Rihanna Books Her ‘Stay’ at the Woman Crush Wednesday Inn

This week's Woman Crush Wednesday needed to be someone with raw talent and fierce fashion sense. Rihanna not only fits that mold, she redefines it.

On February 20, 1988 Robyn Rihanna Fenty, known as Rihanna, was born in Saint Michael, Barbados. She grew up in a three-bedroom bungalow in Bridgeton. Her first job was selling clothes with her father in a stall on the street. She grew up listening to reggae and began singing at the age of seven.

In high school she was an army cadet in a sub-military program. Rihanna formed a musical trio with her drill sergeant and another classmate. She dropped out of school to pursue her musical career. In 2003 she met Evan Rogers, a music producer who was vacationing in Barbados. She auditioned for him in his hotel room before he flew Rihanna and her mother to Connecticut to record some demos. She signed with Rogers' production company.

The following year her demo landed in the hands of then-Def Jam president, Jay-Z. He was skeptical, but invited her to audition for him and L.A. Reid in 2005. Rihanna stunned the two so much that they feared she would sign with another label. They signed her on the spot.

In August of 2005 her debut album, Music of the Sun, was released with songs like "Pon de Replay" and "If It's Lovin' that You Want." The same year, Rihanna made her acting debut in the movie Bring It On: All or Nothing. In April 2006 A Girl Like Me, her second album was released with tracks like "SOS", "Unfaithful", and "We Ride." She then launched her first headlining tour to support the album.

Good Girl Gone Bad, Rihanna's third album, was released in May 2007 and featured uptempo dance songs like "Umbrella", "Shut Up and Drive", and "Don't Stop the Music." She released Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded in June 2008 with new songs added; "Disturbia", "Take a Bow", and "If I Never See Your Face Again", followed by a remix version of the album.

Her third album, Rated R, came out in November 2009. The album featured songs like "Hard", "Rude Boy", and "Te Amo." In 2010 she released the remixed version. Loud, Rihanna's fifth album was released in November of that year with the songs "Only Girl (In the World)", "S&M", and "California King Bed."

Rihanna released her sixth album, Talk That Talk, in November 2011. "We Found Love", "You Da One", and "Where Have You Been" were included on the track list. In 2012 she starred as Petty Officer Cora Raikes in the film Battleship. She followed up her acting gig with her seventh album, Unapologetic with songs like "Diamonds", "Stay", "Pour It Up", and "Right Now."

Over the years Rihanna has collaborated with numerous artists like Jay-Z, Eminem, Kanye West, Young Jeezy, Coldplay, Drake, T.I. and Shakira, among many others. In 2013 she made another film appearance in This is the End, released in June of that year. Rihanna is currently working on her eighth album.

Personal Life

Rihanna has been seen out and about with Drake. The two have not made a public announcement about their relationship however, they have been very lovey-dovey with one another since March 2014. She recently flew to California to watch Drake perform at Coachella. She and Drake has casually dated in the past.

In the past Rihanna has been linked many men including Josh Henderson, Travis Barker, J.R. Smith, Omarion Grandberry, Josh Hartnett and Shia LaBeouf. She dated Chris Brown in 2007 for two years before he allegedly beat her in 2009.  After the assault case, she was linked to Justin Timberlake, Rashard Lewis and Matt Kemp. In 2012, Rihanna briefly got back together with Chris Brown.