Rihanna was named Woman of the Year at the annual Glamour magazine awards in New York on Monday night.

The 21-year-old singer was honoured for her courage following her assault by ex-boyfriend Chris Brown in February.

Model Iman, wife of David Bowie, presented Rihanna with her award and paid tribute to the star, saying she had “impressed with her honesty and courage”.

Rihanna dazzles at the Glamour magazine awards in ivory gown.

“She has taken her own scars and used them to create a new story of strength and awareness,” Iman added.

Rihanna dazzled the audience at Carnegie Hall in a figure-hugging full-length gown.

The singer, who had her blonde hair swept to one side, appeared emotional on stage and joked: “Sorry, I'm PMS-ing.”

Rihanna appears on It's On...With Alexa Chung yesterday.

Before arriving at the awards ceremony, Rihanna had spent the day promoting her new album Rated R on US TV.

She appeared defiant during an appearance on MTV, saying her recent decision to speak about Brown's attack was “actually helping save lives”.

Rihanna Style