When Rihanna declared that her “reign just won’t let up” on “Hard” well over a decade ago, she wasn’t kidding. In fact, she was only getting started.
Rihanna is one the most successful pop music superstars of the 21st century with myriad hits to her name, although over the past half decade or so, much to the dismay of patient fans holding out hope for new music year after year, the Rihanna Navy’s faithful leader has largely kept that ship docked. Musically speaking, anyway: Rihanna has kept plenty busy focusing on building empires of her own in the fashion and beauty industries.
Aside from generating billions of dollars in revenue, her wildly successful businesses have earned acclaim for being synonymous with inclusivity and diversity: from the game-changing array of shades for all skin tones with her Fenty Beauty makeup launch in 2017, to her increasingly massive, star-studded Savage X Fenty fashion show spectacles, proudly showcasing models of different genders, backgrounds and body types of all kinds.
Rihanna hasn’t released a studio album since 2016’s Anti, nor has she hit the stage since performing her DJ Khaled collaboration “Wild Thoughts” at the 2018 Grammys. So when the announcement hit the Internet on Sept. 25 that she’d be headlining the Super Bowl LVII halftime show in February 2023, the sheer panic across social media at the prospect of Rihanna’s long-awaited return to music was palpable.
In the time between her last public performance leading up to the big game, Rihanna has gone on to accomplish several feats in both her personal and professional life — from taking on acting roles and launching businesses, to becoming a billionaire and a first-time mother. (And yes, even making a very brief music industry cameo here and there.)
Here’s a timeline of everything Rihanna’s been up to since the 2018 Grammys.
