Jenni Rivera was born on July 2, 1969, in Long Beach, California, to Mexican parents, Rosa and Pedro Rivera. Rivera was raised in a musical and close-knit family with her sister and four brothers. Rivera grew up fluent in both English and Spanish. She was a straight-A student until her sophomore year of high school when she became pregnant with Janney Marin-Rivera, her first child. Rivera started working at a flea market selling CDs to support the two of them, earning her GED at a continuation school along the way and graduating as class valedictorian.
Jenni explained her experiences as a teen mother as follows: “When a young girl becomes pregnant, she usually drops out of school and focuses on becoming a mother. That’s what I thought I had to do, but my counsellors told me they couldn’t let me drop out. I had made far too many promises.” She attended California State University, Long Beach, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and worked in real estate. She then joined her father’s record label, Cintas Acuario, which he founded in 1987.
Personal Life
Janney, Rivera’s first child, was born in 1985. Janney is better known as Chiquis, a singer. Rivera married the baby’s father, Jose Trinidad Marin, and the couple had two more children, Jacqueline and Michael. Jenni divorced in 1992, citing physical and emotional abuse. Marin was arrested for molestation after Jenni’s sisters Rosie, Chiquis, and Jacqueline accused him. Marin eluded capture for 9 years before being apprehended in April 2006, convicted of sexual assault and rape, and sentenced to more than 31 years in prison without the possibility of parole.
Jenni met her future husband, Juan López, in one of the local bars where she began her singing career. López was sentenced to six months in prison for smuggling immigrants shortly after their marriage in 1997. The couple had two children, but her husband’s infidelity led to their divorce in 2003. Lopez was convicted of drug trafficking in 2007 and died in prison in 2009 from pneumonia. Rivera and Esteban Loaiza, who married in 2010, filed for divorce shortly before her death, but the divorce was never finalised.
In an unusual twist, Esteban was arrested in February 2018 after authorities allegedly discovered more than 50 pounds of cocaine and heroin packed for transportation and sale. Esteban was sentenced to three years in federal prison in March 2019.
Death: Jenni Rivera died in a plane crash on December 9, 2012, in a tragic event. The families of the four passengers sued Starwood Management, the company that owned the plane, and Jenni Rivera’s entertainment company for wrongful death. The findings of Mexico’s aviation investigation agency on the 2012 crash stated that the 78-year-old pilot was too old for the licence he was granted by Mexican authorities. When the 43-year-old Learjet reached cruising speed, it was also flying unevenly and shaking. Jenni’s family filed a lawsuit against Starwood Management Inc, the owner of the Learjet 25 that crashed while carrying Latin music star Jenni Rivera and her entourage. A judge ordered Starwood to pay her heirs $70 million in August 2016.
Career
Jenni explained her experiences as a teen mother as follows: “When a young girl becomes pregnant, she usually drops out of school and focuses on becoming a mother. That’s what I thought I had to do, but my counsellors told me they couldn’t let me drop out. I had made far too many promises.” She attended California State University, Long Beach, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and worked in real estate. She then joined her father’s record label, Cintas Acuario, which he founded in 1987. As a result, she became the category’s first American-born nominee. Her tribute album to female Mexican singers, “Homenaje a Las Grandes,” was released in 2003. Jenni released her first compilation album, “Simplemente…La Mejor,” in 2004. It was her first chart-topping single in the United States.
Rivera’s career took off after the release of her album “Parrandera, Rebelde y Atrevida” in 2005. It peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart, and the RIAA has since certified it double platinum in the Latin field. “De Contrabando,” the album’s second single, became her first and only number-one hit in the United States. It is also one of her most well-known songs to date. In the United States, her album “Mi Vida Loca” debuted at No. 1 on the Regional Mexican Albums chart and No. 2 on the Top Latin Albums chart in 2007.
At the 2008 Latin Billboard Music Awards, it was also named Regional Mexican Album of the Year. Rivera also won her first Lo Nuestro Award for Regional Mexican Female Artist of the Year, an award she would win every year for the rest of her life. The following year, she released “La Diva en Vivo,” a live album of songs recorded with a mariachi band. This earned her her second Latin Grammy nomination for Best Ranchero Album, making her the only female artist nominated in that category that year.
Rivera’s tenth studio album, released in 2008, became her first No. 1 record in the United States on the Billboard Top Latin chart. Rivera’s first full-length mariachi studio album, “La Gran Senora,” received a Latin Grammy nomination for Best Ranchero Album. It reached No. 2 on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart in the United States and was the best-selling regional Mexican album of 2010. Rivera had sold over 20 million albums worldwide by early 2013.
Rivera later married former baseball player Esteban Loaiza and appeared with her family in several reality TV shows, including Jenni Rivera Presents: Chiquis & Raq-C (2010), I Love Jenni (2011), and Chiquis ‘n Control (2012). (2012). She also established Jenni Jeans, Divine Music, Divina Realty, Jenni Rivera Fragrance, and Divina Cosmetics.
Net Worth
Jenni Rivera was a Mexican-American Latin singer/songwriter, actress, television producer, and entrepreneur who died with a net worth of $25 million. She was best known for her work in the genres of banda, nortea, and mariachi music. Rivera had 15 gold, 15 platinum, and 5 double-platinum records during her career. She went on to become a reality television star, businesswoman, and activist.
Facts
Net Worth: $25 Million
Date of Birth: Jul 2, 1969 – Dec 9, 2012 (43 years old)
Place of Birth: Long Beach
Gender: FemaleHeight:5 ft 1 in (1.55 m)
Profession: Actor, Television producer, Singer-songwriter, Entrepreneur
Nationality: United States of America
