Naya Rivera Bio

Naya Rivera was born on January 12, 1987 in Valencia, California, as Naya Marie Rivera. Naya Rivera is an American actress and musician best known for playing Santana Lopez on the Fox television series Glee (2009–2015).

Naya Rivera's father is named George while her mother is named Yolanda. Yolanda is a former model. Her younger brother Mychal Rivera is a NFL player while her younger sister Nickayla Rivera is a model. Naya Rivera is of Puerto Rican, African American, and German descent.

Early Life

A promising entertainer, Rivera’s acting talent was deeply embedded right from the beginning. Even before celebrating her first birthday, Rivera became a part of the world of glitz and glamour. She started doing commercials when she was barely eight or nine months old and by the age of four landed her first acting project—the role of Hillary Winston in the sitcom ‘The Royal Family’.

Career

Naya Rivera began her acting career as a child when she appeared on Royal Family as a 4 year old. Rivera got her breakthrough as an adult when she played Santana Lopez on the Fox television series Glee (2009–2015). As Santana Lopez, Rivera made a striking impression of a young talented actor who seemed to be the best at her job. Despite playing the mean girl, people adored her. Soon, she climbed the ladder of success and became the talk of the tinsel town with numerous awards coming her way. She featured in various listings of the country’s most attractive people, including, FHM’s ‘World's Sexiest Woman’ list, People en Español ‘50 Most Beautiful’ and thrice in Maxim ‘Hot 100’ list. She was ranked #1 in the 2012 AfterEllen Hot 100 list and #37 in the Men's Health Hottest Women of 2014.

For her role in ‘Glee’, Rivera took inspiration from her own high school experience. It was during the last nine episodes of the first season of ‘Glee’ that Santana’s character of a mean, headstrong ‘bad’ girl came out explicitly. Her brilliant portrayal of the character earned her a regular spot at the beginning of the second season. Naya Rivera’s first solo in ‘Glee’ came in the fifth episode of season two, ‘The Rocky Horror Glee Show’. As the second season progressed, Rivera's character underwent a radical change as she was shown as a lesbian. A powerful performer, Rivera portrayed her lesbian character with perfection thus earning favourable reviews from the critics as well as audience. The critical acclaim continued well into the third season as well as Rivera continued to perform excellently.She also earned herself a couple of awards and nominations for her role.

In September 2013, Rivera came up with her debut single ‘Sorry’, featuring Ex- fiance rapper Big Sean. The single underperformed at the charts. The debut album which was under progress was called off. In May 2014, Columbia Records dropped Rivera from their list though her representatives later claimed that the reports were falsified but without proof.

A failed musical attempt did not dampen Rivera’s spirit. Instead, she made a strong comeback this time on the big screen with her debut feature film ‘At the Devil’s Door’. The film premiered at the Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas. Released in September 2014, the film was widely appreciated and so was Rivera’s performance,

Personal life

Naya Rivera dated recording artist Big Sean for a year before dating Ryan Dorsey. Interestingly, Rivera had previously dated Dorsey four years earlier as well. The two hit it off well and got married on July 19, 2014 in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. They welcomed their son Josey Dorsey in September 2015. However, not all went right between the two and Rivera and Dorsey’s marriage hit the rocks in 2016. They filed for a divorce in November 2016

Together with her family, Rivera resided in Los Angeles. She was a bisexual. She was an active philanthropist and works with many charitable organizations including GLAAD, The Trevor Project, Stand Up To Cancer, The Elephant Project and The Sunshine Foundation.

Death

Naya Rivera went missing on July 08 ,2020 after she went boating with her 4 year old son on Lake Piru. Her son was found alone in the rented boat with authorities saying they are fearing the worst. Her son reportedly told investigators that he and Naya were swimming - but she never got back into the boat and Naya Rivera was declared missing. After a five-day search, her body was recovered from Lake Piru on July 13.

Rescuers found Naya's body on the seven year anniversary of Cory Monteith's death. Both their deaths are shocking to the world; there are still people mourning their death.

Naya was only 33 when she died. Officers say she used the last of her strength to save her son from drowning but she didn't have enough to save herself. As of this day her son is being raised by his father and her sister.