Alfarita Constantia "Rita" Marley OJ OD (née Anderson; born 25 July 1946) is a Jamaican reggae singer.

[1] Along with Marcia Griffiths and Judy Mowatt, Rita was a member of the reggae vocal group the I Threes, the backing vocalists for Bob Marley and the Wailers.

[2] In her memoir, No Woman No Cry: My Life with Bob Marley, Rita describes how she was raised by her Aunt Viola after her parents separated.

Bob was replaced by her cousin Constantine "Vision" Walker, who recorded a few songs as a member of The Wailers during this period, with Rita Marley providing harmonies.

In April 1968 Nash's manager Danny Sims signed Tosh, Rita Marley and her husband, Bob Marley to exclusive publishing, management, and production contracts in exchange for a few dollars and an opportunity to record in Kingston for the New York-based JAD label owned by Johnny Nash, musician Arthur Jenkins and Sims.

Another Rita Marley-sung tune, "Lonely Girl", and a pop duet with Bob, "Milk Shake and Potato Chips", were finally released in 2003 on the Rebel JAD/55 long box set.

Following the birth of their second child, Ziggy Marley in 1968, Bob returned to Delaware in 1969 to work on the night shift in a Chrysler factory.

Together with the I Three, Bob Marley & the Wailers recorded the album Natty Dread in 1974, rising to international stardom with the track "No Woman No Cry".

On 3 December 1976 two days before the Smile Jamaica Concert, a large free concert organized by Bob Marley with the support of Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley, Rita, Bob, and manager Don Taylor were wounded in an assault on the Marley home by gunmen affiliated with Manley's enemies.

She established the Rita Marley Foundation, which focuses on alleviating poverty and hunger and providing education in Ghana and Jamaica.

[12] On 1 July 2024 on International Reggae Day, Rita received the Winnie Mandela Humanitarian Award at the JulyOne celebrations hosted by the City of Miramar in Florida and Consul General Oliver Mair.