About Naya Rivera; Actress, Model, and Singer (Died due to accidental drowning)
Born as Naya Marie Rivera, Naya Rivera was an American actress, model, as well as a singer. She rose to fame after her role as Santana Lopez on the Fox television series, "Glee" (2009-2015). From 1991 to 1992, she appeared in the American sitcom "The Royal Family" for her role as Hillary Winston. Naya was 4 years old at that time. She debuted with the 2009 movie "Frankenhood" for her role as Hottie. By mistake, her role was credited as "Naya Maria Rivera". She gained her exposure as a singer, dancer, and actor, all on Glee. Her performances had received much recognition and praise from the viewers. She had also received nominations and was included in the many "Best Of" lists. On 17th September 2013, she released her debut single "Sorry" with Big Sean digitally. She had won around 11 awards throughout her careers such as ALMA Award for best female music artists and favorite TV actress. She has also received Gold Derby Award for the best comedy supporting actress. In the year 2016, she published a memoir titled "Sorry Not Sorry: Dreams, Mistakes, and Growing Up". On 8th July 2020, she was declared a missing person after her four-year-old son was found alone in Rivera's rental boat at Lake Piru in Fillmore, California. The following day, Ventura County Sheriff's Office officials reported that Rivera was presumed dead. She died at the age of 33 at Lake Piru, Ventura County, California, U.S. She lost her life due to accidental drowning. She was officially declared dead on July 13. On July 14, the Ventura County medical examiner released an autopsy report stating that the cause of death was an accidental drowning and that there was no evidence of injury or intoxication. Naya Rivera was born on 12th January 1987, in Santa Clarita, California, the USA. Her birth name/real name was Naya Marie Rivera. She is nicknamed as The Veiled Fairy, N'Nay, Bee, Nay Nay, Nay Nay Rivers, Nougat, Snix, Ni Ni, Smoochy. Her nationality was American and she belonged to African-American ethnicity. Her race is Black. Capricorn was her zodiac sign and her religion is Christian. She lastly celebrated her 33rd birthday. She was born as the eldest daughter to her parents; Yolanda Rivera (mother) and George Rivera (father). Her mother, Yolando is a former model. She also has two siblings; a younger brother Mychal Rivera, who is a former NFL tight end, and a younger sister Nickayla Rivera, who is a model. Ѕhе ѕtudіеd аt Nеw Yоlk Fіlm Асаdеmу fоr ѕсrееnwrіtіng. Ѕhе ѕееmѕ tо hаvе tаkеn аftеr hеr mоthеr, whо wаѕ аlѕо а mоdеl, аnd ѕhе bеgаn tо bе соvеrеd bу а tаlеnt аgеnсу аt а vеrу уоung аgе, thе ѕаmе аgеnсу thаt rерrеѕеntеd hеr mоdеl mоthеr. As per her education, she attended Valencia High School, Santa Clarita, California.
Disappearance and Death of Naya Rivera
Source: @rnz.co.nz
Naya Rivera disappeared on 8th July 2020, after her four-year-old son, Josey Hollis, was found alone on her rented boat at Lake Piru in Fillmore, California. Lake Piru is a man-made reservoir in the Los Padres National Forest in Ventura County, California. Lake Piru is also known locally for strong, unpredictable currents and whirlpools that have caused the deaths of swimmers in the past. The search for both Rivera and Josey had begun at 4:00 p.m. PDT, three hours after they left the dock when their rental was over and they had not returned. Later, Josey was found alone, asleep on the boat with his life jacket on and another adult life jacket, at around 5:00 pm at the north of the lake which was quite deep and windy. Josey is said to have told that his mother was swimming without her life-jacket on and could not make it back to the boat. Rivera's vehicle, a black Mercedes G Wagon, was also found in the parking lot. On 9th July, the sheriff's department confirmed to NBC that Naya Rivera was presumed dead and that rescue efforts would now shift to recovery efforts. On 10th July, the sheriff's office released CCTV footage of Rivera and her son arriving in the parking lot and leaving the dock on the boat. They even explained that the visibility was so poor that Rivera would be found by using sonar devices only. As well as dive teams and sonar, sniffer dogs were taken out on the lake. On 11th and 12th July, her parents, brother, ex-husband Ryan Dorsey and Glee co-star Heather Morris joined the search team at the lake. On 13th July, it was announced that a body had been found floating in Lake Piru by divers when the search resumed in the morning, at around 9:30 a.m.; the body was confirmed to be Rivera's at a press conference held later that day. On 13th July 2013, she was announced officially dead. On 14th July, the Ventura County medical examiner released an autopsy report stating that the cause of death was an accidental drowning and that there was no evidence of injury or intoxication.
Everything To Know About Naya Rivera's Ex-Husband, Ryan Dorsey
Naya Rivera's Career Timeline
- Firstly, Naya Rivera appeared for TV commercials in "Kmart" as a baby.
- At the small age of 4, she played the role of Hillary Winston on the short-lived CBS sitcom, "The Royal Family" in the year 1991.
- After that, she appeared in series such as "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air", "Family Matters", "Live Shot", "Baywatch", "Smart Guy", "The Master of Disguise" and more.
- She appeared in the music video for B2K's "Why I Love You" in 2002 and made guest appearances on "The Bernie Mac Show" in the same year.
- After that, she appeared in "8 Simple Rules" and "CSI: Miami".
- She also auditioned for an unspecified season of American Idol during the San Francisco auditions, and she was cut in the first round.
- Later, she got a breakthrough role as Santana Lopez on Fox's musical comedy series, "Glee" in the year 2009.
- She was given her first solo in the fifth episode of season two, "The Rocky Horror Glee Show", and performed several others as the season progressed.
- In May 2011, she signed a deal with Columbia Records and released her debut single "Sorry", featuring rapper Big Sean on 17th September 2013.
- On 1st May 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 the year 2014.
- In the year 2015, she 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 the year 2018, it was announced that she would be taking the role of school administrator Collette Jones in the YouTube Red series "Step Up: High Water". The series moved to Starz in May 2020, and she was announced to be continuing her role; at the time, the third season was in production, but no timetable for its release was given.
- A BBC retrospective in 2020 looked at the impact of Rivera's role as Santana, and the important representation it gave internationally for young queer women and the idea of being out in the music industry. Whereas the article did note that casting a straight actress for the role may have been frowned upon in later years, but that just having the representation was revolutionary at the time and it was positive that Rivera openly embraced playing the lesbian character.
Naya Rivera DIVORCE with Ryan Dorsey
Source: @hellomagazine.com
Naya Rivera was a married woman. Initially, she began dating Tahj Mowry between 2000 and 2004. Mark Salling, an actor from 2007 till 2010. After that, she dated Douglas Booth. She was also in a relationship with Matthew Hodgson, the writer for the TV show Glee. In February 2013, she dated Big Sean who is a famous rapper. After dating for 6 months, they got engaged in October 2013. But their relationship ended in April 2014. After her split from Big Sean, she began dating actor Ryan Dorsey. They had previously met for 4 years earlier. On 19th July 2014, the couple got married in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. In September 2015, the couple welcomed their child, son Josey Hollis born in September 2015. In her memoir, Rivera revealed that she had an abortion in 2010, shortly after splitting from Dorsey, due to the fact that her career was taking off with the success of Glee. After two years of their marriage, she filed for divorce in November 2016 but called off the separation in October 2017. In November 2017, she was arrested and charged in Kanawha County, West Virginia with misdemeanor domestic battery against Dorsey after she allegedly hit him in the head during an altercation over their child, subsequently, she refiled for divorce in December 2017. Later, on 24th June 14, 2018, the duo finalized their divorce and agreed to temporarily share joint custody of their son.
Naya Rivera's Net Worth 2020
Naya Rivera was an American actress, singer, and model. With her diverse career, she had earned a huge amount of money. From 1991 to 2020, she was very active in her career. Rivera received her breakthrough role as Santana Lopez on the Fox television series Glee (2009-2015). She had collected a hefty amount of money from her several appearances on TV series, songs, and movies. At the time of her death, her net worth was estimated to be around $6 million. Her major source of earning was from acting career. She is also a model and singer, which boosts her income. As a child, she appeared in the Kmart commercials. She became the face of Proactiv Solution in December 2011. Prior to her death, she was living a luxurious lifestyle.
