Rihanna was honoured for her charity work, pop success and her ability to tackle adversity in personal life, including troubled relationships with ex-boyfriend Chris Brown and drug addict father Ronald Fenty.
"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," contactmusic.com quoted a spokesperson from the magazine as saying.
"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)," it said.
"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," the spokesperson added.
Rihanna had first graced the cover of the fashion magazine in September 2009.
