There’s no denying that the economy is in a dire state. With housing becoming merely unaffordable and the price of eggs skyrocketing, there’s no person left unaffected by the times, including celebrities. More celebrities have invested in secondary streams of income. For some, it’s a passion project, while for others, it’s a lucrative business opportunity. Whatever the case may be, here are nine Black female celebrities with booming side hustles.
Rihanna
While Rihanna hasn’t put out an album in over eight years, she hasn’t stopped raising the bar and working hard. Since putting out her last album “Anti,” the songstress has built her beauty and fashion empire. With Fenty Hair, Fenty Skin, Fenty Beauty, and Savage x Fenty. Anything with Rihanna’s personal touch on it seemingly turns gold, as her fanbase, or The Navy, has continued to support her during her break from music. With all of her genius ideas and the support from The Navy, Rihanna has earned her billionaire status.
Patti LaBelle
Being a living legend simply isn’t enough. Striking a deal with Walmart, soul songstress Patti Labelle is the force behind Patti LaBelle’s Pies. She sells them at a rate of about one pie every two seconds. Her side hustle now includes banana pudding, peach cobbler and a pecan edition of her original sweet potato pie.
Tracee Ellis Ross
Pattern Beauty has become one of the biggest components of Tracee Ellis Ross’ legacy. Offering everything from hair oils to microfiber towels, Ross personally worked on the formula of her products herself. She’s long dreamt of the line and aimed to provide the kind of products that would have made managing her curls all the more easy growing up.
Beyoncé
At this point, Beyoncé has too many side hustles to count. From Cecred to her latest endeavor Sir Davis whisky, the icon has poured a lot of blood, sweat and tears into fortifying her foundation. As fans plead for visuals, Beyoncé has made it clear she’s got this all planned out. She recently announced a collaboration with Levi’s Jeans, showing no signs of slowing down.
Taraji P. Henson
TPH By Taraji Henson specializes in scalp and hair care. The actress’ long history of experimenting with different cuts, textures and protective styles informed her decision to join the beauty industry herself. Her line is now available at Target, a lucrative distributor for any beauty and wellness brands.
Tyra Banks
While many other celebrities have taken the beauty and hair route, former supermodel Tyra Banks decided to march to the beat of her own drum. She’s the force behind her very own pop-up ice cream Smize & Dream, a callback to her “America’s Next Top Model” days. Banks founded the company during the pandemic, selling pre-packaged pints in Los Angeles before opening pop-ups across the globe, from Dubai to Washington D.C..
Venus Williams
Truthfully, there isn’t much tennis extraordinaire Venus Williams doesn’t do. She runs V Starr Interiors, a full-service interior design firm, and EleVen, her lifestyle and activewear brand. She and her sister Serena Williams also share a minority stake in the Miami Dolphins football team.
Angela Yee
“The Breakfast Club” co-host and Brooklyn native Angela Yee knew exactly what the people wanted when she launched her own coffee brand, Coffee Uplifts People. As a fair-trade company, the brand’s intention is to address the inequality coffee growers around the world face in the market.
Lizzo
The shapewear market was disproportionately straight-sized until Lizzo did something about it. With the desire to provide bigger bodies with an opportunity to indulge in sexy shapewear, Yitty offers sizes 6x and onward. The multi-Grammy winner made it a point to provide all body shapes with products that sculpt, smooth and contour.