The actor, singer, and model got her start as a child actress. But Naya Rivera rose to fame playing Santana Lopez on Glee, a popular and feisty high school cheerleader with an amazing singing voice.
While acting, she also signed on with Columbia Records as a solo artist and released a single and even published a memoir chronicling her dreams and mistakes while growing up, aptly called Sorry Not Sorry: Dreams, Mistakes, and Growing Up.
Donna: The Bernie Mac Show (2002-2006)
Another actor who was gone too soon, this early '00s sitcom followed the story of a fictional version of Bernie Mac (who ed away in real life in 2008, two years after the series ended) and his wife raising his sister's three kids after she enters rehab.
Rivera's role was of a recurring character, a friend of the eldest female niece Vanessa. But she appeared in 11 episodes altogether from 2002-2006
Blanca Alvarez: Devious Maids (2015)
This series, clearly designed to be a follow-up to Desperate Housewives, aired on Lifetime for four seasons from 2013 to 2016. Rivera only had a small role but it was a memorable one as a young and ambitious woman who was working as a maid but had bigger dreams for herself.
Her character had a terrible end, though, discovering a crime scene in the home of her client, being kidnapped, and hanged and framed for murder.
Collette Jones: Step Up: High Water (2018-2019)
Also referred to simply as Step Up, this drama series based on the film series of the same name and executive produced in part by Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan, lasted two seasons in 2018 and 2019 on YouTube, though Starz reportedly picked it up for an third.
Rivera is, once again, in a recurring role as a teacher who runs the dance school while the founder (played by Ne-Yo) is out of town. The backstory is that she was a former singer and dancer whose career abruptly ended due to a knee injury. So, her role was to help kids achieve their dreams because she couldn't.
Kelly/Tanya: Smart Guy (1997, 1999)
One of those underrated yet popular sitcoms from the '90s, this one focused on a child prodigy, played by Tahj Mowry, who skipped several grades to go from fourth to 10th and enter the world of high school while still a preteen.
Rivera dated Mowry years after they met on the show; he posted a sweet tribute to the late actor upon the news of her death. Her roles on the show were small, playing two different people two years apart, in 1997 and 1999.
Gwendolyn: Family Matters (1992-1993)
One of the most popular sitcoms of the '90s, Family Matters, a spin-off of Perfect Strangers, lasted for nine seasons from 1989 through to 1998. It was supposed to be centered around the middle-class Winslow family but ended up being more about their annoying and nerdy neighbor Steve Urkel.
Naya appeared in three episodes from 1992-1993 as another neighbor of the Winslows who had a crush on their youngest son Richie, eventually appearing somewhat obsessed with him.
Hillary Winston: The Royal Family (1991-1992)
Airing from 1991-1992, this series was created and executive produced by Eddie Murphy and starred the incomparable Red Foxx as a mail carrier in Atlanta. He was looking forward to retirement and spending time with his wife until their daughter, going through some marital troubles, showed up with her three kids for what ended up being an extended visit.
Rivera had a main role in this series as one of those three children. Sadly, the series was cancelled due to Foxx's tragic and sudden death.
Herself: Lip Sync Battle (2018)
While this wasn't technically an acting role, Rivera did pull out all the stops to put on two memorable musical performances on this hilarious reality competition series whereby two celebrities face off against one another in a lip sync battle.
She took the opportunity to deliver a subtle dig to her ex at the time, Big Sean, by lip syncing to his song "I Don't F*** With You." She lip synced to "Barbie Girl" for her second, far more elaborate performance. She went head-to-head with comedian Lil Rey Howery in the season four episode that aired in 2018 and emerged victorious.
Self: The View (2014, 2015)
Rivera served as a guest host six times on daytime talk show The View in 2014 and 2015, alongside other names like Billy Eichner, Marisa Tomei, Amanda Peet, George Lopez, Donny Osmond, Josh Gad, Shaquille O'Neal, Evangeline Lilly, Tommy Chong, and others.
Her second time hosting caused some backlash and she had to apologize for making question comments. Nonetheless, the fact that she made the news for sparking controversy the following day made her hosting gig memorable.
Glee: The 3D Concert Movie (2011)
Released right when Glee was at its peak, this 3D concert served as a documentary film and showed the cast performing in the Glee Live! In Concert! tour. Naturally, Rivera was an integral part of the film.
The movie also featured behind-the-scenes clips and cast singing songs that appeared in the first and second series of the show. But the most touching part of the film was the focus on various teenagers who say the show impacted them in a positive way, including a gay teen and a young girl with Asperger's syndrome.
Santana Lopez: Glee (2009-2015)
By far her best-known adult role, Santana was co-captain of the cheerleading team at school and very popular. And while she could also sometimes be a mean girl, deep down, she had a good heart. As a main character on the widely popular series, one of her biggest storylines was accepting her sexuality and coming out as a lesbian in the third season.
In the role, Rivera got to show off not only her tremendous acting talent but also her equally amazing singing voice. In particular, many are calling out her moving performance of the tune "Songbird" on the series as one of the most memorable.