96 Facts About Naya Rivera

Naya Marie Rivera was an American actress, singer, and model.

Naya Rivera began her career as a child actress and model, first appearing in national television commercials.

Besides performing, Naya Rivera championed various charitable causes, particularly for LGBT rights, immigrants' rights, and women's rights.

On July 8,2020, Naya Rivera drowned at Lake Piru, near Santa Clarita, California, while swimming with her four-year-old son.

Naya Marie Rivera was born in Valencia, California, on January 12,1987.

Naya Rivera was raised in Valencia and lived in or around Los Angeles for most of her life.

Naya Rivera was of African-American, German, and Puerto Rican descent.

Naya Rivera's mother, Yolanda Previtire, is a real estate agent and former model, while her father, George Rivera, worked various IT jobs including positions at Disney and Universal Music.

Naya Rivera's parents had married in 1986, but divorced in 1996, and her mother was remarried to Charles Previtire in 1999; Rivera was close with her stepfather, but did not really know her grandparents.

Naya Rivera did not grow up speaking Spanish at home, but understood it and later learned to speak it.

The family owned a boat and often went boating when Naya Rivera was a child; she still enjoyed boating as an adult and took many trips to Lake Piru near her home, which she considered a "sanctuary".

At 8 or 9 months old, Naya Rivera began to be represented by the same talent agent as her mother, who had moved to Los Angeles to pursue modeling.

Naya Rivera was a fan of Michael Jackson from a young age and became friends with one of Jackson's nieces as a child actress on the audition circuit, visiting Neverland Ranch twice.

Naya Rivera met Tupac Shakur as a child; he was a fan of her acting and went over to introduce himself after spotting her family at LAX.

Naya Rivera attended Valencia High School in Santa Clarita and graduated in 2005.

Naya Rivera's mother had convinced her to join a choir in her freshman year, but she quit it after a few weeks because she was constantly overlooked for classmate Nazanin Mandi.

Naya Rivera challenged Mandi to a sing-off for a solo, but Mandi declined and so Rivera left.

Naya Rivera had wanted to be a cheerleader, but her family could not afford this.

Naya Rivera suffered with anorexia as a teenager, something she opened up about as an adult.

In 2019, Naya Rivera described her high school experience as "terrible", indicating at other times that part of this was her attitude towards education, the lack of coffee served there, and racism.

Naya Rivera appeared in commercials for Kmart as a baby, but her first significant acting job was at the age of four when she appeared as Hillary Winston on the CBS sitcom The Royal Family in 1991.

Naya Rivera wrote that she and Foxx "were intergenerational BFFs from the moment [they] met", and that she considered him like a grandfather.

Naya Rivera then had a guest appearance on The Bernie Mac Show in 2002, before returning to the show for ten episodes throughout its five-season run.

Naya Rivera auditioned for an unspecified season of American Idol during the San Francisco auditions, but was cut in the first round.

In March 2008, Naya Rivera began studying screenwriting at New York Film Academy, graduating the same year.

In 2009, Naya Rivera was cast as Santana Lopez, a high school cheerleader, on Fox's musical comedy series Glee, about a high school glee club.

Naya Rivera drew on her own high school experience of unpopularity to prepare for the role, as well as watching films including Mean Girls to "really get in the zone and feel like a bitchy sophomore".

Naya Rivera kept her job as a nanny while working on the first three episodes of Glee, not knowing if they would bring her back; Murphy was so impressed by her that he "convinced the network" to contract her at this point.

Naya Rivera was given her first solo in the fifth episode of season two, "The Rocky Horror Glee Show", and performed several others as the season progressed.

Naya Rivera received a great amount of critical praise for both her acting and her singing performances in the latter part of season two and the beginning of season three of Glee.

Naya Rivera performed a duet with Ricky Martin, and worked with Gloria Estefan, who was cast as Santana's mother.

Naya Rivera was chosen by the Television Academy to host the "Countdown to the Emmys" video for the upcoming awards ceremony, a video introduction to each year's ceremony that is watched by an estimated 25 million people.

Naya Rivera remained in a principal role on Glee in its fourth and fifth seasons from 2012 to 2014.

Naya Rivera starred in the music video for the song.

At a point in the early production of the 2012 movie adaptation of The Hunger Games, Naya Rivera had been considered for the role of Katniss Everdeen, a part she did not get, and was later a favorite to be cast as Johanna Mason in the sequel Catching Fire, a role she said she "would love to play".

Vulture said that Naya Rivera was "the best part of [the fourth season], even if she hasn't been in every episode"; Santana's stories included breaking up with Morris' character Brittany and moving to New York City.

Production of the fifth season of Glee was briefly postponed following the death of actor Cory Monteith as it was due to begin filming in July 2013; Naya Rivera was close to Monteith and provided a statement that said he "always will be a part of [her] own family", as well as leading a moment of silence for him at the Giffoni Film Festival on July 24,2013.

Naya Rivera said: "Politics got involved so I've been putting it on the back burner".

Naya Rivera subsequently worked on a project with Guillermo Diaz, directing a short film PSA about the effect of immigration on children and their parents.

Diaz's part of the project focuses on telling the stories of young DREAMers and the fear they have of their mothers being deported, and Naya Rivera's part explores the culture of immigrants in the United States.

In 2015, Naya Rivera portrayed the recurring role of Blanca Alvarez in the third season of Lifetime's drama series Devious Maids, and from 2014 to 2015 was a recurring guest host of The View.

Naya Rivera appeared in the final season of Glee in 2015, but had asked for her role to be reduced so that she could focus on other work.

Naya Rivera was initially set to only host a few episodes of The View, but her appearances all produced "soundbites that have gone viral" and gave the show a boost on social media; it was reported that the producers were considering "bigger plans" for Rivera before she was made a more regular guest host.

Naya Rivera was the first person considered for the role of Blanca on Devious Maids, as the producers were "very interested in having a name actress play the role"; they initially did not really think that Naya Rivera would be interested.

Naya Rivera was working on music with Gloria Estefan around this time after having met on Glee; Naya Rivera's pregnancy "sidetracked" this partnership and they did not produce anything.

Naya Rivera wrote a memoir called Sorry Not Sorry: Dreams, Mistakes, and Growing Up, published in September 2016, which was something she had decided to do while hosting The View and being suddenly struck when an audience member asked her what it was like to be a role model, feeling that she was in Santana's shadow.

Naya Rivera decided to reveal more about her life and choices so that she could better feel like she deserved the title.

Naya Rivera returned with a secondary character role in another film, Mad Families, in 2017.

Naya Rivera was announced as part of the cast for the YouTube Red series Step Up: High Water in 2017, taking the leading role of school administrator and dance instructor Collette Jones, alongside Ne-Yo and Faizon Love.

Naya Rivera said during the second season that the show felt like home in the way making Glee did.

The series moved to Starz in May 2020, and Naya Rivera was announced to be continuing her role; at the time, the third season was in production, but no timetable for its release was given.

Naya Rivera was highly ranked on various magazines' most attractive lists.

Naya Rivera made the Maxim Hot 100 list in 2010,2011, and 2012, being ranked number 27 in 2012.

Naya Rivera was named one of The Hollywood Reporter's 35 under 35 Latinos in Entertainment in September 2012, and in October 2012 she was featured in the third episode of MTV's series This Is How I Made It.

Naya Rivera has been described as a gay icon and "a true icon for all black and brown girls".

Similarly, Esquire wrote that "in such a short time, Naya Rivera managed to shape a landscape and be part of measurable change".

Naya Rivera imbued Santana with equal parts resolve and vulnerability, and she quickly became a hero herself when Santana disclosed she was a lesbian.

Naya Rivera served as a vessel for truth and by doing so brilliantly cracked the lid wide open on the possibilities of what Afro-Latinx representation could look like on TV.

Various journalists and television creatives wrote that Naya Rivera merely appearing on-screen as an Afro-Latina was impactful, before the representation grew as her character Santana developed.

Naya Rivera dated actor Tahj Mowry between 2000 and 2004, after having first met shooting a commercial when Naya Rivera was four and later working together on Smart Guy in the 1990s.

Naya Rivera remained close with Tahj and his family, particularly his sisters, Tia and Tamera Mowry, for many years, including helping the sisters find an apartment when they got kicked out of their house and appearing on Tia Mowry at Home in 2017.

Between 2008 and 2010, Naya Rivera dated Glee co-star Mark Salling.

Salling was arrested in 2015 for possessing child pornography; in her book, Naya Rivera expressed that she was not "totally shocked" at this, but it still took her by surprise.

Naya Rivera wrote about the abortion in her book "[to use] her platform [to] tackle the stigma".

Naya Rivera performed the song on a 2018 episode of Lip Sync Battle, seen as shading him.

In February 2015, Naya Rivera announced that she and Dorsey were expecting their first child, and their son, Josey Hollis, was born on September 17,2015.

Naya Rivera was raising Josey as bilingual in Spanish and English, having improved her own knowledge of Spanish with this intention.

In late November 2017, Naya Rivera was arrested and charged in Kanawha County, West Virginia, with misdemeanor domestic battery against Dorsey after she allegedly hit him in the head during an altercation over their child; she was released and picked up from the courthouse by her father-in-law.

Naya Rivera was in a relationship with retired soccer player Jermaine Jones in 2020.

In January 2015, during an appearance as a guest host on The View, Naya Rivera suggested "that she might be bisexual".

Naya Rivera notably supported various charities, particularly for the LGBT+ community and immigrants.

Naya Rivera dedicated her time to organizations including GLAAD, Stand Up to Cancer, The Trevor Project, The Elephant Project, The Sunshine Foundation, I Am an Immigrant, Alliance of Moms, Point Foundation, the Thirst Project, FEED, Los Angeles Mission, Get Schooled, and Kindred Foundation.

Best known for lesbian character Santana, Naya Rivera championed LGBT+ rights off-screen.

In other charitable endeavors, Naya Rivera volunteered at Los Angeles area food banks and homeless shelters and the Foothill AIDS Project in 2009, and performed with Amber Riley at the 10th Annual Celebration of Dreams Event for the Dream Foundation in November 2011.

In October 2012, along with other members of the Glee cast, Naya Rivera took part in "The Biggest Show", a performance of young writers' scripts for the literacy non-profit Young Storytellers.

On June 5,2020, Naya Rivera attended a Black Lives Matter protest, on what would have been Breonna Taylor's birthday.

Naya Rivera gave her support to Black Lives Matter on other occasions.

In December 2020, members of the Glee cast launched a campaign called Snixxmas to benefit Alexandria House, continuing a Christmas charity tradition Naya Rivera had started among their friends.

Naya Rivera campaigned with Everyone Votes and Rock the Vote in 2016 to promote voter participation and took part in a Funny or Die celebrity campaign song that supported Hillary Clinton.

Naya Rivera wrote on her religion in her memoir, and was a lifelong Christian.

Naya Rivera's mother became very religious for a period during Rivera's childhood, and from the age of seven until her teens she recalls that she and her brother were only allowed to listen to Christian music; in junior high school talent shows she would perform Christian songs, which "didn't really bring the house down".

Naya Rivera explained that she had always felt comfortable with her Christianity and would particularly return to it in stressful times during her career, highlighting a point in 2014 when she was receiving negative media attention after it was rumored that she had been fired from Glee in the same week Big Sean broke up with her, saying that to move on she "had to just be with [herself], and with God".

On July 8,2020, Naya Rivera was declared a missing person after her four-year-old son, Josey, was found alone in Naya Rivera's rented boat at Lake Piru, a reservoir in the Los Padres National Forest in Ventura County, California.

Naya Rivera had been visiting the lake for years, and was considered a strong swimmer.

Naya Rivera stated that his mother was not wearing a life jacket.

The next day, the Ventura County Sheriff's Office confirmed to NBC that Naya Rivera was presumed dead and that rescue efforts would shift to recovery efforts.

Naya Rivera was interred at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills, a cemetery known for its many entertainment industry burials, following a private service on July 24,2020.

Fans of Naya Rivera posted messages of support during the time of her disappearance, and tributes after she was found dead.

The media noted that Naya Rivera's body was found on the anniversary of the death of her co-star Cory Monteith seven years earlier; a tribute she had sung for him, the song "If I Die Young", saw a surge of views, and other cast members made social media posts for both of the actors.

In 2012, Naya Rivera was featured on a single by the music duo 2Cellos, performing a cover of the Muse song "Supermassive Black Hole".

Naya Rivera contributed to the original soundtrack for Step Up: High Water, singing a piano version of "Amazing Grace".

In 2023, Naya Rivera's vocals were featured on a single called "You and I" by Jaffa Moore, son of James Bond actor, Roger.

Naya Rivera's first Glee single as a lead vocalist was a duet cover of "The Boy Is Mine" performed with Amber Riley.

The last Glee single to chart during the show's run was Naya Rivera's cover of "If I Die Young".

Naya Rivera was a featured singer on the original song "Loser like Me", which is certified Gold; it and five other songs she performed charted in the World top 40.

Naya Rivera was first nominated for an award at the age of 5, in 1992, but did not win one until 2010, eighteen years later.