She gained popularity as a child actress and singer, starring in dozens of television projects throughout her early childhood and adolescence.

She also gained prominence for her portrayal of Lucrecia "Lu" Montesinos Hendrich in the teen drama series Élite, distributed by Netflix.

She is the daughter of Patricia Munguía and Juan José Rivera Arellano, the former singer of Grupo Ciclón and Los Caminantes.

[1][2] Danna Paola's acting career began in 1999 when at age 4 she and her sister attended Televisa's casting call in Mexico City for Plaza Sésamo, the Mexican version of Sesame Street.

A year later, she was the female lead of Pablo y Andrea, the television adaptation of the classic novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

During its first 10 weeks, Wicked sold over 100,000 tickets and had more than 100 performances; it broke a box office record, making it one of the most successful theatre productions in Mexico's history.

[14] In March 2014, Rivera debuted as fashion designer, collaborating with the popular Mexican clothing brand Sexy Jeans.

[15] Her line, "Danna Paola, by Sexy Jeans", was commercially successful, with products selling out across Mexico.

[16][17] In August 2014, Rivera participated in the ABBA tribute album Dancing Queens, recording a cover of "Take A Chance On Me".

Following the conclusion of Wicked, she was invited by producer Alex Gou to join the cast of the musical Hoy No Me Puedo Levantar, where she played the lead role of Maria and went on tour throughout Mexico.

[29] In late January 2018, Paola was scheduled to begin filming a role in the bio series based on the life of Mexican actress Silva Pinal.

She later dropped out before filming began and instead revealed that she was cast in the Netflix original Spanish teen thriller television series Élite.

[33] Rivera dubbed the character of Elphaba for the Latin American Spanish version of the 2024 musical film Wicked.

[34] "Ruleta", written by Mexican pop singer Paty Cantú, was announced as the album's lead single.

[35] In-mid February 2016, she announced that her upcoming single, "Baila hasta caer", would be released in March for radio and digital download.

[39] In mid-January 2016, Paola was revealed as the new face of L'Oreal Paris's "Casting Crème Gloss" hair color line for the Latin American market.

[42] In a 2021 social media post, she revealed that she suffered from anxiety, panic attacks, and depression during her time living in Madrid while filming the Netflix television series, Elite.