Naya Rivera - Actresses, Career and Childhood
Naya Rivera's Personal Details
Naya Rivera is an American actress and singer, best known for her portrayal of Santana Lopez in the television series ‘Glee’
| Information | Detail |
|---|---|
| Birthday | January 12, 1987 |
| Nationality | American |
| Famous | Bisexual, Film & Theater Personalities, Actresses, Singers |
| City/State | California |
| Spouses | Ryan Dorsey (m. 2014; separated 2016) |
| Siblings | Mychal Rivera, Nickayla Rivera |
| Known as | Naya Marie Rivera |
| Universities |
|
| Birth Place | Valencia, California, United States |
| Height | 165 |
| Gender | Female |
| Father | George Rivera |
| Mother | Yolanda Rivera |
| Net Worth | $5 million as of Apr 4,2017 |
| Sun Sign | Capricorn |
| Born in | Valencia, California, United States |
| Famous as | Actress, Singer |
| Socials |
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Naya Rivera's photo
Who is Naya Rivera?
Naya Rivera is an American actress and singer, best known for her portrayal of Santana Lopez in the television series ‘Glee’. 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’. Though her acting career took off instantly, the big breakthrough evaded her until ‘Glee’ came her way. 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.
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Childhood & Early Life
Naya Rivera was born on January 12, 1987 in Valencia neighbourhood of Santa Clarita, California to Yolanda and George Rivera. She has a Puerto Rican, African American, and German ancestry. She has a younger brother Mychal Rivera and a younger sister Nickayla Rivera.
At merely nine months of age, Rivera began to be represented by the same talent agency that represented her model mother. She soon started appearing in commercials for Kmart as a baby.
Career
At the age of four, Naya Rivera got the role of Hillary Winston in the sitcom ‘The Royal Family’ sitcom. Though the show opened on a positive note with high ratings and good reviews, it was cancelled following the sudden death of actor Redd Foxx.
Between 1992 and 2002, Rivera bagged numerous guest roles in popular television series including ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’, ‘Family Matters’, ‘Live Shot’, ‘Baywatch’, ‘Smart Guy’, ‘The Jersey’, ‘House Blend’, ‘Even Stevens’ and ‘The Master of Disguise’.
In 2002, Rivera appeared in the music video for B2K's ‘Why I Love You’. Same year, her single episode guest role in ‘The Bernie Mac Show’ was stretched to ten-episodes that ranged throughout the five seasons. Though the guest appearances kept her busy creatively, she worked part time as a telemarketer, nanny and greeter at Abercrombie & Fitch to sustain herself.
After a bevy of auditions and guest roles, it was in 2009 that Rivera got the big breakthrough of her career. She was cast as Santana Lopez, a high school cheerleader, on Fox’s musical comedy ‘Glee’. The fact that the role gave her an opportunity to sing, dance and act all at the same time was exciting enough for her. Furthermore, she was a big fan of Ryan Murphy’s work.
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 acclamation continued well into the third season as well as Rivera continued to perform excellently.
In May 2011, Rivera signed a deal with Columbia Records to produce a solo album. While working on a debut song, Rivera gave vocals for musical duo 2Cellos second single of their second album, a cover of Muse's ‘Supermassive Black Hole’. Simultaneously, she also starred in its music video.
On September 2013, Rivera came up with her debut single ‘Sorry’, featuring rapper Big Sean. The single underperformed at the charts. The debut album which was under progress was called off. On May 2014, Columbia Records dropped Rivera from their list though her representatives later claimed that the report 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 was premiered by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas. Released in September 2014, the film was widely appreciated and so was Rivera’s performance,.
In 2015, Rivera portrayed the recurring role of Blanca Alvarez for the third season of Lifetime's drama series ‘Devious Maids’.
Major Works
The masterpiece of Rivera’s career came with her role as Santana Lopez in ‘Glee’. Her character of a lesbian cheerleader who was mean, vicious and headstrong was put across brilliantly by her. Critics lauded her effortless portrayal of a ‘bitchy sophomore’ who was wrecking havoc in people’s life and posing as a high school terror. Rivera’s to point portrayal of her villainous bad girl earned her a name in the acting circuit as one of the promising stars of the future to look out for. She also earned herself a couple of awards and nominations.
Awards & Achievements
In 2010, Rivera was bestowed with the Screen Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by the Ensemble for ‘Glee’.
In 2011, Rivera was nominated for two ALMA Awards, in the categories of Favourite TV Actress – Leading Role in a Comedy and Favourite Female Music Artist which she won eventually. Her character of Santana was so much appreciated that it topped at many ‘Best of’ lists of the year including 25 Breakout Stars of 2011, TV Guide's Best Performances of 2011, MTV's Best TV Characters of 2011, and so on.
In 2012, she repeated her success at ALMA this time for both the categories, Favourite Female Music Artist and Favourite Actress Comedy.
In 2013, she was awarded the Giffoni Award at the Giffoni Film Festival.
In 2014, she shared the Favourite TV Gal Pals with Lea Michele at the People’s Choice Awards.
Personal Life & Legacy
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 Hollis Dorsey on 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 resides in Los Angeles. She is a bisexual. She is 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.
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Naya Rivera's awards
| Year | Name | Award |
|---|---|---|
People's Choice Awards | ||
| 2014 | Favorite TV Gal Pals | Glee (2009) |
Naya Rivera biography timelines
- // 12th Jan 1987Naya Rivera was born on January 12, 1987 in Valencia neighbourhood of Santa Clarita, California to Yolanda and George Rivera. She has a Puerto Rican, African American, and German ancestry. She has a younger brother Mychal Rivera and a younger sister Nickayla Rivera.
- // 1992 To 2002Between 1992 and 2002, Rivera bagged numerous guest roles in popular television series including ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’, ‘Family Matters’, ‘Live Shot’, ‘Baywatch’, ‘Smart Guy’, ‘The Jersey’, ‘House Blend’, ‘Even Stevens’ and ‘The Master of Disguise’.
- // 2002In 2002, Rivera appeared in the music video for B2K's ‘Why I Love You’. Same year, her single episode guest role in ‘The Bernie Mac Show’ was stretched to ten-episodes that ranged throughout the five seasons. Though the guest appearances kept her busy creatively, she worked part time as a telemarketer, nanny and greeter at Abercrombie & Fitch to sustain herself.
- // 2009After a bevy of auditions and guest roles, it was in 2009 that Rivera got the big breakthrough of her career. She was cast as Santana Lopez, a high school cheerleader, on Fox’s musical comedy ‘Glee’. The fact that the role gave her an opportunity to sing, dance and act all at the same time was exciting enough for her. Furthermore, she was a big fan of Ryan Murphy’s work.
- // 2010In 2010, Rivera was bestowed with the Screen Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by the Ensemble for ‘Glee’.
- // May 2011In May 2011, Rivera signed a deal with Columbia Records to produce a solo album. While working on a debut song, Rivera gave vocals for musical duo 2Cellos second single of their second album, a cover of Muse's ‘Supermassive Black Hole’. Simultaneously, she also starred in its music video.
- // 2012In 2012, she repeated her success at ALMA this time for both the categories, Favourite Female Music Artist and Favourite Actress Comedy.
- // 2013In 2013, she was awarded the Giffoni Award at the Giffoni Film Festival.
- // Sep 2013 To May 2014On September 2013, Rivera came up with her debut single ‘Sorry’, featuring rapper Big Sean. The single underperformed at the charts. The debut album which was under progress was called off. On May 2014, Columbia Records dropped Rivera from their list though her representatives later claimed that the report were falsified but without proof.
- // 2014In 2014, she shared the Favourite TV Gal Pals with Lea Michele at the People’s Choice Awards.
- // Sep 2014A 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 was premiered by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas. Released in September 2014, the film was widely appreciated and so was Rivera’s performance,.
- // 2015In 2015, Rivera portrayed the recurring role of Blanca Alvarez for the third season of Lifetime's drama series ‘Devious Maids’.
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Naya Rivera's FAQ
What is Naya Rivera birthday?
Naya Rivera was born at 1987-01-12
Where is Naya Rivera's birth place?
Naya Rivera was born in Valencia, California, United States
What is Naya Rivera nationalities?
Naya Rivera's nationalities is American
Who is Naya Rivera spouses?
Naya Rivera's spouses is Ryan Dorsey (m. 2014; separated 2016)
Who is Naya Rivera siblings?
Naya Rivera's siblings is Mychal Rivera, Nickayla Rivera
What was Naya Rivera universities?
Naya Rivera studied at New York Film Academy
How tall is Naya Rivera?
Naya Rivera's height is 165
Who is Naya Rivera's father?
Naya Rivera's father is George Rivera
Who is Naya Rivera's mother?
Naya Rivera's mother is Yolanda Rivera
What is Naya Rivera's sun sign?
Naya Rivera is Capricorn
How famous is Naya Rivera?
Naya Rivera is famouse as Actress, Singer
What is Naya Rivera's facebook?
Naya Rivera's facebook is https://www.facebook.com/Naya/
What is Naya Rivera's twitter?
Naya Rivera's twitter is https://twitter.com/nayarivera/
What is Naya Rivera's youtube?
Naya Rivera's youtube is https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3yDwNODz32YHrKjb5QOzMg/
What is Naya Rivera's instagram?
Naya Rivera's instagram is https://www.instagram.com/nayarivera/