50 Fun Facts About Rihanna

What was Rihanna's father's job when she was growing up?

Her mother Monica was an accountant; Rihanna helped her father sell clothes at a street stall in Bridgetown.

What is Rihanna's first name?

Rihanna is her middle name; she uses her surname Fenty for all her non-music businesses.

Which future singer was Rihanna's drill sergeant when she joined her country's Cadet Corps at age 11?

Rihanna dropped out of school at 16 to pursue music after her demo reached Jay-Z.

Which Destiny's Child song did Rihanna's teenage girl group perform at their audition for Evan Rogers?

Rogers said the minute Rihanna walked in 'it was like the other two girls didn't exist'.

Which rapper, newly installed as CEO of Def Jam, signed Rihanna after her 2005 audition?

L.A. Reid told him not to let her leave the building without a deal; she waited in his office while lawyers drew up a six-album contract.

What was Rihanna's debut single, released in May 2005?

It reached number two in both the US and UK; Jay-Z had worried it was 'too big' for a new artist.

What was the title of Rihanna's debut album?

Jay-Z's team finished it in three months; it debuted at number ten on the Billboard 200.

Which song gave Rihanna her first Billboard Hot 100 number one, in 2006?

It came from A Girl Like Me, her first double-platinum album.

Which 2007 album is regarded as the turning point where Rihanna shed her innocent early image?

Ne-Yo, Timbaland and Justin Timberlake were among the producers, and Ne-Yo also gave her vocal training.

How many straight weeks did 'Umbrella' spend at number one in the UK?

It managed seven straight weeks on the Hot 100 and won a Grammy for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration with Jay-Z.

'Umbrella' was nearly given to which R&B singer before Rihanna got it?

Tricky Stewart built the beat from a hi-hat sound he found in GarageBand.

Which two 2008 singles from her third album joined 'Umbrella' at number one on the Hot 100?

'Disturbia' came from the Reloaded reissue; Rihanna toured 80 dates across five continents behind the album.

Which darker, rock-influenced 2009 album did Rihanna record after Chris Brown's assault?

She began work on it a month after the 2009 Grammys and toured it as the Last Girl on Earth tour.

Rihanna's 2010 hit with Eminem, which topped the Hot 100 for seven weeks, was called what?

It was the UK's best-selling song of 2010; the pair reunited for 'The Monster' in 2013.

Which single from Loud won the Grammy for Best Dance Recording in 2011?

The Loud Tour included a record ten sold-out nights at London's O2 Arena.

How many sold-out O2 Arena shows did Rihanna play on the Loud Tour, then a record for a female artist?

The tour launched in June 2011 in support of Loud.

'We Found Love', Rihanna's longest-running Hot 100 number one, was made with which Scottish DJ?

It spent ten non-consecutive weeks at number one and was the longest-running US chart-topper of 2011.

How many weeks did 'We Found Love' spend at number one on the Billboard Hot 100?

Its video, depicting a turbulent drug-fuelled romance, was condemned by the Rape Crisis Centre.

Which was Rihanna's first album to debut at number one on the Billboard 200?

It sold 238,000 copies in its first week in November 2012.

Which Australian singer-songwriter wrote 'Diamonds' with producers Benny Blanco and Stargate?

Stargate had already produced 'Don't Stop the Music' and 'Only Girl (In the World)' for her.

What was the gimmick of Rihanna's 777 Tour, promoting her seventh album?

A documentary about the whirlwind tour aired on Fox in May 2013.

In which 2012 film, based on a board game, did Rihanna make her feature acting debut?

She played Petty Officer Cora Raikes; the film got mixed reviews.

On which streaming service was Anti released exclusively in January 2016?

Samsung's $25 million deal sponsored the rollout; it became her second US number-one album.

How many weeks did 'Work', the lead single from Anti, spend atop the Hot 100?

'Needed Me' and 'Love on the Brain' from the same album also made the top ten.

Which label did Rihanna leave Def Jam for in 2014?

She had switched to Roc Nation for management back in 2010; Anti was the first album under the new deal.

How many number-one singles does Rihanna have on the Billboard Hot 100?

That ties her with Drake for fourth most in the chart's history.

How many Grammy Awards has Rihanna won?

She also has twelve Billboard Music Awards and thirteen American Music Awards.

In what year did Rihanna launch Fenty Beauty?

Its inclusive range triggered the 'Fenty Effect', with forty foundation shades becoming the industry benchmark.

Which luxury conglomerate partnered with Rihanna on Fenty Beauty and later the Fenty fashion house?

She was the first woman to create an original brand for the group and the first woman of colour to lead one of its houses.

What is the name of Rihanna's lingerie brand, launched in 2018?

It debuted at New York Fashion Week and was praised for its size and shade inclusivity.

Rihanna's charity, the Clara Lionel Foundation, is named after whom?

Its Diamond Ball fundraisers raised over $2 million at the first event in 2014.

What title did her home country confer on Rihanna in 2021?

She had already been named an ambassador in 2018, and February 22 has been 'Rihanna Day' there since 2008.

Rihanna was the first female musician to reach what financial milestone?

Most of the fortune comes from Fenty Beauty rather than music.

In which all-female heist film did Rihanna star in 2018?

Directed by Gary Ross, it earned $300 million worldwide.

'Lift Me Up', Rihanna's first solo release after Anti, was recorded for which film?

It earned her Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations for Best Original Song.

What made Rihanna's Super Bowl LVII halftime show a first?

It was her first live performance in over five years and drew more than 121 million viewers.

Where was Super Bowl LVII, with Rihanna's halftime show, played?

It was the first halftime show sponsored by Apple Music after ten years of Pepsi.

Whose Super Bowl halftime viewership record did Rihanna's 2023 show overtake?

Perry's 2015 show had held the mark; Rihanna's drew over 121 million across TV and digital.

Which rapper is the father of Rihanna's children?

Their second son was born in 2023 and a daughter in 2025.

Which character did Rihanna voice in the 2025 animated film Smurfs?

She had earlier voiced Tip in DreamWorks' Home (2015).

Roughly how many records has Rihanna sold, making her one of the best-selling artists ever?

She is also the RIAA's highest-certified female digital single artist, with eight diamond singles.

Which reggae artist was among Rihanna's early musical influences, along with Damian Marley?

She also listened to Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey; she sang Houston at her Def Jam audition.

In which Barbados parish was Rihanna born in February 1988?

Her mother Monica is an Afro-Guyanese accountant and she has two younger brothers, Rorrey and Rajad.

What was the title of Rihanna's second album, released in April 2006?

The pop-and-reggae record opened at number five on the Billboard 200 and became her first double-platinum album.

Which classic Hitchcock character did Rihanna play in the final season of Bates Motel in 2017?

The same year she played a shapeshifting burlesque performer in Luc Besson's Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.

Alongside whom did Rihanna star in the 2019 film Guava Island?

She played his character's love interest; later that year she signed with Sony/ATV Music Publishing.

Which artist has Rihanna identified as her idol, hoping to become the 'Black' version of her?

She admired the star's knack for constant reinvention, and also named Mariah Carey as a major influence.

Which Bob Marley songs has Rihanna covered on tour, having built a shrine to him at home?

She credits Marley with paving the way for every other artist out of the Caribbean.

In December 2012 Rihanna became the first woman on the cover of which magazine's 'Men of the Year' issue?

She has called the sex-symbol label flattering but uncomfortable.

Which Barbados prime minister proclaimed 'Rihanna Day' on February 22, 2008?

It is not an official public holiday but is still marked by locals each year; she is also an Ambassador for Culture and Youth.