Naya Rivera
Rivera in 2010, Helga Esteb/ Shutterstock.com
Birth Name: Naya Marie Rivera
Date of Birth: January 12, 1987
Place of Birth: Valencia, Santa Clarita, Los Angeles, California, United States
Date of Death: July 8, 2020
Place of Death: Lake Piru, Ventura County, California, U.S.
Ethnicity:
*50% Puerto Rican
*25% African-American
*25% German
Naya Rivera was an American actress, singer, and model. She played Santana Lopez on the television show Glee.
Naya was the daughter of Yolanda Marie (White), a model, and George Michele Rivera. Her father is of Puerto Rican and German descent. Her mother is of half black and half Puerto Rican ancestry. Naya had stated this on the talk show The View. She described herself as “half Puerto Rican, a quarter German, and a quarter African American.”
She was the sister of professional football player Mychal Rivera and runway model Nickayla Rivera. Pictures of her brother can be seen here.
Naya had a son with her former husband, actor Ryan Dorsey. She was also credited as Naya Rivera Dorsey.
Naya’s paternal grandfather was named George Rivera.
Naya’s paternal grandmother was named Anna.
Naya’s maternal grandmother was named Clara Esther White.
Source: https://www.usatoday.com
@exptiq
so wat ? if we mixed ppl claim our black side it’s like we’re not proud of it .. & it we claim to be mixed it like were self hating africans who r not proud to be black .. luk wat do u even noe ? yr not even mixed so stfu .. i think we mixed ppl r already confused to which side we suld chose ..
and the last thing we need is ppl like YOU to insult us !!
p.s i’m irish,,English decent & quatar african ..
i claim my white side cuz i look more white .. but i also mention to ppl tht i am black ..
I guess you were trying to respond to me? It helps if you can spell though, to be credible. And what makes you think I’m not mixed? I am very mixed–Tri-racial to be exact…Asian, European and African, and I am a Latina from the Latin Caribbean, so that would make me the epitome of being mixed, so therefore, who else but someone like me, would know about being mixed or living the mixed experience and also looking ambiguous in appearance, so no one can ever guess exactly what my mixed combination is. The way Naya looks, she could easily be one of my siblings or any number of my relatives—Heck I resemble her slightly since I’ve been told numerous times in my life that I look Filipino or like someone from Indonesia.
I’ve never implied that multi-racials can’t be anything other than how they feel most comfortable in being–it’s an individual thing because not every family is alike, nor do we all come from the same place or grow up in the same neighborhood or have the same experiences in life…..which is why I also say that it is no ones’ business in judging how a mixie identifies nor is it acceptable to question their choices in living the life or culture that they most identify with.
All anyone needs and should do is respect and accept the life and choices a mixed race individual lives for themselves—just concern yourself with your own life, which is what we all do anyway.
@wow
what about rihanna?
she is half afro-guyanese, quarter afro-bajan and quarter irish, yet people refer to her as ‘black’ and not mixed.
she’s 75% black and 25% white, how come no one counts that 25% of white, but if someone is 25% african, they are automatically seen as black mixed/light-skinned black e.g. naya rivera. she’s also 25% german, which is white, how comes then she isnt regarded as white, but because shes quarter african american, she’s black?
@monica
you misunderstood,I didn’t said she was black.I said if she is part AA,then that is part of what she is.I never said she had to call herself black(naya).Now as far as rihanna goes,although I see her as a young black woman,I know she has a mixed bloodline.People recognize what they’re familar with,and with her they see a black girl.I’m like her in that one of my grandparents is white,but I see myself as black.Now if she wants to be seen as a mixed girl,that’s fine with me I have no problem with that.I wasn’t mad about that,just at what that other person had to say.
She looks like it and so does Rihanna. I look white, but I’m mixed. The reason I’m considered white is because I look like it.
My cousins are half African (Malawian) and they’re way darker than Rihanna so i doubt she’s actually 75% African. Keri Hilson is considered fully black too and i know mulattoes that are darker than her. Don’t get me wrong, i know that Africa has many different ethnicities and a range of different skin tones but c’mon, have you ever seen a black African person as light as Rihanna and Keri Hilson?
Honey I actually have seen them and plenty. My step mum is lighter than both Rihanna and keri and she has freckles in her body. And many people say Africans can be mixed as well and I know that but my step mum can go as far back as her great great great grand parents and none of them are white or mixed she’s just one very light Central African woman. One thing we forget is we see these celebs on tv and what not and all those lights and camera flashes actually make them look lighter than they’re. My friend saw Beyonce once and she said she’s indeed light but nowhere as light as we see on tv. It comes to Black people in general being in America, Africa or Caribbean their skin tones should really never be how you measure their admixtures it’s very misleading.
P.S: Rihanna was just called N***a b***h by a white magazine and she had a racism encouter by a portuguese man calling her negro again. So yeah white people still see her or keri as just black despite her being somewhat mixed
she is my favorite in Glee…Love her!♥
She’s so pretty(: She’s my 2nd favorite of the Cheerios, other than Dianna Agron. I was pretty sure she was Hispanic but never a quarter white and black, interesting.
Basically she is mixed because puerto rican , domican and so on is not a ethnicity its a island . Most puerto rican I know are mixed . Moset Dominicans I KNow are black ( afro latino ) So in all she is mixed . Latinos is of AFRICAN , eUROPEAN AND NATIVE DESCENT LIKE ANYONE else that is mixed the only difference is the language and culture .
she’s similar to me, im half dominican, quarter dutch and african american
how exactly is she similar?
she is similar to you!