Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by Frazer Harrison

Editor’s note: This article was originally published on August 26, 2023. It has since been updated.

Rihanna appears to be thriving in her career, as she has recently claimed the title of the wealthiest female musician globally, surpassing renowned artists like Beyoncé and Madonna, according to Forbes. Beyond her achievements as a chart-topping singer, a significant portion of her success can be attributed to her pioneering makeup brand, Fenty Beauty, which made its debut in September 2017 and achieved remarkable success.

Forbes reported that Fenty Beauty achieved an astonishing $100 million in sales within its initial weeks of launch. Subsequently, Rihanna’s brand has experienced continuous expansion, and its influence on the beauty industry has been enduring.

As highlighted by Forbes, “Not only did [Fenty Beauty] achieve meaningful sales, but it potentially changed the industry permanently.” Rihanna’s commitment to celebrating women of diverse sizes and skin tones has demonstrated that a brand can flourish when it embraces inclusivity and makes all individuals feel valued.
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Although Rihanna’s current life appears to be filled with happiness, she has faced numerous challenges throughout the years. The singer has weathered tragedies, navigated through highly publicized breakups, and found herself embroiled in celebrity conflicts. Amidst all of this, Rihanna has grappled with a tumultuous relationship with her father, which significantly influenced her troubled association with Chris Brown and even led to a legal dispute at one juncture.

Robyn Rihanna Fenty was born in 1988 on the island of Barbados and has two younger brothers. She was brought up in the Saint Michael parish, which she described as a neighborhood that was somewhat below the average socio-economic status—”It wasn’t the poorest, and it definitely wasn’t the richest.”

Nonetheless, from an early age, Rihanna had a clear aspiration to pursue a singing career, but she encountered obstacles on her path. Singing and dancing lessons were not readily available, and her home life was marked by significant challenges. Her father, Ronald, struggled with a crack cocaine addiction and subjected her mother, Monica, to physical abuse. Rihanna has always held her mother in the highest regard, referring to her as “one of the strongest women I know, if not the strongest,” making the abuse she witnessed all the more perplexing.

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Additionally, Rihanna grappled with the emotional complexity of caring for someone who exhibited abusive behavior. “I haven’t been in touch with my dad for a year and a half, by his choice… He came on tour and acted a mess again, and we sent him home, and after that, he didn’t answer my calls,” she told The Guardian in 2009.

Even after the singer distanced herself from her father, Ronald Fenty, he continued to surprise fans with his affectionate comments about Chris Brown, despite Brown’s assault on his daughter on February 8, 2009. In a 2014 interview with the Daily Mail, Ronald expressed his feelings about Chris Brown by saying: “When I see in the papers he’s in trouble, I think ‘Chris what the hell are you doing man?’ The guy has got so much talent you know what I mean, to just screw up like that.”
 Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by Caroline McCredie
During an ABC interview in 2009, Rihanna also addressed Chris Brown’s assault. At one point, she referenced her father and said that she frequently intervened between her parents’ altercations to “break up a fight.” Rihanna said: “Domestic violence is not somebody that people want anybody to know, so she would just hide it in the house. I always said to myself, ‘I’m never going to date somebody like my dad, never.'”