The untold story of Rihanna
— September 19, 2016
The odds against Rihanna would have discouraged a less headstrong woman. Her childhood was full of struggle and pain, abuse and drug use, poverty and illness. But at 16, her audition made even Jay Z take notice of the young Barbadian named Robyn Rihanna Fenton.
Nearly 10 years later, she has won eight Grammys, released seven albums (with an eighth rumored to drop soon) and earned a spot as the first female with four No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 in a single year. She’s been on a hot streak as long as her own career. Just last week, she was named the first black spokeswoman for Dior. On Monday, Dreamworks released two Rihanna songs for the animated movie Home. She also provides the voice for the lead.
None of that came easily, though. A decade into her career, Rihanna’s story is one of ferocious battles and hard-earned victory.
A difficult family: She was born in Barbados in 1988 to Ronald Fenty, who ran a garment warehouse, and Monica Braithwaite, an accountant. Along with her younger brother, Rihanna grew up in a troubled home. Her father was an alcoholic and a crack addict; Rihanna recounted to Rolling Stone that he beat her mother and once hit her as well.
It was a constant source of stress in her life. When Rihanna was 8, she started suffering intense headaches that led a doctor to think she might have a tumor. But at 14, when her parents finally divorced after years of on-and-off separation, Rihanna’s headaches stopped. After the divorce, Braithwaite worked full time and Rihanna took over as her younger brother’s caretaker.
“I grew up fast, kind of like the second mom,” Rihanna told the Guardian.
Discrimination: Though her home life improved, Rihanna was still bullied at school for her light complexion. Her father was descendant of a Barbadian-Irish group known as “Redlegs,” a term used for poor, white residents of Barbados. According to Allure, Rihanna fought the kids in school who teased her for being too white; the bullying lent to Rihanna’s reputation for being painfully shy. But she was tough too: As a teenager, Rihanna was in the army cadets and actually reached the rank of corporal. She was a self-proclaimed tomboy, and joined the cadets to show guys she was tough. Her drill sergeant was none other than fellow Barbadian pop singer Shontelle.
“This thick skin has been developing since my first day at school,” she told Harper’s Bazaar. “It didn’t happen after fame; I couldn’t survive fame if I didn’t already have it. So sometimes the toughest thing in life is to be vulnerable.”
Her gift: Though she was shy, she won her high school beauty pageant at 15 for singing Mariah Carey’s “Hero.” She loved to sing so much — at the beach, at the club, around the house — that her neighbors called her “Robyn Red Breast.” According to Rolling Stone, “She always knew she wanted to be a pop star.”
