Naya Rivera

Who is Naya Rivera?

Naya Rivera was an American actress and singer, best known for her portrayal of Santana Lopez in the television series ‘Glee.’ Naya was part of this field when she was very small, she did commercials when she was barely eight or nine months old. She got her first acting role when she was four years old in the sitcom ‘The Royal Family’ as Hillary Winston. She came into the limelight when she became a cast in ‘Glee’. Through this series, she showed her acting skills and she was known as one of the young talented actors. She also featured in FHM’s ‘World’s Sexiest Woman’ and in People en Español ‘50 Most Beautiful.’ She also ranked number 1 in the 2012 AfterEllen Hot 100 list. On July 8, 2020, her dead body was found at Lake Piru who was found alone on their rented boat.

Bio

Naya Rivera was born on January 12, 1987, in the Valencia neighborhood of Santa Clarita, California. She was born to mother Yolanda and to father George Rivera. Besides, she had a younger brother named Mychal Rivera and a younger sister named Nickayla Rivera. She was of Capricorn sun sign.

Nationality and Physical Stats

Naya Rivera had an American nationality and raised as a devoted Christian. She was of Puerto Rican, African American, and German ancestry. Besides this, she stood 5 feet and 5 inches (1.65m/165cm) tall and weighed around 53 kg (117lbs). Her body measurements were 35-25-34 inches respectively. She had a pair of dark brown colored eyes with black hair color.

Early Life/Education 

Naya Rivera’s parents were divorced in 1996 and her mother married Charles Previtire in 1999 and she was close with her stepfather. Just nine months old, she represented the same talent agency that represented her model mother. She soon started appearing in commercials for Kmart as a baby. She attended Valencia High School in Santa Clarita and graduated in 2005.

Death

On July 8, 2020, Naya Rivera and her four-year-old son Josey, was found alone in Rivera’s rented boat at Lake Piru, near Santa Clarita, California. Since had been declared missing, after a five-day search, her body was recovered from Lake Piru on July 13. She was 33 years old when she was found dead.

Social

Naya Rivera was active in her social media accounts when she was alive. Her official Facebook page had more than 1.4 million likes and followers. Likewise, her Twitter handle (@NayaRivera) had 1.6 million followers and her Instagram account (@nayarivera) had 3.2 million followers. She also had a verified YouTube channel of her own name with 36.5 thousand subscribers.

Career

Naya Rivera Films

Naya Rivera debuted her film in 2002 ‘The Master of Disguise’ as Captain American Kid. Then after seven years, in 2009 she appeared in ‘Frankenhood’ as Hottie. She also featured in the 2011 American 3D concert documentary film ‘Glee: The 3D Concert Movie’ as Santana Lopez. Likewise, she also appeared in the 2014 supernatural horror film ‘At the Devil’s Door’ as Vera and in the 2017 comedy film ‘Mad Families’ as Felipa Jonas. She has also seen herself in the documentary ‘And the Winner Isn’t’ the same year.

Television

Naya Rivera was just four years old when she landed her first TV role in 1991. She starred as Hillary Winston in the American sitcom ‘The Royal Family.’ She appeared seen in three episodes of ‘Family Matters’ as Gwendolyn in 1992. The following year she appeared in ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’ and in ‘The Sinbad Show.’ Likewise, she also featured in ‘Sirens’ in 1994, ‘Live Shot’ in 1995 add ‘Baywatch’ in 1996. From 1997 to 2008 she appeared in an episode of series like ‘Smart Guy,’ ‘Even Stevens,’ ‘My Wife and Kids,’ ‘8 Simple Rules’, ‘Girlfriends’ and ‘CSI: Miami.’

Moreover, in 2009 she received her breakthrough role. She became a cast as Santana Lopez in ‘Glee’. Her character was a lesbian cheerleader who was mean and headstrong was put across brilliantly by her. The critics also praised her effortless portrayal of a ‘bitchy girl’ who was wreaking havoc in people’s life and posing as a high school terror. She also earned herself a couple of awards and nominations for her character. This show ran till 2015. Then in 2015, she played in five episodes of ‘Devious Maids.’

Furthermore, she also starred in ‘American Dad!’ in 2016 and as a guest judge in the 2017 show ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race.’ She also became a cast in ‘Step Up: High Water’ in 2018 as one of the main leads named Collette Jones. Recently, before her death, she guest appeared as a judge, in reality, web TV series ‘Sugar Rush: Extra Sweet.’

Achievements

Naya Rivera won many awards and nominations for her contribution and association in the entertainment industry. In 2010, she won Screen Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by the Ensemble for ‘Glee.’ She also gained the Giffoni Award at the Giffoni Film Festival in 2013.

Personal Life 

Naya Rivera previously dated recording artist Big Sean for a year. She then started dating Ryan Dorsey and married on July 19, 2014, in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. They welcomed their son Josey Hollis Dorsey in September 2015. However, Rivera and Dorsey’s marriage went wrong and they filed for a divorce in November 2016.

Besides this, she was an active philanthropist and works with many charitable organizations.

Net Worth

Naya Rivera was an amazing actress and singer. Before her death, her net worth was $5 million.