Rihanna

Robyn Rihanna Fenty (/riˈænə/ ^ⓘ ree-AN-ə; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, actress, and songwriter. She is widely regarded as one of the most prominent recording artists of the 21st century. She signed with Def Jam Recordings in 2005, and soon gained mainstream recognition following the release of her first two studio albums, Music of the Sun (2005) and A Girl Like Me (2006), both of which were influenced by Caribbean music and peaked within the top ten on the US Billboard 200 chart. Her third album, Good Girl Gone Bad (2007), incorporated elements of dance-pop and established her status as a major icon in the music industry. Its lead single, "Umbrella" (featuring Jay-Z) peaked the US Billboard Hot 100 (among 16 other countries), won her first Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, and is credited with ushering her into global stardom.

Rihanna continued to mix pop, dance, and R&B genres on her next studio albums, Rated R (2009), Loud (2010), Talk That Talk (2011), and Unapologetic (2012)—the latter of which peaked the Billboard 200. The albums spawned a string of chart-topping singles, including "Rude Boy", "Only Girl (In the World)", "What's My Name?" (featuring Drake), "S&M", "We Found Love" (featuring Calvin Harris), and "Diamonds". Her eighth album, Anti (2016), showcased new creative control following her departure from Def Jam in favor of Jay-Z's Roc Nation label. It became her second US number one album and was supported the chart-topping single "Work" (featuring Drake). During her musical career, Rihanna has collaborated with artists including Coldplay, Drake, Eminem, Kanye West, Ne-Yo, and Shakira.

With sales of over 250 million records worldwide, Rihanna is the second-best-selling female music artist of all time and the highest-certified female artist of all time on the RIAA's Top Artists (Digital Singles) ranking. She has achieved 14 number-one singles, 32 top-ten singles in the US, and 31 top-ten entries in the UK. Her accolades include nine Grammy Awards, 13 American Music Awards (including the Icon Award), 12 Billboard Music Awards, five World Music Awards, six Guinness World Records, the NAACP's President's Award, and an Academy Award nomination. Her acclaimed Super Bowl halftime show performance in 2023 is the most watched in history. Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2012 and 2018. Forbes ranked her among the top ten highest-paid celebrities in 2012 and 2014. As of 2024, she is the wealthiest female musician, with an estimated net worth of $1.4 billion.

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 organization Clara Lionel Foundation, cosmetics brand Fenty Beauty, and fashion house Fenty under LVMH; she is the first black woman to head a luxury brand for LVMH. Rihanna has also ventured into acting, appearing in major roles in Battleship (2012), Home (2015), Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017), and Ocean's 8 (2018). She was appointed as an ambassador of education, tourism, and investment by the Government of Barbados in 2018 and was declared a National Hero of Barbados on the first day of the country's parliamentary republic in 2021, entitling her to the style of "The Right Excellent" for life.