Naya Rivera was an American actress, model, and singer who rose to prominence as Santana Lopez on the Fox television series “Glee” from 2009 to 2015. Rivera began her career as a child actress and model, and over the course of her career, she established herself as a capable actress, winning about 11 awards.

With the role of Hillary Winston on the short-lived CBS sitcom “The Royal Family,” she first made headlines at the age of four. Rivera has been called FHM’s “World’s Sexiest Woman,” People en Espaol’s “50 Most Beautiful,” and Maxim’s “Hot 100” three times. She was also named #1 on the AfterEllen Hot 100 list in 2012 and #37 on the Men’s Health Hottest Women of 2014 list.

Rivera was declared a missing person on July 8, 2020, after her four-year-old son was discovered alone in Rivera’s rental boat at Lake Piru in Fillmore, California. Rivera was presumed dead the next day, according to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office.

What was Naya Rivera’ Net Worth?

Naya Rivera has amassed a sizable fortune throughout the course of her career. Similarly, her acting career had provided her with the most of her wealth. She had a net worth of $5 million at the time of her death.

Where was Naya Rivera Born?

Naya Rivera was born in the Valencia neighborhood of Santa Clarita, California, on January 12, 1987. Naya Marie Rivera was her birth name. Her country of origin was the United States of America. Rivera was of African-American descent, and her zodiac sign was Capricorn.

As the eldest daughter of Yolanda Rivera (mother) and George Rivera (father), Naya was born into a well-to-do family (father). Yolando, her mum, is a former model. Her younger brother Mychal Rivera, a former NFL tight end, and younger sister Nickayla Rivera, a runway model, are her siblings.

Being from a family with a strong fashion heritage, Naya was introduced to the world from an early age. At the age of nine months, she was already being represented by the same talent agent as her mother, who had relocated to Los Angeles to pursue modeling.

Rivera made his first appearance on television as an infant in Kmart advertisements.

Naya Rivera’s Career Highlights:

• Naya Rivera began her career as an actor at age of 4 with the role of Hillary Winston on the short-lived CBS sitcom, “The Royal Family” in 1991.
• She then played several minor roles in series including “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”, “Family Matters”, “Live Shot”, “Baywatch”, “Smart Guy” and “The Master of Disguise”.
• She was also featured in the music video for B2K’s “Why I Love You” in 2002.
• In between her struggle to get roles, Rivera even worked jobs as a telemarketer, a nanny, and a greeter at an Abercrombie & Fitch store.
• Rivera got a breakthrough role after she was portrayed the role of a high school cheerleader, Santana Lopez on Fox’s musical comedy series, “Glee” in 2009.
• In May 2011, Rivera signed a deal with Columbia Records and subsequently released her debut single “Sorry”, featuring rapper Big Sean on September 17, 2013.
• However, on May 1, 2014, it was reported that Columbia had dropped Rivera because her debut single had underperformed.
• She made a strong comeback this time on the big screen with her debut feature film, “At the Devil’s Door” in 2014.
• In 2015, Rivera portrayed the recurring role of Blanca Alvarez in the third season of Lifetime’s drama series, “Devious Maids”.
• Her memoir titled “Sorry Not Sorry: Dreams, Mistakes, and Growing Up” was released in September 2016.
• In 2017, she played the role of Felipa Jonas in a comedy film, “Mad Families”.
• Rivera’s last appearance was as Collette Jones in series, “Step Up: High Water” since 2018.

  

Naya Rivera’s Husband and Children:

Big Sean, an American rapper and songwriter, was previously in a relationship with Naya Rivera. They started dating in April 2013, and after 6 months of dating, they got engaged in October 2013, but their relationship ended in April 2014. Rivera started dating actor Ryan Dorsey shortly after her divorce from Big Sean. They had previously dated for four years, and she married Dorsey on July 19, 2014, in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, just three months after their separation.

Rivera revealed on February 24, 2015 that she and her husband were expecting their first child, Josey Holi, who was born in September 2015. She filed for divorce in November 2016 after just two years of marriage, but the divorce was called off in October 2017.

Rivera was arrested and charged with misdemeanor domestic assault against Dorsey in Kanawha County, West Virginia, a month later, after she allegedly struck him in the head during an argument over their child. She then refiled for divorce in December 2017.

Rivera and Dorsey settled their divorce on June 14, 2018, and agreed to temporarily share joint custody of their son. Moreover, Rivera disclosed in 2010 that she had an abortion of Dorsey’s child when her career was soaring thanks to the success of “Glee.” During her appearance as a guest host on “The View,” Rivera also hinted at her potential bisexuality.

Her most recent social media update was a stunning picture of her and her only son on her Instagram account, @nayarivera, which has over 2.2 million followers, with the caption “just the two of us.”

Disappearance of Naya Rivera:

Josey Holi, Rivera’s four-year-old son, was discovered alone in Rivera’s rented boat at Lake Piru in Fillmore, California, on July 8, 2020, and Rivera was declared a missing person. Locals know Lake Piru for its strong, unpredictable currents and whirlpools, which have claimed the lives of swimmers in the past. They did not return three hours after leaving the port, even though their rental period had ended, so the search for both of them began at 4:00 PDT.

Josey was discovered alone, sleeping on the boat with his life jacket and another adult life jacket on about 5:00 p.m. at the north end of the lake, which was deep and windy. Josey allegedly said that his mother was swimming without a life jacket on and was unable to return to the boat. Rivera’s Mercedes G Wagon, a black Mercedes, was discovered in the parking lot.

Rivera is presumed dead, according to the sheriff’s department, which reported to NBC on July 9 that search operations will now turn to recovery efforts. Rivera and her son were seen arriving in the parking lot and leaving the dock on the boat in CCTV footage released by the sheriff’s office on July 10.

They also said that due to the poor visibility, Rivera can only be identified using sonar devices. On the shore, sniffer dogs were deployed alongside dive teams and sonar.

Rivera’s parents and brother joined the search party on the lake on July 11.

Naya Rivera’s Height:

When Naya Rivera went missing, she was a stunning woman in her 30s. Rivera had won a lot of hearts all over the world thanks to her beautiful body and charming personality. Her height was 5ft. 5inches (1.65m), and her weight was about 53kg (117 lbs).

Her body measurements were 35-25-34 inches, with a bra size of 34 C, a shoe size of 8.5 (US), and a dress size of 4 (US). Her skin was light brown, her eyes were dark brown, and her hair was black.

Quick Facts About Naya Rivera