Biography of Robyn Fenty

Robyn Rihanna Fenty born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna was discovered by American record producer Evan Rogers. She was invited by Rogers to visit the United States to record demo tapes that could be sent to record labels, and in 2005 she signed with Def Jam. She soon gained recognition following the release of her first two studio albums, Music of the Sun and A Girl like Me , both of which were influenced by Caribbean music and peaked within the top ten of the US Billboard 200 chart. Rihanna's third album, Good Girl Gone Bad , incorporated elements of dance-pop and established her status as a sex symbol in the music industry. Its chart-topping single "Umbrella" earned Rihanna her first Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration and catapulted her to international stardom. She continued to mix pop, dance, and R&B genres on her next four albums, Rated R , Loud , Talk That Talk , and the Grammy Award-winning Unapologetic . All four releases combined various other musical styles and consolidated Rihanna's commercial success, with Unapologetic being her first number-one album in the US. The records spawned a string of chart-topping singles, including "Rude Boy", "Only Girl ", "What's My Name?", "S&M", "We Found Love", "Diamonds", and "Stay". Her eighth album, Anti , showcased a new creative control following her departure from Def Jam. It became her second US number-one album and featured the chart-topping single "Work". Rihanna has released collaborative hit singles with artists such as Drake, Eminem, and Calvin Harris. With sales of over 250 million records worldwide, Rihanna is one of the best-selling music artists of all time. She has earned 14 number-ones and 31 top-ten singles in the US and 30 top-ten entries in the UK. Her accolades include nine Grammy Awards, 13 American Music Awards, 12 Billboard Music Awards, and six Guinness World Records. Forbes ranked her among the top ten highest-paid celebrities in 2012 and 2014; as of 2019, she is the wealthiest female musician, with an estimated net worth of $600 million. Time magazine named her as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2012 and 2018. Aside from music, Rihanna is known for her involvement in humanitarian causes, entrepreneurial ventures, and the fashion industry. She is the founder of the nonprofit organisation Clara Lionel Foundation, cosmetics brand Fenty Beauty, and fashion house Fenty under LVMH. Rihanna has also ventured into acting, appearing in major roles in Battleship , Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets , and Ocean's 8 . She was appointed as an ambassador of education, tourism, and investment by the Government of Barbados in 2018. Robyn Rihanna Fenty was born on February 20, 1988 in Saint Michael, Barbados, the daughter of accountant Monica and warehouse supervisor Ronald Fenty. Rihanna has two brothers, Rorrey and Rajad Fenty, and two half-sisters and a half-brother from her father's side, each born to different mothers from his previous relationships. She grew up in a three-bedroom bungalow in Bridgetown and sold clothes with her father in a stall on the street. Her childhood was deeply affected by her father's alcoholism and crack cocaine addiction, which contributed to her parents' strained marriage. Rihanna's father used to physically abuse her mother, and Rihanna would try to get in between them to break up fights. As a child, Rihanna had many CT scans for the excruciating headaches she suffered, recalling, "The doctors even thought it was a tumor, because it was that intense." By the time she was 14, her parents had divorced, and her health began to improve. She grew up listening to reggae music. She attended Charles F. Broome Memorial Primary School and Combermere School, where she studied alongside future international cricketers Chris Jordan and Carlos Brathwaite. Rihanna was an army cadet in a sub-military programme, where the later Barbadian singer-songwriter Shontelle was her drill sergeant. Although she initially wanted to graduate from high school, she chose to pursue a musical career instead. In 2003, Rihanna formed a musical trio with two of her classmates. She was discovered in her home country of Barbados by American record producer Evan Rogers. Without a name or any material, the girl group managed to land an audition with Rogers who commented, "The minute Rihanna walked into the room, it was like the other two girls didn't exist." Rihanna went to Rogers's hotel room, where she performed renditions of Destiny's Child's "Emotion" and Mariah Carey's "Hero". Impressed, Rogers scheduled a second meeting with Rihanna's mother present and then invited Rihanna to his hometown in the United States to record some demo tapes that could be sent to record labels. Recordings were intermittent, taking about a year, because she was only able to record during school holidays. "Pon de Replay" and "The Last Time" were two tracks recorded for the demo tape, which were eventually included on her debut album Music of the Sun. That same year, Rihanna was signed to Rogers's and Carl Sturken's production company, Syndicated Rhythm Productions.