Naya Rivera trivia | 50 facts about the famous actress

Naya Rivera is a famous singer who started her career as a child but became famous through her role in the TV series Glee.

Let’s find out more about her!

1. Naya Rivera’s full name is Naya Marie Rivera.
2. Besides her acting career, she is an American actress, model, and singer.
3. She has 11 nicknames.
4. She was born January 12, 1987.
5. She was raised in the Valencia neighborhood of Santa Clarita, California.
6. She has lived in or around Los Angeles for most of her life.
7. She is of Puerto Rican, African American, and German descent.
8. Her parents are Yolanda, a former model, and George Rivera.
9. Her younger brother is NFL tight end Mychal Rivera and her younger sister is runway model Nickayla Rivera.
10. At 8 or 9 months old, Rivera began to be represented by the same talent agent as her mother, who had moved to Los Angeles to pursue modeling.
11. She began her career as a child actress and model, appearing in national television commercials.
12. For example, she appeared in commercials for Kmart as a baby.
13. Soon she got the role of Hillary Winston on the short-lived CBS sitcom The Royal Family at the age of 4 (1991–1992).
14. She received a nomination for a Young Artist Award.
15. Rivera auditioned for Glee with the song “Emotion” from the Bee Gees!
16. Between 1992 and 2002, she had small roles in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Family Matters, Live Shot, Baywatch, Smart Guy, Jersey, House Blend, Even Stevens and The Master of Disguise.
17. After a series of recurring television roles and guest spots as a teenager, Rivera received her breakthrough role as an adult as Santana Lopez on the Fox television series Glee (2009–2015).
18. Rivera auditioned for Glee with the song “Emotion” from the Bee Gees!
19. In July 2011, Rivera was nominated for two ALMA Awards, in the categories of Favorite Female Music Artist and Favorite TV Actress – Leading Role in a Comedy.
20. 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.
21. As 2011 ended, she or her character was on many “Best Of” lists, including HitFix’s 25 Breakout Stars of 2011, TV Guide’s Best Performances of 2011, MTV’s Best TV Characters of 2011, as well as others.
22. In the second half of the series’ third season, she was given the opportunity to do a duet with Ricky Martin and worked with Gloria Estefan, who was cast as Santana’s mother.
23. As the 64th Primetime Emmy Awards approached, Naya Rivera was listed by many critics and media outlets as deserving of a nomination.
24. The Hollywood Reporter included her in their “Emmy 2012: Supporting Players” photoshoot and Rivera was also honored by E!, HitFix, TV Guide, and others.
25. She was also chosen by the TV Academy to take part in a promotional video for the upcoming awards ceremony.
26. She was signed to Columbia Records as a solo artist in 2011.
27. Naya Rivera released a single in 2013, “Sorry”, featuring rapper Big Sean.
28. Rivera began dating recording artist Big Sean in April 2013.
29. They announced their engagement in October 2013, but ended their relationship in April 2014.
30. Soon after, Naya Rivera began dating actor Ryan Dorsey, whom she had previously dated four years earlier.
31. They got married on July of 2014.
32. It was the same date that her marriage with Big Sean was arranged. Awkward!
33. She and Ryan Dorsey had a son in 2015.
34. Their son’s name is Josey Hollis and was born in September 2015.
35. In her memoir, Rivera revealed that she had an abortion in 2010, shortly after splitting from Dorsey, due to the fact her career was taking off with the success of Glee.
36. In November 2016, Rivera filed for divorce after two years of marriage, but called off the separation in October 2017.
37. In late November 2017, Rivera was arrested and charged in Kanawha County, West Virginia with misdemeanor domestic battery against Dorsey after she allegedly hit him in the head and face during an altercation over their child.
38. Her bond was set at $1,000, and she was released and picked up from the courthouse by her father-in-law.
39. Naya Rivera subsequently refiled for divorce in December 2017.
40. Later that month, Rivera and Dorsey agreed to temporarily share joint custody of their son^, in January 2018, the domestic battery charge was dismissed at the request of Dorsey.
41. On June 14, 2018, Rivera and Dorsey finalized their divorce.
42. Rivera made her feature film debut as Vera in the horror film At the Devil’s Door (2014).
43. Beginning in 2015, she had a recurring role as Blanca on the third season of the Lifetime television series Devious Maids.
44. In January 2015, during her appearance as a guest host on The View, Rivera alluded to her possible bisexuality.
45. On July 8, 2020, Rivera was declared a missing person after her four-year-old son, Josey, was found alone in Rivera’s rented boat at Lake Piru.
46. About three hours after they left the dock, another boater discovered Josey asleep on the boat with his life jacket on.
47. An adult life jacket was also found on board, along with Rivera’s identification.
48. Josey is said to have told investigators that his mother was swimming and could not make it back to the boat.
49. Her vehicle, a black Mercedes G Wagon was found in the parking lot.
50. The authorities are searching for her, but they believe she may have drowned, so she is presumed dead. Nothing is officially confirmed yet though.