How well do you know Rihanna?
No gossip, no lyrics — just the story of how a teenager from Barbados became a global star and a business founder. Six questions, from medium to very hard.
Did you know?
- The Clara Lionel Foundation's scholarship programme helps students from the Caribbean and other countries attend college in the United States. Rihanna has often said that education gave her grandparents' generation opportunities, and she wanted to pass that on to young people from islands like the one where she grew up.
- Rihanna's hometown street in Barbados, Westbury New Road, was officially renamed Rihanna Drive in 2017. The house where she grew up has become a stop for fans visiting the island, and the government has long promoted her as one of Barbados's best-known ambassadors.
- When Fenty Beauty launched, some of its darkest foundation shades sold out first in many stores. The response showed how many shoppers had been poorly served by existing ranges, and within a few years a much wider selection of shades became standard across the beauty industry.
From Saint Michael to the world
Rihanna grew up in Saint Michael, a parish of Barbados, and began singing seriously in her early teens. After her discovery she moved to the United States at 16 and released her first single, 'Pon de Replay', in 2005. Over the following decade she became one of the best-selling artists of her generation, moving between pop, dancehall, R&B and dance music. Since the mid-2010s, her attention has shifted increasingly towards business, fashion and philanthropy.
Building a brand
Fenty Beauty, created with the luxury group LVMH, was designed around the idea that everyone should be able to find their shade. Its success was followed by Savage X Fenty, a lingerie line known for featuring models of many body types. In 2019 Rihanna launched Fenty, a fashion house under LVMH, making her the first woman to create an original brand for the group and the first woman of colour to lead one of its houses. Forbes first listed her as a billionaire in 2021.
Giving back
In 2012 Rihanna founded the Clara Lionel Foundation, named after her grandparents Clara and Lionel Braithwaite. It supports education and emergency response, especially in countries vulnerable to climate change and natural disasters, such as those in the Caribbean. Earlier, she had funded a centre for oncology and nuclear medicine at the main hospital in Barbados, in memory of her grandmother. Her work has been recognised by Harvard University, which named her its Humanitarian of the Year in 2017.
A musical chameleon
Rihanna's catalogue covers a remarkable range. Early songs drew on Caribbean rhythms, while later albums moved into darker pop, electronic dance music and slow-burning R&B. Her 2016 album Anti was widely praised for its experimental sound. She has collaborated with artists from Eminem to Calvin Harris and Drake, and in 2023 she headlined the Super Bowl halftime show, performing a string of hits on platforms suspended high above the stadium floor.