JENNI RIVERA

JENNI RIVERA

Dolores Janney Rivera (July 2, 1969 – December 9, 2012), better known as Jenni Rivera, was a Mexican-American Latin Grammy nominated singer, songwriter, actress, television producer, and entrepreneur known for her work within the banda, norteña and mariachi[6] music genres.

Jenni Rivera began recording music in 1998. Her recordings often had themes of social issues, infidelity, and relationships. Her tenth studio album, Jenni (2008), became her first #1 record in the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart in the United States. In 2010, she appeared in and produced the reality TV show Jenni Rivera Presents: Chiquis & Raq-C. She also appeared in and produced I Love Jenni starting in 2011 through 2013 and Chiquis 'n Control in 2012. Her acting debut was in the film Filly Brown, which was released in 2013. She as named the "Top Latin Artist of 2013" by Billboard magazine. Her years' long career included such honors as 20 million albums sold, making her the highest earning banda singer of all time.

Rivera, along with six others, died in a plane crash near Iturbide, Nuevo León, Mexico, on December 9, 2012.[11][12] Her death made international headlines for weeks.[13] As of 2014, the plane crash that took her life is still currently being investigated.

Rivera was born and raised in Long Beach, California, to Rosa Saavedra and Pedro Rivera, who were undocumented immigrants from Mexico.[14][15] Her parents raised Rivera and her sister and 4 brothers in a tight-knit, musical household; her brother Lupillo is also a regional Mexican musician.[16] Rivera spoke both English and Spanish fluently. Her family introduced her to traditional Mexican music, including the genres of banda, norteña, and ranchera.[15] Her father was a bartender and businessman who created the record label Cintas Acuario in 1987, which launched the career of Mexican singer and songwriter Chalino Sánchez.

Rivera earned straight As in school until her sophomore year, when at 15 she became pregnant with the first of her 5 children, Jenni "Chiquis" Marin Rivera.[18] She supported the two of them by selling CDs at flea markets to support herself and her child, while working toward her GED at a continuation school and graduating as class valedictorian. Speaking in 2003 of her experiences as a teenage mother, Rivera explained, "Usually, when a young girl is pregnant, she drops out of school and concentrates on being a mother. I thought that's what I had to do, but my counselors told me there was no way they would let me drop out. I had too much promise

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