are the nice guys, the ones that won't hurt you. They'll pull out the chair for you and the whole nine yards. Everything is perfect and boring. I like the risk, I like the edge. That's the thrill for me.
[on Fashion] Wear the clothes. Don't let them wear you.
[on Jesse Williams] Jesse, who's in my music video for "Russian Roulette", is so hot!
I love flirting at the moment. I'm single and I'm enjoying my freedom. But I don't give my phone number out that often. But if I'm dating, I check the boy from the top to the bottom.
[on what a man needs to impress her] He has to be good in bed and the size matters. You know what I mean? The inner beauty counts as well, but without a toy it doesn't make it fun.
[on her musical sound change] Everyone was really surprised when I started liking new things and changing my image. I was 16 when I was signed and I'm 22 now. My musical taste and image is going to change naturally. It's not forced, I do what comes natural to me. Sometimes, I like to be dark... other times, I like to be really light and ladylike.
[on size zero models] Being a size zero is a career in itself so we shouldn't try and be like them, it is not realistic and it is not healthy. You shouldn't be pressured into trying to be thin by the fashion industry, because they only want models that are like human mannequins. They know that if we see an outfit on a mannequin in a shop window we will love it and want to buy it whatever size we are. That's why they have size zero models - they want to sell clothes. But you have to remember that it's not practical or possible for an everyday woman to look like that."
[on Homophobia] I know that a large part of my fanbase is gay. They've shown me love from the start. I mean in this industry, everyone from my glam people to my dancers are gay. You can't be homophobic in this line of work, I'm a pop star! It hurts me when I read fan mail from a fan who have been called names for liking me.
My weight fluctuates, but I don't weigh myself every day. I'm 5 feet 8 inches and weigh around 9 st. 7 lb.
[on Cheryl] I think she is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. Like, how do you have a face like that, with hair like that and dimples, and a body like that, that's proportioned like that? And you have a successful career, something about that is not right.
[on Russell Brand] I first met him when he was interviewing me on television. I was sick and it was the worst interview I have ever done... Nothing was funny to me. I thought it was the most stupid interview I ever did in my life. Why am I talking to this idiot? He made me want to throw up again.
I spend more time over there (in London) than I spend in L.A., and that's where I live. London is more like my home.
[on doing a duet with Katy Perry] We're actually working on some music together - hell yeah. I would love to tour with Katy. She's a rock star. And when I see her live, she just brings such a fun vibe, like a colorful rock star.
[on planning Katy Perry's bachelorette party] I have to come up with something cool, because she's getting married in India. So I'm like "Okay, now what do I do to match that?". That's at the end of the year, so we've got some time to plan that.
[on Katy Perry] When I first met her, her personality was so on point, I felt like she had no edit button, she was really fun and had a great sense of humor.
[on missing her friend, Katy Perry's wedding] I will never ever forgive myself for that, it was a crazy time, it was a crazy week. I'm switching management. I'm really sad that I missed it.
[on having children] I don't really plan on the age. It could be a year from now. It could be 10 years from now. Whenever is right. I mean, I have a lot of other stuff to accomplish before I get to kids. Whenever the time is right, I'll just know. If I had a girl, she'd probably be really rebellious. She would be like a bundle of karma. I would love to bring them up in Barbados.
I definitely think a child deserves both parents. It would be selfish of me, because of my pride and independence to say, "Oh, I just want a sperm donor, because I can do it myself." I can do it myself, but that's not fair. I'm just saying that whatever comes my way I'll be able to handle it, but in a perfect book, there would be marriage and kids.
[jokingly responding when being questioned about a rumored relationship] I hate to burst your bubble but I'm dating girls!
[on collaborating with Britney Spears] I asked my fans last week who they wanted me to collaborate with, and Britney was one of the most popular names. It's very strange because Britney never does features. It was really amazing that she really wanted to be part of this song. She really liked the song to begin with, but it was a different story when she had to sing it, and she really wanted to be a part of it. So it made it really, really special, because you never see two pop female artists doing songs together any more. Just call us "R&B".
[2011, on Chris Brown] It's incredible to see how he pulled out of it the way he did. Even when the world seemed like it was against him, you know? I really like the music he's putting out. I'm a fan of his stuff. I've always been a fan. Obviously, I had some resentment toward him for a while, for obvious reasons. But I've put that behind me. It was taking up too much of my time. It was too much anger. I'm really excited to see the breakthrough he's had in his career. I would never wish anything horrible for him. Never. I never have.
I think that Madonna was a great inspiration for me, especially on my earlier work. If I had to examine her evolution through time, I think she reinvented her clothing style and music with success every single time. And at the same time, remained a real force in entertainment in the whole world.
[2012, on recording music with Chris Brown] I reached out to him about doing "Birthday Cake" because that's the only person that really - it made sense to do the record. Just as a musician - despite everything else - that was going to be the person. You know I thought about rappers, and I've done that so many times, and the hottest R&B artist out right now is Chris Brown. So I wanted him on the track, and then in turn he was like "Why don't you do the remix to my track?" and it was a trade off. We did two records. One for my fans. One for his fans, and that way our fans can come together. There shouldn't be a divide. You know? It's music, and it's innocent.
[March 2012, on her weight loss] The Five Factor Diet has gone straight out the window ever since I went on tour. I mean, It's difficult to have any kind of routine when your schedule is that crazy. So I really have no idea how I'm continuously losing weight. It's actually pretty annoying, because now I don't have a butt, and I have no boobs. I already had no boobs to start with. So annoying and I'm eating everything!
2012, on some people criticizing her reunion with Chris Brown after the two recorded music together
I respect what other people have to say. The bottom line is that everyone thinks differently. It's very hard for me to accept, but I get it. People end up wasting their time on the blogs or whatever, ranting away, and that's all right. I don't hate them for it. Because tomorrow, I'm still going to be the same person. I'm still going to do what I want to do.
when asked if she is at ease posing in revealing clothing] Totally, especially when it's Photoshopped. I'm comfortable in my underwear around the right people.
My mother would kill me if I posed nude. She raised me with certain standards.
When people call me Robyn, my head just flies around because I feel like that person knows me. But Rihanna, that tends to be people's own [creation]. Robyn is who I am. Rihanna - that's an idea of who I am.
[on her style icon] You know who is the best who ever did it? Princess Diana. She was like - she killed it. Every look was right. She was gangster with her clothes. She had these crazy hats. She got over-size jackets. I loved everything she wore!
[on being a huge fan of Star Trek] This is something that's been a part of me since my childhood, it's never left me, I love Star Trek. It was automatic. I would do anything in terms of music. It's such a big deal not only as a fan, as a musician... because Star Trek is such a big deal across the globe.
