Kiara Paola Cruz Llpiz 8-5 English Class Mrs.

Beniquez

My name is Rihanna. I am a international R&B star and I am know for such hits as Umbrella, Pon De Replay, SOS, and Disturbia. My birth name is Robin Rihanna Fenty.

I was born on February 20, 1988 in St. Michael Parish on the Caribbean island of Barbados.

It was hard. I am eldest of three children born to Monica Fenty, an accountant, and Ronald Fenty, a warehouse supervisor. My parents divorced when I was 14 because my dad had an addiction to alcohol and crack. I also suffered crippling headaches. I never expressed how I felt. I always kept it in. I would go to school ... You would never know there was something wrong with me.

As a teenager, I turned to singing as a release from my troubles at home. I formed a girl group with two classmates; when we were 15 years old, we scored an audition with music producer Evan Rodgers, who was visiting the island with his Barbadian wife. Less than a year later, when I was only 16, I left Barbados to move in with Rogers and his wife in Connecticut and work on recording a demo album. When I left Barbados, I didn't look back, I wanted to do what I had to do, even if it meant moving to America.

I created the Believe Foundation in 2006 to help terminally ill children. In partnership with charities across the nation, I have performed a number of concerts to raise funds for both these charities and the foundation. After my performances, I met children from the local charities, signing autographs and posing for pictures with my young fans. When I was young and I would watch television and I would see all the children suffering, I always said: When I grow up, I would like to help. This is one of my many contributions to the community.