Naya Rivera went missing on July 8, while on a boating excursion on Lake Piru in Southern California with her 4-year-old son Josey. Later that same day, her son was found all by himself on the boat and he told officers from the Ventura County Sheriff’s department that he and his mother had gone swimming, but his mother never came out of the water. For days, crews searched for the missing 33-year-old actress and then on July 13, a body was recovered. The body was confirmed to be Naya’s. No one could have ever predicted that this is how Naya’s life would come to an end. It’s absolutely tragic.
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Naya was only 4 years old when she started acting. Her first role was on the small screen in the short-lived show The Royal Family, which aired from 1991 to 1992. Even though the show wasn’t on for very long, it was a big deal for Naya to be cast in it. She played Hillary Winston, a little girl whose antics charmed the audience. Her co-stars? None other than the great Della Reese and legendary Redd Foxx. And Naya could hold her own opposite these talented actors at such a young age. That’s a big deal.
Even though Naya started acting as a child, most would agree that her “big break” happened when she landed the part of Santana López on the much beloved show Glee. Naya portrayed the character from 2009 to 2015 in 116 episodes. Santana López may be Naya’s most remembered role, but Naya will also be remembered for her immense talent, beauty, and so much more. For example…
Naya was proud of her multicultural background.
She was born on January 12, 1987, in California. On an episode of The View she mentioned that her mother is half Black and half Puerto Rican. Naya is also part German. She always seemed to embrace and be proud of all aspects of her background.
She was not an only child.
Naya’s younger sister is Nickayla Rivera, a model. Nickayla has modeled for Prada. Is it really surprising that beauty runs in the family? Not at all. Naya’s younger brother Mychal Rivera is a professional football player. He played for the Oakland Raiders in 2013 and 2016. In 2017, he played for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Currently, he’s a free agent.
She was a tiny little thing when she started her professional career.
As a baby she was in a commercial for Kmart. Her first big gig was when she played Hillary Winston in the sitcom The Royal Family, which was produced by Eddie Murphy. Yes, THAT Eddie Murphy. She appeared in 15 episodes of the series, which ran from 1991 to 1992.
You may have seen her on other shows as well.
Naya also had small parts on other television shows like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Family Matters, Baywatch, and The Bernie Mac Show. At one point in her career, she seriously considered giving up on the whole acting thing, but her mother convinced her to keep at it for another six months. As we all know, her mom did her a solid by telling her not to give up because she hit it big on Glee.
When she was 15, she started gravitating toward music.
It was her interest and talent in music that ended leading her to be cast as Santana López, a teen who struggled accepting her sexuality, on the show Glee. The show aired on Fox from 2009 through 2015 and was seen internationally. That show broadcast Naya’s talents throughout the world and garnered her fans across the globe.
Naya sang with the one and only Ricky Martin.
In February 2012, Naya and Ricky sang together on and episode of Glee. The song was “La Isla Bonita,” which was popularized by Madonna. Although the song has some Spanish in it, Naya did not speak Spanish herself and you can kind of sort of tell from the way she pronounced certain words. That’s not a criticism, it’s just an FYI.
She became romantically involved with Mark Salling.
Mark Salling was also on Glee, he played Noah “Puck” Puckerman. Naya and he were romantically involved from 2007 to 2010. In 2015, Mark was arrested for possession of child pornography. In September 2017, he pleaded guilty, but never made it to jail because he died by suicide in January 2018. He was 35 years old when he died.
In 2013, she was in a relationship with rapper Big Sean.
Big Sean aka Sean Michel Anderson and Naya were engaged, so it’s safe to say it was serious between the two. In an interview with E! News, they shared that they met on Twitter of all places. Somehow, they never made it to the altar.
Naya and Big Sean collaborated musically.
Given the success of Glee, it makes sense that Naya would want to pursue a musical career of her own. In 2013, she worked to produce her own material in collaboration of Big Sean. She is the co-author of the song "Sorry" as well as its singer.
Shortly after calling off her engagement to Big Sean, Naya married Ryan Dorsey.
In July 2014, just three months after breaking it off with Big Sean, Naya and actor Ryan Dorsey got married. Ryan was also on Glee. The couple were married for two years and had a son named Josey Dorsey in 2015. Naya and Ryan had previously been romantically involved in 2010. In her memoir, Sorry Not Sorry: Dreams, Mistakes, and Growing Up, Naya revealed that she became pregnant when she was with Ryan back in 2010 and that she decided to get an abortion.
Naya was arrested in 2017.
In November 2017, while Ryan and Naya were still officially married, he called the police on her and she was arrested for domestic violence. He alleged that Naya hit him on the head and face. The couple was already planning to divorce and according to Vanity Fair the fight was over their son Josey.
In 2018, their divorce became official.
In June 2018, Naya and Ryan were officially divorced. They shared custody of Josey. As part of their settlement agreement, Naya got to keep the home in Los Angeles they had shared as a couple. She also got to keep the $100,000 engagement ring. She did have to pay Ryan a one-time $30,000 fee.
In 2017, she was linked to David Spade.
You may remember that in 2017, there were pictures circulating of Naya in a pool with David Spade. She was smiling and had her arms wrapped around him. At the time, David was 52 and she was 32. The age difference between the two had people talking, but they both denied that there was anything romantic going on. The pictures seemed to tell another story, though.
More recently, she auditioned for Steven Spielberg.
Naya auditioned for the part of Anita in the Steven Spielberg directed film remake of West Side Story. Anita is the part that Rita Moreno played in the original version. Rita ended up winning an Oscar for the role in 1962. The part of Anita for the remake ended up going to Broadway actress Ariana DeBose.
And then there was the awful news that she went missing.
She and Josey went to Lake Piru on June 8 and rented a pontoon boat. They sailed on the lake and went for a swim. Naya managed to get her son back on the boat safely, but never made it back on herself. Crews searched for her body for days and on July 13, it was found. Rest in peace, Naya Rivera.
