Rihanna may be one of the biggest stars in the world, but it took a lot for her to get there.
The top-charting artist had a difficult childhood – growing up with an abusive father who left the family at 14, forcing her to care of her siblings while her mom worked to keep the family afloat.
Born Robyn Rihanna Fenty on February 20, 1988, Rihanna was the daughter of an accountant named Monica and a warehouse supervisor named Ronald.
She grew up in a three-bedroom house in Saint Michael, Barbados, with her two brothers, two half-sisters, and a half-brother. As a child, she helped her dad sell clothes in a stall on the street.
Rihanna grew up with an abusive father who left at 14, forcing her to care for her siblings while her mom worked. She is pictured as a teen with her mom
Born Robyn Rihanna Fenty on February 20, 1988, Rihanna was the daughter of an accountant named Monica and a warehouse supervisor named Ronald. She is pictured throughout her childhood
She later said that her father physically abused her mother and that he suffered from alcoholism and crack cocaine addiction.
‘I hated him. Then, one of my school friends, who I was very close to, she knew, and she always used to say, “You can’t hate your father,”‘ Rihanna later recalled to the Guardian, adding that he was the one who taught her how to swim, ride a bike, and the other milestones as a kid.
She was signed by Def Jam Recordings in 2005 after record producer Evan Rogers discovered her and sent Def Jam’s president, Jay-Z, her demo. She is pictured as a kid
‘You have to love him, at the end of the day, because he’s your father. So I listened, as much as it took out of me.’
She also said on Oprah, ‘He taught me everything. As awful as he was to my mom at times, it didn’t compare to how great he was as a father.’
Her parents split when she was 14, and she later recalled staying home to watch her siblings, specifically…
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