Why was Fenty Beauty important?

Rihanna, born in Barbados in 1988, is a singer who founded Fenty Beauty in 2017, launching with forty foundation shades and pushing the beauty industry to serve every skin tone. She also founded the lingerie brand Savage X Fenty.

Born Robyn Rihanna Fenty in Saint Michael, Barbados, in 1988. Signed as a teenager and became one of the best-selling recording artists of her generation.

FORTY SHADES

Highlights.

Founded Fenty Beauty (2017), launching with 40 foundation shades

Founded Savage X Fenty

Headlined the Super Bowl halftime show (2023)

Nine Grammy Awards

The portraits.

EVERY ARTIST →

The only name in this room so far.

§ QUESTIONS PEOPLE ASK

Why was Fenty Beauty important?: It launched in 2017 with forty foundation shades, serving darker skin tones the industry had neglected, and other brands followed.
Where is Rihanna from?: Saint Michael, Barbados.
What companies did Rihanna found?: Fenty Beauty and the lingerie brand Savage X Fenty.

§ WHERE NEXT

Keep walking.

OWNING THE HOUSE

BEYONCÉ

THE ARTS · KNECTOCTOBER 10, 2026

Fenty Beauty launched in 2017 with forty foundation shades, and the rest of the industry had to follow. It was not a celebrity licensing deal. It was a company built around the customers everyone else had left out.

THE BUSINESS IS THE STATEMENT

Savage X Fenty did the same for lingerie. She headlined the Super Bowl halftime show in 2023, and the beauty company made her a billionaire, mostly on her own terms.