On the big screen, Rivera made her debut in the horror film At the Devil's Door (2014) before playing a supporting role in the comedy Mad Families (2017).

[12][13] Her mother, Yolanda Previtire (née White), is a real estate agent and former model,[14][15] while her father, George Rivera,[16] worked various IT jobs including positions at Disney and Universal Music.

[17] In 2019, Rivera described her high school experience as "terrible",[39] indicating at other times that part of this was her attitude towards education (compared to her career), the lack of coffee served there,[37][26] and racism.

[17] The show received positive reviews and high ratings initially, but it was canceled soon after star Redd Foxx suffered a fatal heart attack on set,[40] which Rivera witnessed.

[43] As a child and teen actor between 1992 and 2002, Rivera was part of the golden age of black sitcoms,[9] and had roles in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Family Matters, The Jersey, Live Shot, Baywatch, Smart Guy, House Blend, Even Stevens and The Master of Disguise.

[48] In 2016 she discussed how she still faced racism in casting at this point in her career, using the example of an audition where she was told that she lost the part to a white woman because "the size of [her] lips [was] distracting to male execs", saying: "does she know that's racist?

[50] She drew on her own high school experience of unpopularity to prepare for the role, as well as watching films including Mean Girls to "really get in the zone and feel like a bitchy sophomore".

[60] Rivera kept her job as a nanny while working on the first three episodes of Glee, not knowing if they would bring her back; Murphy was so impressed by her that he "convinced the network" to contract her at this point.

Rivera spoke about the development of this aspect of her character, saying that it was first thought up by the writers as a "funny little thing" for a quick punchline; the actress pushed for the sexuality and relationship to be taken seriously.

The writers of Glee make it abundantly clear that Santana is a lesbian, but she is also a fierce, motivated dreamer who loves and loses like everyone else", with the article adding that her "firm sense of self goes beyond her race and sexuality".

In May 2011, it was announced that she had signed a deal with Columbia Records to produce a solo album;[90] she said she had "been waiting for this day ever since [she] was a little girl" and that "it's always been [her] dream to release [her] own music".

[97] Vulture said that Rivera was "the best part of [the fourth season], even if she hasn't been in every episode"; Santana's stories included breaking up with Morris' character Brittany and moving to New York City.

[119] Diabolique magazine's Jeremy Kibler wrote: "Coming primarily from a TV background and fun to watch [...] the eye-grabbing Naya Rivera adjusts to the big screen with ease in front of the camera.

[130] Rivera wrote a memoir called Sorry Not Sorry: Dreams, Mistakes, and Growing Up, published in September 2016,[131] which was something she had decided to do while hosting The View and being suddenly struck when an audience member asked her what it was like to be a role model, feeling that she was in Santana's shadow.

Jarett Wieselman of BuzzFeed News wrote at the time of its release that the book was important to Rivera because "she was very pregnant when Glee ended, so it was basically impossible to capitalize on the show's momentum", but she could still write.

[49] After the birth of her son, Josey, in September 2015, Rivera chose to take some time off acting to spend with him because of the disruptive lifestyle that comes with filming for television.

[133] Rivera was announced as part of the cast for the YouTube Red series Step Up: High Water in 2017, taking the leading role of school administrator and dance instructor Collette Jones, alongside Ne-Yo and Faizon Love.

In the episode, Rivera recounted her childhood career as an actress and a model, as well as the lean times that came between the age of 16 and 21, leading up to her big break when cast on Glee.

[164] In 2011, the president of GLAAD said that Rivera's storyline as Santana was "one that hasn't been told on a prime-time network television show at that level, particularly by an LGBT teen of color".

[e] In her 2013 chapter of one such work, Isabel Molina-Guzmán added that Rivera played "the first lesbian Latina on primetime television [and thus was] honored for her compassionate and complex representation".

All the things Latinx women often don't get to be in prime-time television [...] Naya shattered the tropes and gifted the audience with a complex, queer, Black Puerto Rican woman.

[177] A BBC retrospective in 2020 looked at the impact of Rivera's role as Santana in providing important representation, internationally, for young queer women and the idea of being out in the music industry.

The article did note that casting a straight actress for the role may have been frowned upon in later years, but that having the representation was revolutionary at the time and it was positive that Rivera openly embraced playing the lesbian character.

[205] In late November 2017, Rivera 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;[206] she was released and picked up from the courthouse by her father-in-law.

[221] In December 2020, members of the Glee cast launched a campaign called Snixxmas to benefit Alexandria House, continuing a Christmas charity tradition Rivera had started among their friends.

[235][236] A lifelong Democrat,[52] Rivera performed with the cast of Glee at the White House during the first Obama administration,[237] as well as with Amber Riley and Darren Criss at his second inauguration.

[10] Rivera explained that she had always felt comfortable with her Christianity and would particularly return to it in stressful times during her career, highlighting a point in 2014 when she was receiving negative media attention after it was rumored that she had been fired from Glee in the same week Big Sean broke up with her, saying that to move on she "had to just be with [herself], and with God".

[249][262][263] 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.

[1] Rivera was interred at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills,[264] a cemetery known for its many entertainment industry burials, following a private service on July 24, 2020.

[286][287][288][289] Monteith's mother, Ann McGregor, also posted a lengthy tribute, writing how much Rivera's friendship had meant to her son and their family and saying: "We'll carry you in our hearts forever.