Naya Marie Rivera was an American actress, singer, and model. She was best known for playing Santana Lopez in Fox's musical-comedy-drama television series Glee from 2009 to 2015. She also played Hillary Winston in the CBS sitcom The Royal Family (which marked her acting debut) from 1991 to 1992, Blanca Alvarez in the Lifetime/ABC Studios comedy-drama series Devious Maids in 2015, and Collette Jones in the YouTube/Starz series Step Up from 2018 to 2019. Additionally, she voiced Catwoman in the 2021 adaptation of Batman: The Long Halloween, which was her final acting role before her death.
For Disney, she guest-starred as Charlene in the Even Stevens episode "Short Story", and as Gwendolyn in the ABC sitcom Family Matters. She also played Girl #2 in The Jersey episode "Be True to You", the Nice Girl in the ABC sitcom 8 Simple Rules episode "Halloween", and Kelly and Tanya in Smart Guy.
On July 8, 2020, Rivera was declared a missing person after her four-year-old son was found alone in their rental boat at Lake Piru, near Santa Clarita, California. Five days later, her body was discovered and confirmed deceased from an accidental drowning.
Roles[]
Trivia[]
- She was considered for the role of Gabriella Montez in High School Musical, before Vanessa Hudgens was cast.
Gallery[]
