Rihanna’s Timeline of Events Since 2016’s ‘Anti’

A year and some change after Anti’s release, Rihanna returned with her first bit of new music. The singer was anything but selfish as she lent her vocals to the lead single for Future’s Hndrxx.

Rihanna made her acting debut back in 2012 with the board game-inspired Battleship, and she was back at it in 2017, when she had a recurring role on Bates Motel. She played an unsuspecting victim of Norman Bates’ peeping-tom character. Sadly, it only lasted for two episodes.

Rihanna kept her collaboration streak going when she hopped on Kendrick Lamar’s fired-up single “Loyalty,” from his album DAMN. She delivers smooth vocals on the chorus, but truly shines with her bad-bitch bars in the second verse. Rihanna even earned a Grammy alongside Lamar when the duo won the Best Melodic Rap Performance award in 2018.

Another one! Rihanna continued to dominate pop culture in the summer of 2017 when she took center stage on DJ Khaled’s “Wild Thoughts,” which also featured Bryson Tiller. The song came very close to topping the charts (it peaked at Number Two on the Billboard Hot 100), and Rihanna’s sultry vocals were a defining point of the season.

In the first year following Anti‘s release, Rihanna kept tapping into her acting talents. Her next big-screen role was as a shape-shifter named Bubble in the sci-fi fantasy film Valerian and City of the Star Planets, from Fifth Element director Luc Besson. “Everyone who loves film is a fan of Luc Besson’s work,” Rihanna said at the time. “He’s creating this incredible world… I’m so blessed to be having this experience.”

Rihanna trademarked her last name, Fenty, back in 2013. Four years later, that trademark came to fruition with the launch of Fenty Beauty. The line notably featured 40 shades of foundation as Rihanna sought to fill a void in the makeup market with a brand that catered to diverse skin tones. Fenty Beauty also marked the singer’s first major pivot away from the entertainment industry overall.

Before 2017 ended, Rihanna had to help usher in yet another hit song. She delivered a killer rap on “Lemon,” the comeback single from N.E.R.D., the music group Pharrell Williams formed alongside Chad Hugo and Shay Haley. Pharrell had originally created it with another artist in mind around 2014 or 2015, but Rihanna’s contribution stole the show on the version that got released. “We hold onto beats that we feel like are special,” he said. “It’s like wine, it only gets better with time if it’s good.”

A few months after launching Fenty Beauty, Rihanna stepped into the lingerie industry with the release of Savage x Fenty in 2018, a joint venture with TechStyle Fashion Group. That first year, the line put on its first fashion show for New York Fashion Week. Since its launch, Rihanna’s megapopular lingerie brand has continued to expand with loungewear and sleepwear options.

Rihanna starred in this Ocean’s 11 spinoff as part of an ensemble cast of badass women that also included Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Mindy Kaling, Sarah Paulson, Awkwafina, and Helena Bonham Carter. As Hathaway revealed in an interview, Rihanna spent her time on set boosting the confidence of her castmates. It was then that Rihanna famously told Hathaway, “Damn girl you got a ass… you got a ass like mine.”

After starring in a major motion picture, Rihanna pivoted to a smaller format for her role in Donald Glover’s short music film Guava Island. In the film, Rihanna plays Kofi, the muse to Glover’s Deni, a Cuban musician who celebrates his community. She even narrates the colorful opening animation. While Guava Island includes a robust soundtrack, Rihanna is sadly not featured on any of the songs.

Rihanna delivered her first musical appearance in three years for PartyNextDoor’s “Believe It.” The Canadian musician had previously worked on some of her Anti hits, including “Work,” “Sex with Me,” and “Wild Thoughts.” Even so, getting Rihanna to hop on the track wasn’t an easy feat. As Rolling Stone reported at the time, the singer sent in her vocal part just three days before the song was released.

In late 2020, People confirmed that longtime friends Rihanna and A$AP Rocky were officially dating. The two had been musical collaborators for years, but they stopped everyone in their tracks when they walked the red carpet together at the British Fashion Awards in December 2019. They’re still together, but to date, Rihanna and A$AP Rocky have not tied the knot.

In 2021, Rihanna cemented herself as the ultimate businesswoman when her net worth reached billionaire status in August. At the time, she became the wealthiest female musician in the world and second-richest female entertainer after Oprah Winfrey. The milestone also showed how successful Rihanna could be without releasing very much new music.

As Rihanna’s star continued to rise ever higher, her homeland of Barbados made sure to honor her. In 2018, the island’s government named her Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary. The role involves promoting education, tourism, and investment on the island. A few years later, in 2021, Barbados declared Rihanna a national hero just after the island officially left its monarchic days behind and became an independent republic. During Rihanna’s induction ceremony, the country’s prime minister, Mia Mottley, gave a glowing speech. “Ambassador Robyn Rihanna Fenty: May you continue to shine like a diamond and bring honor to your nation, by your words, by your actions, and to do credit wherever you shall go. God bless you, my dear,” Mottley said.

Rihanna and A$AP Rocky welcomed their first child, RZA, in May 2022 after she changed the game of pregnancy announcements earlier that year with a stunning New York City photoshoot. As if that wasn’t iconic enough, the star topped herself in 2023 when she became the first person to perform the Super Bowl halftime show while pregnant — and the first to reveal it on that stage. She gave birth to Riot later that year. After those two sons, Rihanna had a daughter, Rocki, in 2025. We told you, she stayed busy.

Rihanna wrapped up her momentous 2022 when she released her first songs as a lead artist in six years. “Born Again” and “Lift Me Up” were specifically released for Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, not a solo project, but it was still nice to hear her voice after such a long time.

2023 was a huge year for Rihanna. The singer kicked it off by receiving her first-ever Oscar nomination and Golden Globe nominations for her songs featured in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Both nominations were for the Best Original Song award (specifically, for “Lift Me Up”). While the singer didn’t end up taking either award home, it was another milestone all the same.

Rihanna’s first time headlining the Super Bowl half time show was as spectacular as the world expected. Not only did she reveal her second pregnancy in a cinematic moment, she also floated above State Farm Stadium, and made sure to plug Fenty Beauty when she pulled out a branded compact to touch up her makeup. Overall, the show served as a reminder of just how many hits Rihanna has already given to the world.

In arguably her most “mom” move to date, Rihanna was all-in on the 2025 Smurfs movie. She not only voiced the character of Smurfette in the animated film, she even released her first new song in three years at that point. “Friend of Mine” remains Rihanna’s newest release to date — and, honestly, it’s quite a club-ready bop for being featured in a children’s movie. Here’s hoping the next 10 years will include even more new music from Rihanna, if not a full album.