Rihanna Biography

NAME: Robyn Rihanna Fenty

OCCUPATION: Singer

BIRTH DATE: February 20, 1988 (Age: 23)

EDUCATION: Combermere School

PLACE OF BIRTH: Barbados

Synopsis

Born Robyn Rihanna Fenty, on February 20, 1988 in Barbados, Rihanna signed with Def Jam records at age 16 and released her first album, which sold more than 2 million copies worldwide, in 2005. She went on to release more albums and hit songs, including "Unfaithful," "Disturbia," and "Umbrella." Rihanna has also won multiple awards including Grammys, MTV Video Music Awards, and Billboard awards.

Profile

Singer. Robyn Rihanna Fenty was born on February 20, 1988, in St. Michael Parish on the Caribbean island of Barbados. She is the eldest of three children born to Monica Fenty, an accountant, and Ronald Fenty, a warehouse supervisor. Rihanna's childhood was marred by her father's struggles with addictions to alcohol and crack cocaine and her parents' marital problems—they divorced when she was 14 years old. However, since that time, Rihanna's father has managed to conquer his addictions and the pair are now very close. "Now my dad is like the coolest person on the planet," Rihanna says. "He doesn't smother me. He lets me live my life. And he's been like that a lot, even when I was younger. He would watch me making a mistake and he wouldn't stop me. My dad, he lets me make it and then I learn." Rihanna also struggled with crippling headaches for several years during her childhood, a condition she attempted to hide from her friends and classmates so that they would not think she was abnormal. "I never expressed how I felt," she remembers. "I always kept it in. I would go to school ... you would never know there was something wrong with me."

At the age of 15, she formed a girl group with two of her classmates. In 2003 friends introduced Rihanna and her two bandmates to record producer Evan Rogers, who was vacationing in Barbados with his wife. The group auditioned for Rogers, who said that "the minute Rihanna walked into the room, it was like the other two girls didn't exist." While auditioning for Rogers, Rihanna sang Destiny's Child's cover of "Emotion". Over the next year, Rihanna and her mom shuttled back and forth to Rogers home in Stamford, Connecticut. Then, shortly after turning 16, she relocated in the United States and moved in with Rogers and his wife. Carl Sturken helped Rihanna record a four-song demo, which included the ballad "Last Time," a cover of Whitney Houston?s hit "For the Love of You" and what would become her first hit, "Pon de Replay" to send to various recording companies. It took a year to record the demos, because she was going to school and would only record during summer and Christmas school breaks. Rihanna's demo made its way to Def Jam, which invited her to audition for the label's then-president, Jay-Z, who quickly signed her.

A Barbados Discovery

After forming a girl group with two classmates, Rihanna, 15, auditions for veteran producer Evan Rogers, who tells Entertainment Weekly, "The minute Rihanna walked into the room, it was like the other two girls didn't exist." She eventually moves to Connecticut to live with Rogers and his wife, while cutting a four-song demo. "When I left Barbados, I didn't look back," Rihanna adds. "I wanted to do what I had to do, even it meant moving to America."

Rihanna's Debut

Rihanna releases her first single, "Pon de Replay," kicking off her debut album, Music of the Sun, and it peaks at No. 2 on Billboard's Hot 100. The Barbados beauty tours with Gwen Stefani to promote her album, which sells more than 2 million copies worldwide. Rolling Stone calls the album "a seductive mix of big-voiced R&B and souped-up island riddims – what Beyoncé might have sounded like if she had grown up in the West Indies and skipped the whole Destiny's Child thing."

A Natural Beauty

After becoming the face of Cover Girl cosmetics, Rihanna appears in PEOPLE's Most Beautiful issue sans makeup. "The best thing about going without makeup is that it takes a lot less time to get ready," Rihanna tells PEOPLE. "You feel comfortable and free." The glowing singer is also listed at No. 8 on Maxim's Hot 100 and No. 59 on EW's 100 Stars We Love, among such up-and-comers as Hayden Panettiere and Shia LaBeouf.

Rihanna's First Grammy!

After making a splash with an even shorter do, Rihanna performs "Umbrella" and "Don?t Stop the Music" at the 2008 Grammy Awards. The 19-year-old singer also goes home with her first Grammy for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration with Jay-Z for her hit "Umbrella." During her acceptance speech, Rihanna says, "Dad, I know I promised you I'd give you my first Grammy, but we're going to have to fight for this one!"

The new album was released November 23, 2009. The album’s lead single, “Russian Roulette”, was released on October 20, 2009.Rihanna performed the song on The X Factor on November 29, 2009. The official video was released on November 13, 2009. The second single, “Hard” which features Young Jeezy, was released on November 2, 2009.