Jenni Rivera, Acclaimed Mexican-American Pop Singer and Television Star
Rivera and six others perished in a December 9 airplane crash in northeastern Mexico.
Jenni Rivera, a top-sellling Mexican-American pop singer who in recent years had participated in several television programs, died December 9, 2012, in an airplane crash in northeastern Mexico. She was 43.
Six others also died in the crash.
At the time of her death, Rivera was appearing as a music coach on Mexico's version of the coach rated NBC reality competition The Voice. She had also recently signed with ABC to star in her own comedy series, Jenni.
Born in Long Beach, California., Rivera, the daughter of Mexican immigrants, had a vast fan base in both countries and throughout the Spanish-speaking world.
Best known for the genre known as banda and norteña, Rivera began recording in 1992. Her tenth studio album, Jenni (2008), became her first number-one album in Billboard's Top Latin Albums chart in the United States
Rivera received Latin Grammy Award nominations in 2002 for Best Banda Album (Se Las Voy A Dar A Otro), in 2008 for Best Ranchero album (La Diva En Vivo), in 2010 for Best Banda Album (La Gran Señora En Vivo) and in 2011 for Best Banda Album (La Gran Señora En Vivo).
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, which premiered in 2011, and Chiquis 'n Control in 2012.
In response to the news of RIvera's passing, Diana Mogollon, general manager, mun2, and Emilio Romano, president, Telemundo Media, realesed this joint statement:
"It is with a heavy heart that both the mun2 and Telemundo Media family mourn the tragic passing of Mexican-American entertainment icon and mun2 star of I Love Jenni, Jenni Rivera. Jenni was one of the most influential, authentic and captivating Latinas in entertainment. She was a loving mother, grandmother, sister, daughter and friend, who broke through the language barrier and connected with millions of fans in a unique, powerful and lasting way. She was a Grammy-nominated singer, a multiple platinum and gold record award-winning artist who performed sold out concerts across numerous countries. She will be greatly missed. Our hearts go out to Jenni's entire family and manager Pete Salgado on her loss and the loss of their team members. Our condolences to the families and friends of the four members of Jenni's team who also lost their lives — Mario Macias, attorney, Arturo Rivera, publicist, Jorge Sanchez also known as La GG, personal stylist, and Jacob Yebale, makeup. Our hearts and prayers go out to all of them."
More about Rivera's life and work may be found at: