Actress, Singer and Dancer. Naya Rivera's breakthrough role was as Santana Lopez on the Fox Network television show "Glee" from 2009 to 2015. Lopez was one of three cheerleaders sent to infiltrate the William McKinley High School Glee Club, the New Directions, and sabotage it. Ultimately the infiltrators evolved and came to love and protect the Club's family of singers. But most significantly, not only did the portrayal showcase Rivera's deep reserves of acting, vocal and dance talent, Santana Lopez became the first major character on network television to portray a conflicted, snarky high school cheerleader struggling to come to terms with her sexuality. A highly praised landmark in television history, Santana and her best friend Brittany S. Pierce, portrayed by Heather Morris, who eventually became her wife broke barriers and provided a beacon of hope for tens of thousands of young teens around the world, desperate for role models. Rivera received many testimonials during her life and after her passing from adults and teens who were saved from suicide simply by knowing that there were others like them in the world. Raised in Valencia, California, Rivera appeared in baby commercials before landing the role of Hillary Winston in the television comedy "The Royal Family." The show was cancelled after Redd Foxx suffered a fatal heart attack. She went on to guest star on "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," "Family Matters," "The Sindbad Show," "Baywatch," "Even Stevens," "The Bernie Mac Show," and "CSI: Miami" before landing the role of Santana Lopez on Glee in 2009. After Glee ended in 2015, she appeared in four episodes of the television series "Devious Minds" and was currently starring as Collette Jones in "Step Up: High Water." She starred in the 2014 horror movie "At the Devil's Door" and released one single, "Sorry" in 2013. She received a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (2010), two Gold Derby TV awards for Comedy Supporting Actress (2012) and for Ensemble of the Year (2009), an Alma Award for Favorite TV Actress – Leading Role in a Comedy (2012), a People's Choice Award for Favorite TV Gal Pals (2014), and a Behind the Voice Actors Awards (2014). She received additional nominations for the Screen Actors Guild Awards, the Alma Awards, the Teen Choice Awards, and the Young Artist Awards. Rivera was committed to giving back. Among her chosen charities, she raised funds and made public appearances on behalf of LGBTQ youth, GLAAD, and women and children transitioning from emergency to permanent housing. She disappeared after a pontoon boat outing with her four year old son on Lake Piru in Ventura County, California on July 8, 2020. Her body was recovered five days later.