Rihanna has been named Woman of the Year by Italian Vogue.

The 'S&M' singer was honoured for her charity work, pop success and her ability to tackle adversity in her personal life, which includes troubled relationships with her ex-boyfriend Chris Brown and drug addict father Ronald Fenty.

The magazine said: "Independent, energetic, the young Robyn Rihanna Fenty (only 23) is our woman of the year and not just by virtue of numbers and figures but also, and foremost, for her kind and fighting spirit. The same spirit that brought her from Barbados to the top of the music charts achieving a career which she has forged and mastered completely by herself (whose last move was to become the new ambassador for Armani)."

Rihanna is the undisputed best contender to the role of queen of pop. Her career has always been based on the cunning use of sexiness and provocation.

"She has managed to cultivate her career despite the many tragedies affecting her private life: from her father's addiction to crack ... to the violence caused to her in 2009 by [her] then-boyfriend, Chris."

Rihanna - who first graced the cover of the famous fashion magazine in September 2009 - has campaigned to raise awareness for breast cancer and world famine, and has worked tirelessly to find a bone marrow donor for Jasmina Anema, a young fan battling leukaemia.

The blog post by Italian Vogue continued: "She has joined and supported campaigns for the fight against breast cancer as well as the fight against world famine but also offered her help to ill or less fortunate people such as the very young Jasmina Anema who saw the pop star on the frontline in the search for a bone marrow donor to save her from leukaemia."