Jenni Rivera

Jenni Rivera
Rivera in 2009
Born
Dolores Janney Rivera

(1969-07-02)July 2, 1969
DiedDecember 9, 2012(2012-12-09) (aged 43)
Cause of deathPlane crash
Resting placeAll Souls Cemetery,
Long Beach, California, U.S.
Monuments
  • En Memoria de la Diva de la Banda
  • Jenni Rivera Memorial Park
Other names
  • La Diva de la Banda (The Diva of Band)
  • La Primera Dama del Corrido (The First Lady of Corrido)
  • La Gran Señora (The Great Lady)
Alma materCalifornia State University, Long Beach
OccupationSinger
Years active1992–2012
Spouses
José Trinidad Marín
(m. 1984; div. 1992)
Juan López
(m. 1997; div. 2003)
(m. 2010; sep. 2012)
Children5, including Chiquis
Family
AwardsList of awards and nominations
Musical career
Genres
InstrumentVocals
LabelsSony Music Latin[1]
Websitejennirivera.com
Signature

Dolores Janney "Jenni" Rivera[2][3] (July 2, 1969 – December 9, 2012) was an American singer, songwriter, actress, businesswoman, and producer known for her work within the regional Mexican music genre, specifically in the styles of banda, mariachi and norteño. In life and death, several media outlets including CNN, Billboard, Fox News, and The New York Times have labeled her the most important female figure and top-selling female artist in regional Mexican music. Billboard magazine named her the "top Latin artist of 2013", and the "best selling Latin artist of 2013".

Rivera began recording music in 1992. Her recordings often had themes of social issues, infidelity, tax evasion and inflation. Rivera released her first studio album, Poco a Poco, in the mid 1990s, failing to attain commercial success; however, she rose to prominence in the United States and Mexico with her 2005 album, Parrandera, Rebelde y Atrevida. In the mid to late 1990s, she was often criticized and was refused bookings at venues across California for performing Banda music—a male-dominated music genre. However, her popularity grew after she released her song "Las Malandrinas", which received airtime on the radio.[4] She gained more popularity when she won the Lo Nuestro Award for Regional Mexican Female Artist of the Year in 2007, which she won nine consecutive times. Her tenth studio album, Jenni (2008), became her first No.1 record on 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.

Over the course of her career, Rivera was awarded two Oye! Awards (Mexico's equivalent to the United States' Grammy Awards), two Billboard Music Awards, twenty-two Billboard Latin Music Awards, eleven Billboard Mexican Music Awards and eighteen Lo Nuestro Awards. She received four Latin Grammy nominations. She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Las Vegas Walk of Stars, and she is one of the best-selling regional Mexican artists of all time, having sold more than 15 million records worldwide,[5] also making her the highest-earning banda singer of all time.

Aside from music, she was active in her community and donated her time to civic causes. The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence appointed her its spokesperson in the United States. A proclamation was given officially naming August 6 "Jenni Rivera Day" by the Los Angeles City Council for all her charity work and community involvement.

Rivera, along with six others, died in a plane crash near Monterrey, on December 9, 2012. An investigation was unable to determine the causes of the accident. Lawsuits involving the owners of the plane, Rivera's estate, and family members of those on board with Rivera were filed.

  1. ^ "Jenni Rivera Enterprises Signs With Sony Latin, The Orchard for Global Catalog Distribution". Billboard.
  2. ^ Alvarez, Alex (December 10, 2012). "Wreckage From Jenni Rivera's Plane Is Found in Mexico". Abcnews.go.com. Retrieved December 25, 2012.
  3. ^ Cobo, Leila (April 24, 2013). Jenni Rivera: The Incredible Story of a Warrior Butterfly. Penguin. ISBN 9780698136205. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
  4. ^ Rivera, Jenni (July 2, 2013). Unbreakable: My Story, My Way. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4767-4476-6.
  5. ^ Camarena, Salvador (December 16, 2012). "Jenni Rivera, cantante de talento y temperamento". El País (in Spanish). Spain. Archived from the original on November 28, 2019. Retrieved June 18, 2020.