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    Robyn Rihanna Fenty, who would later come to fame under just her middle name, had a pretty rough childhood. Born in Barbados, her family was torn apart by her father's vicious addictions to crack, marijuana and alcohol, and her parents divorced when she was fourteen. She worked with her father selling clothes on the street and eventually dropped out of high school.

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    Rihanna had always dreamed of pursuing a career in music and had formed several singing groups with friends while still in school. In 2003, a chance meeting with producers Carl Sturken and Evan Rogers led to an audition. The young girl wowed them with her performance of a Destiny's Child song and they took her to New York to record demos.

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    It was very difficult for Rihanna to record her demo tapes with all the traveling, but she managed to get them done. One landed in the hands of Jay-Z in his newly-appointed role as head of Def Jam. Rihanna was absolutely nervous in her meeting with the hip-hop mogul, but he ended up signing her to a deal.

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    Rihanna’s first single, 2005's "Pon de Replay," was a tremendous hit. It hit the Top 10 in 15 different countries. Unfortunately, the album from which it came, Music Of The Sun, didn't do so well. The new star was being marketed as a reggae artist due to her Caribbean upbringing, but her real interests were more in pop.

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    Things changed with Rihanna’s third album, "Good Girl Gone Bad." The disc spawned the unavoidable #1 hit "Umbrella," which was a worldwide sensation that sold over 6.6 million copies and stayed on the charts for ages. The single firmly established Rihanna as an A-list artist who could shift product.

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    In 2009, Rihanna's career took an unexpected and unpleasant detour. On their way to the Grammy Awards, she was physically assaulted by then-boyfriend Chris Brown, who was arrested and taken into custody. The chilling images of Rihanna's bruised and beaten face brought the reality of domestic violence into the public eye.

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    After taking some time out of the spotlight, Rihanna returned to the music world in a number of videos, including Kanye West's "Paranoid" and Eminem's "Love The Way You Lie." The latter was a major hit that Rihanna also sang on, bringing her career back to the upper echelon of pop singers.

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    Interestingly enough, Rihanna's influences aren't really from the Caribbean music world. She has commented that she wants to be the "black Madonna" and also raves about the music of Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston. She does show respect to the biggest name in reggae music by having a shrine to Bob Marley in her home.

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    In 2006, Rihanna established the Believe Foundation to help terminally ill children enjoy their last days on Earth. She has also donated her time and image to a wide variety of other charitable causes both in the United States and her native Barbados. Some of her biggest issues include AIDS research and the United Nations Childrens Fund.

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    Rihanna's first product endorsement deal was with Secret Body Spray in 2005, but since then she has traded up to higher-end products. She worked with Ne-Yo to record a song for Clinique and was picked as the public face of Gucci's Tattoo Heart collection. She has also released her first fragrance, Reb'l Fleur, and a book, Rihanna.