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Rihanna is one of the most successful artists in the world. The 36-year-old mother of two boasts impressive artistic and business achievements.
A native of Barbados, she is known for her distinctive voice, fashion sense, and several beauty business ventures. Riri has also graced the covers of some of the most elusive fashion magazines in the world.
Her fanbase spreads all across the world and her impressive following on social media platforms is a testament to that. Still, some facts about the award-winning singer might come as a surprise to many fans.
The article below explores some of those interesting facts about Rihanna.
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9 Interesting facts about Rihanna
- She served in a military program in Barbados
- She showed off her natural hair for her latest Fenty Hair campaign
- LVMH reportedly owns 50% of Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty
- She is the first female artiste to have 10 songs with 1 Billion streams on Spotify
- Her most recent waxwork bears visuals of her Super Bowl performance
- She made a cameo on the last season of Bates Motel
- Lift Me Up was her first Oscar nomination
- She is a National Hero of Barbados
- She got signed to a record label at age 16
1) She served in a military program in Barbados
The Barbados native served as an army cadet in her home country, in a sub-military program. The singer took part in this program at age 11, and was directly supervised by Shontelle, the Barbadian singer and songwriter, who was her drill sergeant back then.
Shontelle recalled having to order the young cadet around, during training. Rihanna, on her own part, admitted that the military training helped her poise in a beauty pageant she later took part in. This is one of the most interesting Rihanna facts.
2) She showed off her natural hair for her latest Fenty Hair campaign
Rihanna is known for experimenting with bold and audacious colors—red hair was her signature in the early 2010s, and she has been been spotted with blonde hairstyles in recent years.
At the launch party of the Fenty haircare line on June 11, 2024, the business owner showed up in her natural honey brown curls, giving fans a glimpse of her real hair, after years of wearing wigs.
Read More: Did Rihanna retire from music? Singer’s current career status explored
3) LVMH reportedly owns 50% of Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty
Rihanna attained billionaire status as a result of her stake in the successful Fenty beauty line. She launched Fenty beauty in partnership with LVMH, the French luxury goods conglomerate, in 2017.
Official reports state that LVMH owns an estimated 50% of the partnership. Rihanna became the first woman of color to lead a house under the LVMH brand and the first female to create an original brand for the luxury conglomerate.
4) She is the first female artiste to have 10 songs with 1 Billion streams on Spotify
The multiple Grammy Award winner took to her Instagram on June 30, 2023, to celebrate the remarkable feat as the first female artiste to have ten songs with a billion streams on Spotify, making one of the most interesting Rihanna facts.
Despite not having released any full-length album since 2016, the singer continues to break records. Rihanna referenced her billionaire status after setting her new Spotify record, on her Instagram post.
The achievement came closely after the release of her original soundtrack for the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever movie.
Read More: What did Taylor Swift win her Grammys for? Singer's music achievements explored
5) Her most recent waxwork bears visuals of her Super Bowl performance
The most recent waxwork of the singer was unveiled at Madame Tussauds Orlando in February 2024. The waxwork was modeled after the famous singer’s second outfit for her Super Bowl Halftime performance in 2023.
The waxwork was created to commemorate the first year anniversary of Rihanna’s headlining act at the Super Bowl in 2023. The wax figure sports an imitation of the monochromatic red ensemble that the superstar wore.
6) She made a cameo on the last season of Bates Motel
The singer-entrepreneur has proved herself as a multi-talented artiste, with acting roles in Ocean’s 8, and Home, among others. The 36-year-old has also made cameos in popular movies like Bring it On: All or Nothing.
For her cameo in A&E’s Bates Motel, the talented artiste played the role of Marion Crane, an ill-fated character who dies at the hands of Norman Bates.
Prior to her casting in the role, the singer had admitted in an interview that Bates Motel was her favorite show.
7) Lift Me Up was her first Oscar nomination
The singer received her first Oscar nomination for the original song Lift Me Up from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
The song was released in November 2022 and was written by Riri in collaboration with Nigerian singer, Tems and Ryan Cooglar. It was produced by Ludwig Göransson.
The song was nominated for Best Original Song at the 95th Academy Awards but lost to Naatu Naatu from RRR by Keeravani.
8) She is a National Hero of Barbados
The Fenty mogul has contributed to her home country of Barbados in multiple ways. She started a charity foundation named the Clara Lionel Foundation, in honor of her grandparents.
The Foundation has donated millions of dollars for projects in her home country. As a result of her contribution to Barbados, she received the Order of National Hero in 2021, making her the 11th Barbadian National Hero.
9) She got signed to a record label at age 16
The award-winning singer was discovered in Barbados by Evan Rogers, American music producer, who then recorded her demo and sent them over to Jay Z, the head of Def Jam Recordings at that time.
She was invited to audition in New York and impressed everybody. She left the audition with a record deal of six albums, at the age of 16.
Reportedly, Jay Z was so impressed that he negotiated until 3am to iron out the details of the contract.
