Naya Rivera is an American actress, singer and model. She is best known for her role as Santana Lopez on the television series Glee (2009-2015).
Wiki/Biography
Naya Marie Rivera was born in Santa Clarita, California on Monday, January 12, 1987 (age 33 at the time of her death). Her star sign is Aquarius.
Naya Rivera (Naya Rivera) with her mother as a child
She has lived in and around Los Angeles, California her entire life.
appearance
Height: 5′ 5″
Eye color: dark brown
Hair color: Black (dyed blonde and brown)
Family and Race
Parents and siblings
Naya Rivera’s mother is Puerto Rican-German actor George Rivera and her father is former Puerto Rican-African-American model Yolanda.
Naya Rivera’s father
Naya Rivera’s mother
Her brother, Mychal Rivera, is an American football tight end.
Naya Rivera and her brother
She has an older sister named Nickayla Rivera who is a fashion model.
Naya Rivera and her sister
Relationships, husbands and children
From 2000 to 2004, she dated actress and singer Tahj Mowry.
Naya Rivera and Tahj Mowry
She started dating Mark Salling in 2008. They broke up in 2010 when Salling dumped her at the request of his publicist.
Naya Rivera and Mark Salling
In April 2013, she began dating rapper and songwriter Big Sean. In October 2013, they announced their engagement, but in April 2013, they broke off their engagement.
Naya Rivera and Big Sean
Shortly after the breakup, she began dating Ryan Dorsey. Ryan and Naya dated for a while in 2010. According to her memoir, Naya became pregnant with his child, but due to her thriving career, she had an abortion in 2010. On July 19, 2014, she married Ryan Dorsey in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
Naya Rivera and Ryan Dorsey
In September 2015, their son Josey Hollis was born.
Naya Rivera and her son
After two years of marriage, she decided to divorce, but the two reconciled and the divorce agreement was cancelled. In December 2017, Ryan and Naya decided to dissolve their marriage again and agreed to jointly raise their son. On June 14, 2018, the two confirmed their divorce.
Profession
Early Works and Television
When Rivera was 8 or 9 months old, her mother, who was part of the same agency as her, moved to Los Angeles to pursue modeling. She began her career as a child model for KMart ads. As a child, she appeared in countless commercials.
Naya Rivera in a commercial
In 1991, she made her television debut, playing the role of “Hilary Winston” in the TV series “The Royal Family”.
Naya Rivera in “The Royal Family”
She then had small roles in television series: The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1993), Family Matters (1992-93), Live Action (1995), Baywatch (1996), Smart People (1997-99), House Mix (2002) and Even Stevens (2002). In 2006 and 2007, she performed in the musical You Don’t Know Me in Los Angeles and toured nationwide. In 2009, she auditioned for the American TV series Glee and was cast as cheerleader “Santana Lopez”. This role became a breakthrough in her career. With the show, she gained huge popularity. In the first season of the show, she was a recurring character, and from the second season onwards, her character became a main character.
Naya Rivera in Glee (2009)
She has appeared in television series such as Maids (2015), American Dad! (2016) and Step Up 3: Climax (2018-19).
Movie
She played the child actor “Captain America’s Kid” in the film The Master of Disguise (2002).
Naya Rivera, The Master of Disguise (2002)
As an adult, she made her film debut as “Vera” in the film Devil’s Gate (2014).
Naya Rivera, Devil’s Gate (2014)
She has appeared in films such as Frankenstein (2009), Glee: The 3D Concert Movie (2011), Naughty List (2011) and Family Guy (2017).
As a singer and other works
She sang many songs for the Glee series. In 2012, she sang the lead vocals on the song “Supermassive Black Hole” performed by 2Cellos.
In 2011, she signed with Columbia Records. In 2013, she released her first single “Sorry” in collaboration with Big Sean.
Rivera released a six-song EP titled My Heart in April 2019 and contributed to the Step Up: High Water soundtrack.
In 2016, she published her memoir, Sorry, Not Sorry: Dreams, Mistakes, and Growing Up.
Awards and Achievements
- 2010 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy Series (with the cast of Glee)
- 2012 TV Land Future Classic Award (with the cast of Glee)
- In 2012, he was included in the list of the 50 most beautiful people in Spanish.
- In 2012, she was selected into the list of 100 sexiest women by FHM magazine.
- NewNowNext 2012 “Because You’re Hot” Ward
- Ranked first on Allure magazine’s Hot 100 list for three consecutive years in 2011, 2012 and 2013
- 2013 Giffany Film Festival Giffany Award
- 2014 People’s Choice Award for Favorite TV Girlfriend (with Lea Michele)
Naya Rivera wins People’s Choice Award
ALMA Awards
- Most Popular Female Singer in 2011
Naya Rivera receives ALMA Award
- Most Popular Female Music Artist of 2012
- Favorite TV Comedy Actress 2012
My TV Awards
- The most beautiful women of 2012
- 2012 Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for Glee
dispute
- In late November 2017, Rivera was arrested and charged in Kanawha County, West Virginia, for allegedly striking Ryan in the head during an argument over the children. In January 2018, the domestic violence charge was dropped at the request of Dorsey, who notified prosecutors and defense attorneys that he was no longer seeking prosecution.
- In her 2016 book, Sorry Not Sorry: Dreams, Mistakes and Growing Up, Rivera revealed her difficult working relationship with Lea Michele and how Michele began to turn cold toward Rivera when she began taking on a bigger role on Glee. Naya wrote,
I think Rachel—er, I mean Lea—didn’t like sharing the spotlight. If I complained about anyone or anything, she’d think I was complaining about her. Pretty soon, she started ignoring me, and it eventually got to the point where she hadn’t said a word to me by season six. Lea was much more sensitive though, and sometimes she seemed to blame me for everything that went wrong.”
Disappearance and death
On July 8, 2020, she was declared “missing” after her four-year-old son, Josey, was found alone on the boat that Naya rented in Lake Piru. The search began three hours after they left the dock because their rental had ended and they had not returned. A boater found Josey sleeping alone in the boat, wearing a life jacket. Josey told investigators that he and his mother were swimming and she helped him climb back into the boat, but she was unable to make it and then disappeared under the water. On July 9, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to NBC that Rivera was presumed dead and that rescue efforts would now shift to salvage efforts. On July 13, a body was found floating in Lake Piru and was identified as Naya, who was officially pronounced dead. On July 14, the Ventura County Coroner released an autopsy report stating that the cause of death was accidental drowning with no evidence of injury or poisoning.
net worth
As of 2020, her net worth is $5 million.
Favorite things
- Travel destination: Tulum, Italy
Facts/Trivia
- In her spare time, she enjoys pressing flowers, reading, traveling, and listening to music.
- She has been given many names by her fans and close friends. Some of them are- Nay Nay, Nay Nay Rivers, N’Nay, Bee, The Veiled Fairy, Nougat, Snix, Ni Ni, Smoochy, Peanut and Scooby.
- In the 1960s, her grandmother, Clara, was an activist for civil rights, women’s rights and human rights.
News article about Naya Rivera’s grandmother
- While auditioning and performing early in her career, she worked as a telemarketer, a babysitter, and a greeter at an Abercrombie & Fitch store.
- She also auditioned for a season of the singing reality show American Idol during auditions in San Francisco, but was not accepted into the show.
- In 2002, she appeared in B2K’s music video “Why I Love You”.
- She has been featured in many magazines including Cosmopolitan, Maxim, Rolling Stone, FHM, Complex, Glow, Prestige, The Hollywood Reporter, Latino Vogue, Latina, Fit Pregnancy, and Baby.
- She is an active philanthropist. She has done charity work for organizations such as GLAAD, Stand Up to Cancer, The Trevor Project, The Elephant Project and The Sunshine Foundation.
- In 2011, she was named the latest celebrity spokesperson for Proactiv, a skincare brand developed by two American dermatologists, Katie Rodin and Cathy Fields, and launched in 1995 by California direct sales company Guthy-Renker.
- In her memoir, Sorry Not Sorry, she admitted to struggling with anorexia as a teenager.
- Naya has many tattoos: a small bow on the back of her neck, the word “love” written in Hebrew on her right wrist, a large cross on her lower back, a small peace sign on the inside of her left ankle, and a shooting star on the top of her right foot.
- When her death was reported, it was noted that her body was found on the anniversary of her Glee co-star Cory Monteith’s death, who died on July 13, 2013, from a combination of drug intoxication.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education