Robyn Rihanna Fenty was born in the parish of Saint Michael, Barbados, on February 20, 1988. Growing up, Rihanna led a relatively simple, average life on her island home. She attended Combermere, a kind of technical high school, and, despite having a natural singing talent, she didn't give much thought to performing -- aside from singing with her friends for fun. At one point, though, Rihanna did enter a beauty and talent pageant at her school. Singing Mariah Carey's "Hero" as part of the talent component, Rihanna went on to win the competition. But that performance and singing in the shower or in front of the mirror was the extent of her musical experience before 2004.
In 2006, Rihanna released her album, A Girl Like Me, which boasted the hit singles "SOS," "Unfaithful," "We Ride," and "Break It Off" featuring Sean Paul. All of the songs spent some time on the U.S. Billboard charts except "We Ride." That same year, Rihanna recorded a song called "Winning Women" with Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger for P&G’s female deodorant Secret. She also made her acting debut with a role in Bring It On: All or Nothing, which was released on August 8, 2006. To top it off, Rihanna appeared on an episode of the long-running soap opera All My Children and the drama Las Vegas.