Rihanna joined U.S. first lady Michelle Obama, British fashion designer Stella McCartney and nine others on Monday to be honored as "Women of the Year" .

The annual Women of the Year Awards, published by Glamour Magazine for the past 20 years, pay tribute to women who have made major contributions to entertainment, business, sport, fashion, science and politics.

Barbados-born Rihanna, 21, whose hit songs include "Umbrella" and "Disturbia", joined the list after taking a public stand on domestic violence and urging other women to follow her lead after being beaten by her ex-boyfriend, singer Chris Brown.

Michelle Obama received an award of special recognition for bringing the importance of mentoring to the forefront.

"She has demonstrated a commitment to helping the next generation of girls expand their horizons by providing them with the information and inspiration to envision themselves as the leaders of tomorrow," the magazine said in a statement.

Tennis champion Serena Williams was honored for using her Serena Williams Foundation to give grants to U.S. college students and recently opening a secondary school in Kenya.

Susan Rice, the first female African-American U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, was praised for putting women's needs at the forefront of the American agenda at the U.N. while Maria Shriver, California's first lady, was credited for redefining her role into a platform for change and leadership for women.

The winners, featured in the December issue of Glamour magazine on newsstands from November 10, were picked by an advisory board made up of past honorees ranging from Jennifer Lopez to Nora Ephron to Katie Couric.

《魅力》杂志评选的“年度杰出女性”于本周一揭晓，（女歌手）蕾哈娜、美国第一夫人米歇尔•奥巴马和英国设计师斯特拉•麦卡特尼以及另外九位女性入选。

一年一度的“年度杰出女性奖”由《魅力》杂志评选，至今已有二十年历史，该奖旨在向那些在娱乐、经济、体育、时尚、科学以及政治领域做出杰出贡献的女性们致敬。

21岁的蕾哈娜在获该奖之前，公开了自己遭前男友、歌手克里斯•布朗家庭暴力的细节，并呼吁其他有类似遭遇的女性像她一样挺身而出。蕾哈娜出生在巴巴多斯，其热门单曲包括《小雨伞》和《恐怖社区》。

米歇尔•奥巴马因大力倡导女子教育的重要性而获特别奖。

该杂志在一份声明中称：“米歇尔致力于帮助年轻一代女性开拓眼界，为她们提供信息及启发，让她们敢于把自己看作未来的领导者。”

网球冠军塞雷娜•威廉姆斯（“小威”）同时登榜，她利用名下的塞雷娜•威廉姆斯基金资助美国大学生，并于最近在肯尼亚开办了一所中学。

同时入选的还有美国历史上首位出任驻联合国代表的非裔女性苏珊•赖斯，她将女性权益置于美国在联合国议程的重要地位。美国加州第一夫人玛利亚•施莱佛也跻身该榜，她重新定位了自己的角色，借助自己的身份为维护和争取女性权益而努力。

2009“年度女性”在于11月10日上架的《魅力》杂志12月刊上公布，所有获奖者由往届“年度女性”组成的评审团评出，其中包括（女星）詹妮弗•洛佩兹、（好莱坞编剧兼导演）诺拉•伊弗龙和（著名主播）凯蒂•库瑞克等。