Naya Rivera

Naya Rivera is an American actress and singer, born on January 12, 1987, in Valencia neighborhood of Santa Clarita, California. She is of Puerto Rican, African American, and German descent. Her parents are Yolanda, a former model, and George Rivera. Her younger brother is an NFL tight end, Mychal Rivera, and her younger sister is a runway model, Nichayla Rivera. She appeared in commercials for Kmart as a baby. Also, at the age of four, she appeared as Hillary Winston for her first significant acting job in The Royal Family. The show received positive reviews and high ratings. Between 1992 and 2002, Naya had small roles in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Family Matters, Live Shot, and Baywatch. As well as in Smart Guy, The Jersey, House Blend, Even Stevens and The Master of Disguise. She also appeared in the music video for B2K’s Why I Love You in 2002.

Moreover, in 2002, her role in The Bernie Mac Show stretched up to ten-episodes that ranged throughout the five seasons. Later, Naya featured in episodes of 8 Simple Rules and CSI MSI. In 2006 and 2007, Naya took part in the production of Mark E. Swinton’s play, U Don’t Know Me: The Musical. Naya’s career was a big bang between the year 2009 and 2011 when she cast as Santana Lopez on Fox’s musical series Glee. Naya’s character comes off as a cold-hearted and vicious cheerleader, who often shows her softer side to fellow cheerleader Brittany. She played a most prominent part in the last nine episodes of Glee’s first season.  Also, Naya nominated as Favorite Female Music Artist and Favorite TV Actress – Leading Role in a comedy of ALMA Awards in 2011.  Also in the same year, Naya signed a deal with Columbia Records to produce a solo album.

Naya’s debut single Sorry, featuring rapper Big Sean, released as a digital download on September 17, 2013. On March 9, 2014, Naya’s debut film At the Devil’s Door premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas.  Moreover, the film released through video on demand on August 8, 2014, and theatrically released on September 12, 2014. She portrayed the recurring role of Blanca Alvarez in the third season of Lifetime’s drama series Devious Maids. In September 2016, Naya released a memoir titled Sorry Not Sorry: Dreams, Mistakes, and Growing up. Naya would be taking the role of school administrator Collette Jones in the YouTube Red series Step Up: High Water in 2018.