Naya Rivera
Gender:	Female
Age:	26
Born:	January 12th, 1987
Character:	Santana Lopez
Occupation:	Actress, model, singer, songwriter
Years Active:	1991-present

Naya Marie Rivera (born January 12, 1987), is a 26-year-old American actress, singer and model best known for her current role of Santana Lopez on FOX's hit TV Show, Glee. She was born in Santa Clarita, California.

Contents 1 Early and Personal Life 2 Filmography 3 Awards and nominations 4 External links 5 Quotes 6 Trivia 7 Gallery 8 Videos 9 References 10 Comments

Early and Personal Life

Naya, who has lived in the Los Angeles area was born and raised in Valencia, California, modeled and acted throughout her childhood. As a baby, Rivera appeared in commercials for Kmart, but

her first significant acting job was at the age of four when she starred as Hillary Winston in the Eddie Murphy produced sitcom The Royal Family in 1991. Between 1992 and 2002, she had small roles in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Family Matters, Live Shot, Baywatch, Smart Guy, House Blend, Even Stevens and The Master of Disguise. In 2002 she also appeared in the music video for B2K's "Why I Love You". She was hired for a single-episode guest appearance on The Bernie Mac Show in 2002, but was brought back to work on a further five episodes. She was later featured in single episodes of 8 Simple Rules and CSI: Miami.

Naya is bestfriends with Heather Morris since 2009 in 2009, Rivera was cast as Cheerios cheerleading squad member Santana Lopez on Fox's musical comedy series Glee, about a high school glee club. Rivera's character comes off as a cold-hearted and vicious cheerleader, who often shows her softer side to fellow cheerleader Brittany (played by Heather Morris). Rivera auditioned for the opportunity "to sing, dance and act all in the same show," and because she was a fan of co-creator Ryan Murphy's previous work on Nip/Tuck. Rivera drew on her own high school experience of unpopularity to prepare for the role, as well as watching films such as Mean Girls to "really get in the zone and feel like a bitchy Sophomore". She has described Santana as "your typical high school cheerleader, for the most part," explaining: "She's really mean and loves boys. She's really witty so I love playing her." She has characterized Santana as "a bit of a bad girl" who is "really snarky and always has these really witty one-liners she throws out there." Rivera enjoys the fact Santana is competitive and headstrong as she herself shares those traits, but dislikes Santana's mean streak. She finds the show's pacing challenging, especially the dancing, and commented in June 2009 that her most memorable moment on Glee was performing the Cheerios' glee club audition piece, "I Say a Little Prayer". Santana played a more prominent part in the last nine episodes of Glee's first season. Rivera commented: "Santana's been wreaking havoc with people's boyfriends and people's babies and teachers—she's the high school terror, and she's going to continue to be the villain".

In 2010 Rivera made the Maxim Hot 100 list, coming in at number 61 and in 2011 she got named 43.

She also made the Afterellen Hot 100 list in 2010, 2011, and 2012, premiering at 62 in 2010, jumping to 1 in 2011 and still at number 1 once again in 2012.

Naya Rivera hosted the 22nd GLAAD Media Awards in San Francisco.

In July 2011, Rivera was nominated for two awards, in the categories of "Favorite Female Music Artist" and "Favorite TV Actress - Leading Role in a Comedy". BuddyTV ranked her #3 on its "TV's 100 Sexiest Women of 2011" list. She 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. As 2011 ended, she or her character were on many "Best Of" lists, including HitFix.com's 25 Breakout Stars of 2011, TV Guide's Best Performances of 2011, MTV's Best TV Characters of 2011, Yahoo!'s Television Without Pity 2011 TV's Most Valuable Performers, as well as others.

Naya was on the Cover of 2011 November issue of FHM magazine in US, UK and Australia.

She is now the Spokesperson of Proactiv Solution.

She also appeared in 'The Glee Project' season 2 as a mentor in Sexuality episode. Source

Naya is currently dating Big Sean.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2002	The Master of Disguise	Captain America Kid	Deleted Scene
2009	Frankenhood	Hottie	Credited as Naya Maria Rivera (Maria was a typo)
2011	Glee: The 3D Concert Movie	Santana Lopez	3D Concert Film

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1991–1992	The Royal Family	Hillary Winston	Regular role
1992–1993	Family Matters	Gwendolyn	Episodes: "Just One Date", "Heart Strings", "Mama's Wedding"
1993	The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air	Cindy	Episode: "Bundle of Joy"
1993	The Sinbad Show	Party Guest	Episode: "It's My Party, I'll Cry If I Want To"
1995	Live Shot	Ann	Episode: "Another Day, Another Story"
1996	Baywatch	Willa	Episode: "Scorcher"
1997–1999	Smart Guy	Kelly Tanya	Episodes: "Baby, It's You and You and You", "Never Too Young"
1999	The Jersey	Girl #2	Episode: "Be True to You"
2002	House Blend	Chloe	Pilot
2002	Even Stevens	Charlene	Episode: "Short Story"
2002–2004	Pajama Rama	Herself	Host
2002–2006	The Bernie Mac Show	Donna	Recurring role
2003	Soul Food	Lauryn	Episodes: "Truth's Consequences", "Nobody's Child"
2004	8 Simple Rules	Nice Girl	Episode: "Halloween"
2008	Girlfriends	Young Lady	Episode: "Stand and Deliver"
2008	CSI: Miami	Rachel Calvado	Episode: "Power Trip"
2009–present	Glee	Santana Lopez	Season 1: recurring cast member Seasons 2 - 4: regular cast member
2012	The Glee Project	Herself	Guest Star (Season 2, Episode 4 "Sexuality")
2012	This Is How I Made It	Herself	Episode 3

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Result
1992	Young Artist Awards	Exceptional Performance by a Young Actress Under Ten	Nominated
2010	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series	Won
2010	Imagen Awards	Best Supporting Actress—Television	Nominated
2010	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Music: Group	Nominated
2011	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series	Nominated
2011	53rd Annual Grammy Awards	Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals	Nominated
2011	ALMA Awards	Favorite TV Actress—Leading Role in a Comedy	Nominated
2011	ALMA Awards	Favorite Female Music Artist	Won
2012	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series	Nominated
2012	My TV Awards	Ridiculously Good-Looking Female	Won
2012	My TV Awards	Supporting Actress in a Comedy	Won
2012	NewNowNext Awards	Cause You're Hot	Won
2012	ALMA Awards	Favorite TV Actress—Leading Role in a Comedy	Won
2012	ALMA Awards	Favorite Female Music Artist	Won

External links

• Twitter
• Naya Rivera on IMDB [2]
• NayaRivera.net [3]

Quotes

• (on her favorite moment of Season 2) “I loved what the fans having lovingly dubbed “The Hurt Locker” – when Santana confessed her love for Brittany. It was the first time, as an actor, I saw the fruits of my labor. I was so prepared for that scene and in my heart, I was happy with the work I did. And to be so proud of something you did is the best feeling, no matter the profession.”^[1]
• "My heart is a Slushee full of love and I want to toss it all over you."^[2]
• "Getting hit on by both genders is such a champagne problem."^[1]
• "My voice is kind of like Aaliyah-esque, with a little bit more range. Normally, I sing pop, R&B-type stuff.^[3]
• [her senior year quote] "We need a Starbucks on Campus. Love and always forever."
• "My passion for music is one of my greatest loves. I don’t think I would be able to live without music in my life. I listen to absolutely everything and sing all the time. I love to write because it’s such a release. It’s very therapeutic when I sing and it makes me feel like I’m escaping for a while. I started singing when I was three. My favorite things to perform for my family was Paula Abdul and Michael Jackson’s leave me alone. I had a little kid piano that my dad would play notes on while I made up lyrics and sang along. I love how different songs can make you feel different things and take you to different memories in your life."^[4]
• "There are always going to be things you don’t like about yourself or reasons to compare yourself to others, but once you realize that you only get one you, it’s best to just love yourself." 
• "I want to play Lena Horne because I've always been fascinated with her. Her talent was astounding and more than that, her life story is incredible." - Naya on her dream role, Latina magazine

Trivia

• Her vital statistic is 34-22-32.
• Her nicknames are Bee, NayNay, Nay Nay Rivers, Na Nay, Little Bee, The Veiled Fairy and Snix.^[5]
• If she were not an actress, she would be a writer.
• She doesn't like to throw things out.^[5]
• Had a crush on Robin Thicke.^[6]
• She likes sushi and Mexican food.^[5]
• She hates papercuts, and she always thinks of getting one on her eye when she thinks of them.^[5]
• She likes to wear her make-up natural.
• She does planks and side planks to keep her stomach toned.
• She wears MAC and Rimmel make-up.
• She is close friends with her co-star Heather Morris.
• There were rumors that she trashed Mark Salling's car (as he had been talking to other girls when they had a "thing"), but these rumors are not confirmed and Mark denied them on Twitter.
• Naya is half Puerto-Rican, 1/4 African-American and 1/4 German.
• Rivera loves to read and is a fan of Nip/Tuck.
• When she's tired, she doesn't talk, but mumbles.^[5]
• Her first concert was No Doubt.^[5]
• She's a very good impersonator.^[5]
• When she is bored she will drive somewhere, but always take the longest route.^[5]
• On Valentine's Day, she and her friends would sit in the car, listen to Dashboard Confessional and cry.^[5]
• She is left-handed.
• She has tried to pay a taxi cab ride only in pennies.
• She has six tattoos ("love" in Hebrew on her right wrist, a peace sign on her left ankle, a cross on her lower back, a shooting star on her right foot, and a ribbon on her nape and an unknown one mentioned in FHM).
• She is a fan of the Hunger Games Trilogy and she would like to play Johanna in the second installment of the Hunger Games films.^[7][8]
• She watches Pretty Little Liars and plays Pretty Little Liars fantasy games with friends where she is Emily.
• She invented a dance that can be seen on YouTube called "The Naya Dance."
• Was number 1 on the AfterEllen hot 100 list for 2011.
• She is not fluent in Spanish, stated in a livestream, but she was apparently drunk and/or joking since Amber said, "No you don't, you're a liar." (She really was drunk during the livestream though).
• Has had women propose to her due to her lesbian storyline.
• She's is a high contralto - low mezzo-soprano, and has a 2.6 octave range. Her vocal range is C3-Bb5 as seen on a youtube video.
• For the July 2 show, Naya changed her shirt from "Lebanese" to "Lebanese for Irish Girls" because they were in Ireland.
• On July 3, Naya quickly kissed co-star Heather Morris on the lips on their last stop of the Glee European tour in Dublin, Ireland.
• Was seen smoking on a break from filming in New York. This is the only time she's been caught.
• Is a huge Amy Winehouse fan and Valerie is her second favorite song ever.
• Auditioned for Glee with the song Emotion from the Bee Gees.
• Starred in the music video "Why I Love You" by B2K.
• Played a prank on the cast by using her extra phone to send mystery texts to the cast and signing them with xoxo -A, like in Pretty Little Liars.
• Was voted by the cast to be the most likely to join the cast of Jersey Shore.
• She worked at Hooters.^[9]
• Her all-time favorite song is 'A Song For You' by Donny Hathaway.^[10]
• Her favorite childhood show was Boy Meets World or Doug.
• Her favorite accessory is a nice watch.^[11]
• In May 2011, it was announced that Rivera had signed a deal with Columbia Records to produce a solo album.
• Naya Rivera hosted the San Francisco GLAAD Media Awards in 2011 and the 2012 GLAAD Media Awards, along with co-star, Cory Monteith.
• She took up songwriting at the age of 15.
• When she was 17, she was a fan of Paris Hilton and watched "The Simple Life". She also bought the same dog as Paris.^[6]
• Has a brother named Mychal, who's a football player, and a sister named Nickayla, who's a model. Mychal's 21 and Nickayla's 18.
• Won Favorite Female Artist at the 2011 & 2012 ALMA awards.
• Is named after a mermaid on the 1970s TV show Fantasy Island.
• Cover of the November 2011 issue of FHM in USA, UK, Spain and Canada.
• Has been to Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch twice as a child. Source
• Her nickname for Kevin McHale is Little Bee. [4]
• Her favorite color is pink.
• Her favorite band is Coldplay.
• She prefers red wine to white wine.
• She prefers pancakes to waffles.
• Worked at Abercrombie as a greeter and was very flattered, knowing they only hire people based on looks.
• Had a Maltese named Callie, but then gave it to her mom when she pooped in her car.
• She took computer class in high school but hated it.
• Has been acting since the age of 4.
• Was not popular in high school.
• Named her SAG award Alejandro.
• Won the Cause You're Hot award at the 2012 NewNowNext Awards.
• Her parents have been divorced about 8 years.
• She has a girl crush on Coco. Source
• Cover of the Latina Magazine May 2012 Issue.
• A video of her taking part in a pole dancing competition was leaked by Perez Hilton.
• Is number 39 in FHM's 100 Sexiest Women In The World 2012. Source
  • In 2010, Rivera made the Maxim Hot 100 list, coming in at number 61. The following year, she was ranked number 43. She was ranked number 27 2012 and number 44 in 2013 in Maxim's Hot 100. Source
• Finds beatboxing sexy.
• Is for the second time in a row number 1 on AfterEllen's Hot 100 (2011 and 2012).
• Favorite animal is the penguin.
• Loves to wear glasses when she is going out.
• Has a Cavalier King Charles puppy named Lucy Ann Rivera.
• Joined her high school choir but then left after two weeks because she thought it wasn't cool and didn't want to be yelled at.
• Elton John signed her to his management company on 9/9/12. Source
• Alongside Amber Riley, Naya auditioned for American Idol but didn't make the cut.

Gallery

Videos

Naya Royal Family-1(13:14)
64 views

GLEE - 10 Things You Didn't Know About Naya Rivera(01:16)
617 views

Naya Rivera - When I Was 17 (2010) - Deleted Scene(01:28)
455 views

Glee - Naya does 'The Naya Dance' in Hawaii(00:12)
798 views

Behind the Scenes of Naya Rivera's Maxim photoshoot(02:44)
399 views

2CELLOS (Sulic & Hauser) featuring Naya Rivera - Supermassive Black Hole(03:47)
283 views

M&M'S "Love Ballad" Commercial(00:31)
467 views

Naya Rivera Glee Interview with Emma Bunton I Heart Glee(03:46)
125 views

References

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} 'Glee' stars talk season three, the tour & graduation!
2. ↑ Naya Rivera wows as the host of the GLAAD Media Awards in San Francisco
3. ↑ [1]
4. ↑ All About Naya Rivera
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8} GLEE - 10 Things You Didn't Know About Naya Rivera
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} When I Was 17 Season 2 Episode 5
7. ↑ April 20, 2011 Tweet 1
8. ↑ April 20, 2011 Tweet 2
9. ↑ 'Glee' Stars Before They Were Famous... They Did What?
10. ↑ Naya Rivera Interview
11. ↑ Response to Twitter question

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