Rihanna turns 35! 7 things you need to know about the superstar singer

Growing up in the city of Bridgeport in Barbados to an alcoholic father and Afro-Guyanese mother, Rihanna has come a long way in the music industry. Starting out in 2005, the singer has now sold over 250 million records worldwide, making her the second best selling female artist of all time. She is also a singer, songwriter, fashion designer and actress.

Last week belonged to Rihanna. Rihanna set the stage on fire and made a splash in red at the Super Bowl halftime show. She sang some of her all time favourite and popular songs in the 13 minute show including Where have you been, We found love, Umbrella, Diamonds and All of the Lights.

Rihanna is mother to a nine month old son with her boyfriend, A$AP Rocky. The world gasped at the Super Bowl halftime show when they saw her pregnant baby bump. Her team of dancers later revealed that Rihanna is pregnant again. Rihanna credits motherhood for her saying yes to performing at the Super Bowl. At the Super Bowl halftime press conference, she said, “When you become a mom, you can take on anything and do anything.”

This year’s March Vogue cover features Rihanna, A$AP Rocky and their son, all dressed in black walking along the beach. Inside, there is a comprehensive interview of Rihanna done a month ago at the unearthly hour of 3 am. That’s because she wanted to do it at a time when she knew her baby would be fast asleep and she had finished rehearsals and practices for the day. She believes in living life king size with not a moment going to waste.

Rihanna has earned her first Oscar nomination for her song Lift Me Up, from the film, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. It has made it to the best original song list of nominations at the 2023 Oscars. She is competing with Lady Gaga, Diane Warren, David Byrne, Son Lux, Mitski, and Kala Bhairava, MM Keeravaani, Rahul Sipligunj for “Naatu Naatu” from RRR.

Rihanna has gone from strength to strength from humble beginnings in 2005 with her first studio album, titled Music of the Sun. Her second studio album, A Girl Like Me was released in 2006. In 2007, her breakthrough album, Good Girl Gone Bad was released which featured the chart topping hit Umbrella. She has won 9 Grammys, 12 Billboard music awards, 13 American Music Awards and 7 MTV Video Music Awards.

She is the founder of the Clara Lionel foundation in 2012. A foundation she set up in memory of her grandparents. She is providing oncology and nuclear medicine support to a hospital in Barbados besides running education programs. At the Super Bowl, she mentioned that she was happy to bring Barbados on the world map.

Rihanna is the co-founder of Fenty beauty and Savage X Fenty. Most of her fortune estimated at $1.4 billion comes from Fenty beauty in which she has a 50% stake. She is the wealthiest female singer and musician in the world, second only to Oprah Winfrey as the wealthiest female entertainer. Her business ventures focus on the fashion and cosmetics industry.