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Today is the big day. Sunday, February 12, 2023, marks the biggest football game of the year, Super Bowl LVII. The Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles will face off at 6:30 p.m. Eastern time at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, both teams hoping to take the championship.
As one of the most-watched television broadcasts of the year, all eyes will on superstar Rihanna, who was announced as the halftime show headliner in September 2022. Here’s everything you need to know about the pop star, business mogul, and billionaire ahead of the halftime show.
Rihanna Was Born in Barbados
Rihanna was born in St. Michael parish, Barbados on February 20, 1988, meaning the singer’s halftime show performance comes eight days ahead of her 35th birthday. Rihanna is actually the singer’s middle name, her full name at birth being Robyn Rihanna Fenty.
The 5-foot-8-inch-tall singer first made a name for herself in 2004. After forming an unnamed girl group with two of her school classmates, Rihanna auditioned for music producer Evan Rogers, who was interested in helping her develop her talents as a solo artist. At 16 years old, Rihanna moved to the United States and lived with Rogers and his wife while she worked on her singing career. She quickly began releasing music that climbed the charts, with her breakout single being “Pon de Replay”.
Rihanna’s latest full-length album, “Anti”, was released in 2016. She has since taken time off from writing and producing her own music to focus on other business ventures, however in 2022 she returned with a single, “Lift Me Up”, which was released as a part of the “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” soundtrack.
In 2018, Rihanna was named an Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of her home country, with special duties to promote “education, tourism, and investment for the island.” Three years later, the singer received another honor when she was declared a National Hero of Barbados. Rihanna is the second woman and 11th person to be granted this title and was bestowed the honor at the same ceremony in which Barbados officially declared itself a republic and removed its ties with Great Britain (including removing Queen Elizabeth II as head of state).
In May 2022, Rihanna welcomed her first child, a son, with her boyfriend, rapper A$AP Rocky. The couple has not revealed their son’s name.
Rihanna is a Billionaire
In addition to her musical pursuits, Rihanna has also built a very successful business empire. In 2021, Forbes announced that she had become the richest female musician on the planet, and had officially become a billionaire, with a net worth of $1.7 billion.
Much of Rihanna’s wealth, $1.4 billion as Forbes reports, comes from her Fenty Beauty line (Rihanna owns half of the business), with another sizeable portion ($270 million) coming from the mogul’s lingerie line, Savage x Fenty. Fenty Beauty has released a line of NFL and Super Bowl-branded products ahead of the big game in support of Rihanna’s much-anticipated performance.
Previously, Rihanna helmed a Fenty clothing line, which was backed by company LVMH, which is also known for backing fashion brands including Christian Dior, Loewe, Louis Vuitton, and Marc Jacobs.