Was Rihanna in the army? 5 facts you never knew about the Fenty mogul

Sure, she's a pop culture icon, and entrepreneur to boot, but was Rihanna in the army?

Rihanna's certainly one of the few artists who is successfully blurring the lines of what it means to be a celebrity in 2020. Between musical ventures, her role in the all-female Oceans Eight, and Fenty, it's evident that Rihanna isn't your average songstress.

was rihanna in the army Credit: PA

While we assumed there was no stone left unturned when it came to the Barbadian singer, this isn't the case.

Here are 5 things you likely didn't know about Rihanna...

Was Rihanna in the army?

Rihanna was once the army as a cadet. And she worked alongside singer-songwriter, Shontelle, who acted as her drill sergeant.

Shontelle admitted to ordering Rihanna around to the BBC in 2009. "That’s what drill sergeants do. We boss cadets around, we make them do push-ups . . . especially when they show up on the parade square late.We were both in cadets together—it wasn’t compulsory or anything. But picture me and Rihanna in combat boots and fatigues crawling through mud and things like that."

Her real name isn't Rihanna

The musician was born Robyn Rihanna Fenty. Her middle name, Rihanna, is Arabic and translates as "sweet basil".

And with her family and close friends, she still goes by her first name, Robyn. "I get kind of numb to hearing Rihanna, Rihanna, Rihanna," she said in an interview with Rolling Stone. "When I hear Robyn, I pay attention."

She won her high school beauty pageant

Rihanna won her high school beauty pageant at 15, and was named Miss Combermere after performing Mariah Carey's Hero.

"I kind of laughed at these stupid pageants," the 30-year-old told the Daily Mail in 2007. "But my friends at school dared me to do it, and my military training came in handy for learning to balance books on my head for the catwalk."

Her legs are insured for $1 million

Gillette insured Rihanna's legs for $1 million in 2007. In an interview with the Guardian, she revealed "They named me this year’s Celebrity Legs of a Goddess, so along with the title comes an insurance for your legs of a million dollars."

"But I think I’m just normal. I think, 'do people really insure their legs for a million dollars?’' If it was my million dollars, I’d probably walk about in pants all day long."

Her pre-show ritual is rather unconventional

While things start off normal: "I eat lozenges, steam my voice, do my makeup. I Skype my vocal coach, and we sit there at the makeup table and do warm-ups for about a half-hour" - the Barbadian soothes her nerves by indulging in a shot of the good stuff amongst other things.

"My personal assistant-slash-bartender brings me a shot that she dilutes with a little something so it’s not so harsh, like orange juice or soda water and lime," she told Esquire in 2011.

"I have to have it. I take it very seriously, so there is a level of anxiety, always. I overthink everything when it comes to my job. The drink calms my nerves. I sip it while I watch the opening act from my dressing room. Sometimes I go out into the audience. I put on a really big hoodie and sneak out there."

Rihanna's certainly a woman of many talents. I mean, who knows what the rest of the year will bring for her, pandemic and all...