Rita Marley is the widow of reggae legend/musician Bob Marley and a member of the trio the I Threes, her husband’s backup singers. She has earned her net worth estimated at $50 million. She is sometimes called “Nana Rita” and also the “Queen of Reggae.” Born Alpharita Constantia Anderson on July 25, 1946 in Santiago de Cuba, she grew up in the upper level of Beachwood Avenue in Kingston, Jamaica. She was raised by her Aunt Viola while her father went to London to look for work but never returned. She described this in her book No Woman, No Cry: My Life with Bob Marley that was released in 2004.

Rita Marley’s singing career started out by singing along on the radio and began practicing with her cousin Constantine “Dream” Walker and her friend Marlene “Precious” Gifford. They later sang for the Wailing Wailers, a local group made of Bob Marley, Peter McIntosh and Bunny Livingston. The trio got to an audition with Clement “Coxsone” Dodd after the band liked what they heard. They soon became known as the Soulettes. Dodd asked Bob Marley as the mentor for the young group.

Rita and Bob fell in love and married in 1966. They both struggled financially and professionally. After Bob’s death in 1981, she is best known for carrying on her late husband’s musical legacy and developing her own career as a solo artist. She recorded a few albums under her name with some success in the United Kingdom. She also established a charitable institution called the Bob Marley Foundation that helps fight poverty and hunger in developing countries. She made the decision to convert her late husband’s home into the Bob Marley museum in 1986. IN 2006, she appears in the song Mary Jane Shoes on Fergie’s multi-platinum album The Duchess.