Robyn Rihanna Fenty (; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman and actress. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Rihanna was discovered by American record producer Evan Rogers in her home country in 2003. Throughout 2004, she recorded demo tapes under the direction of Rogers; this led to her securing a recording contract with Def Jam Recordings after she auditioned for its then-president, Jay-Z. Rihanna rose to fame with the release of her debut studio album Music of the Sun (2005) and its follow-up A Girl like Me (2006). Both albums peaked within the top 10 of the U.S. Billboard 200 and respectively produced the successful singles "Pon de Replay", "SOS", and "Unfaithful".
With the release of her third studio album Good Girl Gone Bad (2007), Rihanna developed a public image as a sex symbol and incorporated more elements of dance-pop into her music. It became a major breakthrough in her career and earned Rihanna her first Grammy Award at the 2008 ceremony. Recorded after her assault at the hands of her then-boyfriend Chris Brown, her fourth studio album, Rated R (2009), is distinguished for its dark themes and lyrical content. Her pop-influenced fifth studio album, Loud (2010) achieved widespread success, producing three Billboard Hot 100 number one singles: "Only Girl (In the World)", "What's My Name?", and "S&M". She followed this success with her dance-oriented sixth studio album, Talk That Talk (2011) and her R&B-focused seventh album Unapologetic (2012), which won a Grammy Award. Her critically acclaimed dancehall and hip-hop soul-inspired eighth studio album, Anti (2016), became her second Billboard 200 number-one album and was one of the most streamed albums of the year.Recognized as a pop icon, Rihanna is one of the world's best-selling music artists, with over 250 million records sold worldwide. Many of her songs rank among the world's best-selling singles of all time, including the singles "Umbrella", "We Found Love", "Stay" and "Work", as well as her collaboration "Love the Way You Lie" with Eminem. Rihanna is the youngest solo artist to earn 14 number-one singles and has a total of 31 top 10 singles on the Billboard Hot 100. She also has over 30 top 10 songs in the United Kingdom and Australia, making her the only artist in the 21st century to achieve this feat. She was named the Top Digital Songs Artist and Top Hot 100 Artist of this century, as well as the all-time Top Pop Songs artist by Billboard. Additionally, she is Spotify and Apple Music's most streamed female artist of all time.Among numerous awards and accolades, Rihanna has won nine Grammy Awards, 13 American Music Awards, and 12 Billboard Music Awards. She currently holds six Guinness World Records. Furthermore, she was awarded with the inaugural American Music Award for Icon in 2013 and the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award in 2016. Rihanna received the Fashion Icon lifetime achievement award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America in 2014. In 2012, Forbes ranked her the fourth most powerful celebrity, while Time included her on the annual list of the most influential people in the world in 2012 and 2018. Rihanna was named Harvard University's "Humanitarian of the Year" by the Harvard Foundation in early 2017. She was appointed as an Ambassador on behalf of the government of Barbados in 2018, with her duties involving the promotion of education, tourism and investment.
