Age, Biography, and Wiki
Selena Quintanilla-Perez was born on April 16, 1971, in Lake Jackson, Texas, and passed away on March 31, 1995, at the age of 23. She is survived by her father Abraham, mother Marcella, siblings Suzette and A.B. Quintanilla, and her husband Chris Perez. Selena began her music career as the lead singer of her family band Selena y Los Dinos, and quickly rose to fame for her charismatic performances and unique blend of Tejano music with pop influences. Her life and career remain inspirational, with a legacy that continues to influence musicians and fans worldwide.
| Occupation | Fashion Designers |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 16 April 1971 |
| Age | 54 Years |
| Birth Place | Freeport, Texas, U.S. |
| Horoscope | Aries |
| Country | U.S |
| Date of death | 31 March, 1995 |
| Died Place | Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S. |
Height, Weight & Measurements
- Height: 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
- Weight: Not publicly documented
- Measurements: Not publicly documented
Selena was recognized for her distinctive fashion sense, often designing her own stage outfits, which became a significant part of her brand.
Afterward, Selena again met with Saldívar in her motel room at the Days Inn in Corpus Christi. At the motel, Selena demanded the financial papers. At 11:48 a.m. (CST), Saldívar got a gun from her purse and pointed it at Selena. As Selena attempted to flee, Saldívar shot her once on the right lower shoulder, severing the subclavian artery and causing a severe loss of blood. Critically wounded, Selena ran towards the lobby, leaving a 392 ft trail of blood. She collapsed on the floor as the clerk called the emergency services, with Saldívar still chasing after her and calling her a "bitch". Before collapsing, Selena named Saldívar as her assailant and gave the number of the room where she had been shot. Meanwhile, Saldívar attempted to leave in her pickup truck. She was spotted by a responding police cruiser. She surrendered after a nearly nine-and-a-half-hour standoff with police and the FBI. By that time hundreds of fans had gathered at the scene. Many wept as police took Saldívar away.
Selena was taken to the Corpus Christi Memorial Hospital at 12:00 p.m. (CST). Her pupils were fixed and dilated, there was no evidence of neurological function, she had no vital signs, and was declared clinically brain dead. Dr. Louis Elkins, cardiac surgeon, arrived at Memorial Hospital and said he saw doctors making "heroic efforts" to revive Selena. They were able to establish an "erratic heartbeat" long enough to transfer her to the trauma room, and began blood transfusions in an attempt to re-establish blood circulation after opening Selena's chest and finding massive internal bleeding. By the time Elkins arrived, an emergency doctor began "massaging her heart" after it had stopped beating. Elkins reported how all efforts were futile and said had he been the receiving doctor, he would not have made any treatments on Selena. He felt "obligated to continue" after the emergency room doctor made the decision to reanimate the singer. After 50 minutes of surgery, she was pronounced dead from blood loss and cardiac arrest at 1:05 p.m. (CST).
An autopsy was performed on the same day due to the overwhelming media response. It revealed that the bullet had entered Selena's upper right back, near her shoulder blade, passed through her chest cavity, severed the right subclavian artery, and exited her right upper chest. Her official cause of death was described as "exsanguinating internal and external hemorrhage due to perforating gunshot wound" resulting in "massive bleeding". The internal examination revealed that she had not ingested any type of drug, nor was she pregnant, which was a rumor that began spreading after her death.
Newsweek magazine called Selena's English-language recordings "a blend of urban pop and Latin warmth". According to Texas Monthly, Selena's brother modernized her music into a more "funk and hip hop" sound. Selena's use of emotive range during her musical career has been praised by critics as being her trademark. A.B. wrote increasingly cumbia-influenced songs for Ven Conmigo (1990); Ramiro Burr of Billboard said Selena and her band had "evolved a rhythmic style that demonstrated its increasing prowess for catchy cumbias such as 'Baila Esta Cumbia' and the title track". Italian essayist Gaetano Prampolini wrote that "Selena's voice projected a sonorous warmth and joyfulness" during his review of Selena's cumbia recordings. In his review of the remix album Enamorada de Ti (2012), Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic wrote that Selena's songs were "rooted in the '90s and sound that way".
| Height | 68 m |
| Weight | |
| Body Measurements | |
| Eye Color | |
| Hair Color |
Dating & Relationship Status
Selena married guitarist Chris Perez in 1992. The couple kept their relationship private for a time due to her father’s initial disapproval, but their love story became widely known after her death. Chris Perez remains a significant figure in preserving Selena’s legacy and writing about their relationship in his memoir. Selena was not known to be publicly dating anyone else prior to her marriage.
As her popularity as a singer grew, the demands of Selena's performance and travel schedule began to interfere with her education. Her father took her out of school when she was in the eighth grade. Her teacher Marilyn Greer disapproved of Selena's musical career. She threatened to report Quintanilla Jr. to the Texas Board of Education, believing the conditions to which Selena was exposed were inappropriate for a girl her age. Quintanilla Jr. told Greer to "mind her business". Other teachers expressed their concerns when they noticed how tired Selena appeared when she arrived at school. At seventeen, Selena earned a high school diploma from the American School of Correspondence in Chicago and was also accepted at Louisiana State University. She enrolled at Pacific Western University, taking up business administration as her major subject.
Quintanilla Jr. believed that Selena should record musical compositions related to her heritage. During the recording sessions for the album, Selena had to learn Spanish phonetically with guidance from her father. In 1985, to promote the album, Selena appeared on the Johnny Canales Show, a popular Spanish-language radio program, on which she continued to appear for several years. Selena was discovered by musician Rudy Trevino, founder of the Tejano Music Awards, where she won the Female Vocalist of the Year award in 1987 and for nine consecutive years after.
The band was often turned down by Texas music venues because of the members' ages and because Selena was their lead singer. Her father was often told by promoters that Selena would never be successful because she was a woman in a genre historically dominated by men. By 1988, Selena had released five more LP records; Alpha (1986), Muñequito de Trapo (1987), And the Winner Is... (1987), Preciosa (1988), and Dulce Amor (1988).
In the same year, Coca-Cola wanted Selena to become one of their spokespeople in Texas. The jingle used in her first two commercials for the company was composed by A.B. and Chris Pérez—the latter of whom had joined Selena y Los Dinos several months earlier as the band's new guitarist. Pérez began having romantic feelings for Selena, despite having a girlfriend in San Antonio. After a trip down to Mexico with the band, Pérez thought it would be best for them both to distance themselves, but he found that impossible and chose to try to build a relationship with her. They expressed their feelings for each other at a Pizza Hut restaurant and shortly afterward became a couple. Pérez and Selena hid their relationship, fearing Quintanilla Jr. would try to break it up.
Selena's sister Suzette claimed to have caught Selena and Pérez flirting with each other and immediately informed their father. Quintanilla Jr. took Pérez off the bus and told him his relationship with Selena was over. Selena and Pérez continued their relationship despite Quintanilla Jr's disapproval; Selena's mother Marcella approved of their relationship. Quintanilla Jr. saw Selena and Pérez romantically together on the bus after he informed them of his disapproval; he pulled over and an argument between him and Selena ensued. He called Pérez a "cancer in my family" and threatened to disband the group if they continued their relationship.
Selena and Pérez relented; Quintanilla Jr. fired Pérez from the band and prevented Selena from leaving with him. After his dismissal, Pérez and Selena secretly continued their relationship. On the morning of April 2, 1992, Selena and Pérez decided to elope, believing Quintanilla Jr. would never approve of their relationship. Selena thought her father would have to accept them if they were married and would not have to hide their feelings for each other. Within hours of their marriage, the media announced the couple's elopement.
According to Quintanilla Jr., the staff later turned their attention to him and began informing him about Saldívar's behavior. Quintanilla Jr. took the claims seriously; he told Selena to "be careful" and said Saldívar might not be a good influence. Selena dismissed her father's inquiries because he had often distrusted people in the past. By January 1995, Selena's fashion designer Martin Gomez, her cousin Debra Ramirez, and clients had expressed their concerns over Saldívar's behavior and management skills. During an interview with Saldívar in 1995, reporters from The Dallas Morning News said her devotion to Selena bordered on obsession.
Quintanilla Jr. sought to maintain Selena's image clean and family-oriented. In 1989, she was offered sponsorship from beer companies but her father turned them down. Selena was often refused gigs at Tejano venues because she was a female singer in a male-dominated music scene. Manuel Peña wrote that after 1989, Selena's popularity increased and she became a sex icon following the release of her debut album. Charles Tatum said Selena drew most attention from her "beauty, sexuality, and youthful impact on the Tejano music scene".
Selena said she never wanted to record explicit songs because of her upbringing and because her fan base consisted largely of young children, who regarded her as a role model. She further commented on the question of her sexual appeal to men during her crossover attempt, asserting that she will "stay the same" and that her English-language recordings will refrain from foul language and sexual themes. In 1997, María Celeste Arrarás wrote in her book about Selena's death that the singer was a "sweet and charismatic girl". According to Arrarás, Selena "trusted everyone"; she often went shopping alone, despite her father's concerns over her safety.
Matt S. Meier wrote in his book The Mexican American Experience: An Encyclopedia (2010) that Selena exhibited "contagious energy" during her concerts and said she displayed "warmth, passion, and sexuality" while exuding a "down-to-earth persona of the wholesome young girl next door". Selena wore outfits that accented her physical attributes and was not afraid to wear outfits she liked, despite criticism from parents who thought Selena's choice of outfits were inappropriate for young girls, who began emulating Selena. Her views on public image in the fashion industry were bothersome; she said she was opposed to the image that all woman should be "rail-thin" and the notion that they must wear certain outfits and be "super-young to be beautiful".
| Parents | |
| Husband | Chris Pérez (m. 1992) |
| Sibling | |
| Children |
Net Worth and Salary
At the time of her death in 1995, Selena’s net worth was estimated at approximately $5 million (adjusted for inflation). Her estate continues to generate income through music royalties, merchandise, and licensing deals, with recent estimates for 2024/2025 maintaining her net worth at around $5 million, according to reputable sources like Celebrity Net Worth. Despite her short life, Selena became one of the highest-earning Latin musicians of her era.
Quintanilla Jr. refurbished an old bus; he named it "Big Bertha" and the family used it as their tour bus. In the first years of touring, the family sang for food and barely had enough money to pay for gasoline. In 1984, Selena recorded her first LP record, Selena y Los Dinos, for Freddie Records. Despite wanting to record English-language songs, Selena recorded Tejano music compositions; a male-dominated, Spanish-language genre with German influences of polka, jazz, and country music, popularized by Mexicans living in the United States.
Hispanic Business magazine reported that the singer earned over five million dollars from these boutiques. She was ranked among the twentieth-wealthiest Hispanic musicians who grossed the highest income in 1993 and 1994. Selena released her fourth studio album, Amor Prohibido, in March 1994. The recording debuted at number three on the US Billboard Top Latin Albums chart and number one on the US Billboard Regional Mexican Albums charts. After peaking at number one on the Top Latin Albums, the album remained in the top five for the rest of the year and into early 1995.
Career, Business, and Investments
Music Career: Selena revolutionized Tejano music, releasing chart-topping albums such as Amor Prohibido (1994) and achieving crossover success with English and Spanish-speaking audiences. She was poised to release an English-language album at the time of her death, which was expected to further expand her global influence.
Business Ventures:
Selena released Entre a Mi Mundo (1992), which peaked at number one on the US Billboard Regional Mexican Albums chart for eight consecutive months. The album's commercial success led music critics to call it the "breakthrough" recording of her musical career. One of its singles, "Como la Flor", became one of her most popular signature songs. Live! (1993) won Best Mexican/American Album at the 1994 Grammy Awards, becoming the first recording by a female Tejano artist to do so. In 1994, she released Amor Prohibido, which became one of the best-selling Latin albums in the United States. It was critically acclaimed as being responsible for Tejano music's first marketable era as it became one of the most popular Latin music subgenres at the time.
Selena was shot and killed on March 31, 1995, by Yolanda Saldívar, her friend and the former manager of her Selena Etc. boutiques. Saldívar was subsequently convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison with possible parole after 30 years. Two weeks after Selena's death, George W. Bush, then-governor of Texas, declared April 16 as Selena Day in Texas. Her posthumous crossover album, Dreaming of You (1995), debuted atop the Billboard 200, making Selena the first Latin artist to accomplish this feat. In 1997, Warner Bros. released Selena, a film about her life and career, which starred a then-unknown Jennifer Lopez as Selena, catapulting Lopez into fame. In 2020, Netflix released Selena: The Series starring Christian Serratos. Selena has sold around 18 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-selling female artists in Latin music.
Selena released her self-titled debut album on October 17, 1989. The singer recorded most of the songs at AMEN Studios in San Antonio, Texas; "Sukiyaki" and "My Love" were recorded at Sunrise Studios in Houston. Selena wrote "My Love" and wanted the song to be included on the album. Her brother A.B., became Selena's principal record producer and songwriter for most of her musical career, though did not write the tracks "Sukiyaki", "Contigo Quiero Estar", and "No Te Vayas". "Sukiyaki" was originally recorded in Japanese in the 1960s by Kyu Sakamoto; Selena used a translation into Spanish of an English version of the song by Janice Marie Johnson. Selena peaked at number seven on the US Billboard Regional Mexican Albums chart, becoming Selena's first recording to debut on a national music chart. The album performed better than other recordings from other contemporaneous female Tejano singers.
Selena's family tried to find her; Quintanilla Jr. did not take the news well and alienated himself for some time. Selena and Pérez moved into an apartment in Corpus Christi. In interviews, Quintanilla Jr. expressed how he feared Pérez could be a machista (Spanish for a male chauvinist), who would force Selena to end her career and music goals, a move that prevented Quintanilla Jr. to accept Pérez as being suitable for Selena at the time. Quintanilla Jr. later approached Pérez, apologized, accepted the marriage, and took Pérez back into the band.
After her publicity press, Selena was booked to play at several concerts throughout Mexico, including a performance at Festival Acapulco in May 1993, which garnered her critical acclaim. Her performance in Nuevo León on September 17, 1993, was attended by 70,000 people, garnering her the title of the biggest Tejano act in Mexico. The album produced four singles; "Como la Flor", "¿Qué Creías?", "La Carcacha", and "Amame". "Como la Flor" became Selena's signature recording; it was critically acclaimed by music critics as a career launcher for Selena.
An issue of People magazine was released several days after her murder. Its publishers believed interest would soon wane. They released a commemorative issue within a week when it became clear it was growing. The issue sold nearly a million copies, selling the entire first and second print runs within two weeks. It became a collector's item, a first in the history of People. Betty Cortina, an editor of People, told Biography they never had an issue that was completely sold out; "it was unheard of". In the following months, the company released People en Español aimed at the Hispanic market, due to the success of the Selena issue. This was followed by Newsweek en Espanol and Latina magazine.
In an April 1995 interview with Billboard magazine, Behar said he saw Selena as a "cross between Janet Jackson and Whitney Houston in style, feel, and vocal range". Although Selena did not write most of her songs, she incorporated R&B, Latin pop, technopop, country and western, and disco into her Tejano music repertoire. Mario Tarradell of The Dallas Morning News said that during her music career, Selena "merges Tejano's infectious cumbia rhythm with street-savvy R&B, old-school soul, dancehall reggae, sizzling salsa, and trippy, loopy funk". Selena's recordings expressed "love and pain, as well as strength and passion", according to Charles Tatum.
Selena became an inactive member of the Jehovah's Witnesses due to her exotic clothing. During the photo shoot for Entre a Mi Mundo (1992), a photographer remarked on the ways Selena's choice of clothing affected Quintanilla Jr. tremendously; he often left sessions when Selena appeared in revealing outfits. Selena was credited as the first woman to change public perceptions of feminine beauty in the Tejano market; a feminist, she blazed a trail for other female artists during her career.
In August 1994, Selena hosted a charity baseball game to raise money for unspecified charities. She also donated her time to civic organizations such as D.A.R.E. and planned a fundraising concert to help AIDS patients. Selena participated with the Texas Prevention Partnership which was sponsored by the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse (Dep Corporation), which released an educational video that was sent to students for free. Her pro-education videos included "My Music" and "Selena Agrees". She was in the works for a Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas Boys & Girls Clubs of America benefit concert.
On August 30, 2016, a wax statue of Selena was unveiled at Madame Tussauds Hollywood. In October 2016, MAC Cosmetics released a limited edition Selena makeup line after On Air with Ryan Seacrest senior producer Patty Rodriguez started a petition for the company to do so and it garnering over 37,000 signatures. It became the best-selling celebrity line in cosmetic history. She was inducted into the Texas Women's Hall of Fame at Texas Woman's University in October 2016. An exhibit at the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. that ran in 2017, focused on Selena's influence in marketing. "Due to her massive appeal to both general and Latino markets, advertisers began targeting specific demographics for the first time."
Social Network
During her lifetime, Selena did not have the social media presence seen today. However, her legacy lives on through:
- Official Instagram: @SelenaLaLeyenda (managed by her family and estate)
- YouTube: Selena’s official channel with millions of views for her hit songs and concert footage
- Facebook: Official Selena fan pages and memorial groups
Selena was booked for a high-profile border press tour in Monterrey, Mexico, with music media figures in a meet-and-greet conference. At the time, Tejanos were looked down on as "hayseed pochos" among Mexican citizens. The singer's Spanish was far from fluent; EMI Latin executives were "terrified" about the singer's limited Spanish during the press conference for the album in Mexico. According to Patoski, Selena "played her cards right" during the conference and won over the Mexican media after newspapers hailed her as "an artist of the people". The newspapers found her to be a refreshing change from Mexican telenovela actors "who were fair-skinned, blond-haired, and green-eyed."
Following Selena's death, some celebrities questioned her status as a role model among Hispanic women. In her 1999 documentary about the singer, filmmaker Lourdes Portillo expressed concerns whether Selena was a great role model for young women. Portillo believed Selena was sending the wrong message to young girls by dancing in clothing that suggested hypersexualization. American author Sandra Cisneros agreed with Portillo's assessment that Selena was "not a good role model to Latina women". Media outlets also shared Portillo's views; they said the "fairy tale story" of Selena was one that her family would want to preserve, questioning Quintanilla Jr.'s role for pushing an image that Selena had "never made mistakes" into the media, calling it "lies" and "not the real story".
Selena became one of the "most celebrated cultural products" of the United States-Mexico borderlands. Selena was called the "Queen of Tejano Music", and was described as "the most important and popular Tejano star of all time". Her death was "the most devastating loss" in Tejano music history, according to Zach Quaintance of The Monitor. At the time of her death, Selena became one of the most widely known Mexican-American vocal artists and the most popular Latin artist in the United States. She had a "cult-like" following among Hispanics.
Selena has been named one of the most influential Latin artists of all-time and has been credited for elevating a music genre into the mainstream market. Latin Post called the singer "one of the most iconic artists in Latin American music history", while The New York Times called her "arguably the most important Latina musician in the country, on her way to becoming one of the most important, period." Selena became a household name in the United States and Mexico following her death and became part of the American pop culture. She became more popular in death than when she was alive.
Education
Selena was home-schooled while touring with her family band, Selena y Los Dinos, from a young age. Her education was focused on her music career, and she graduated from high school through correspondence courses, allowing her to balance her growing fame with her studies.
In the days before Selena's death, Saldívar delayed handing over the bank statements and financial records by saying she had been physically and sexually assaulted in Mexico. Saldívar, along with Selena, appeared at a medical clinic on March 31, 1995, ostensibly to have Saldívar examined for an assault which she claimed happened to her in Monterrey. During that visit, Saldívar was given a brief physical examination by the clinic's doctor, but this did not include a gynecological exam specifically done in cases of sexual assault. It was suggested by nurse Carla Anthony that Saldívar needed to have the rape exam in San Antonio for three reasons: Saldívar was a resident of San Antonio, the clinic they were currently at was in Corpus Christi, and the assault occurred in Mexico.
A few days later, Howard Stern mocked Selena's murder and burial, poked fun at her mourners, and criticized her music. Stern said, "This music does absolutely nothing for me. Alvin and the Chipmunks have more soul ... Spanish people have the worst taste in music. They have no depth." Stern's comments outraged and infuriated the Hispanic community in Texas. Stern's sound effects man added gunshots to her music played in the background on his show. A South Texas judge issued a disorderly conduct arrest warrant in Stern's name, claiming "I did it for all the Tejano fans". Free-speech advocates said the warrant was unconstitutional. "It fails the First Amendment test", said Jay Jacobson, executive director for the Texas chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. "It's a speech that is protected - being a music critic, no matter how harsh, is not grounds for criminal charges." Stern made an on-air statement, in Spanish, saying his comments were not made to cause "more anguish to her family, friends and those who loved her". The League of United Latin American Citizens boycotted Stern's show, finding his apology unacceptable.
In October 1995, a Houston jury convicted Saldívar of first-degree murder and she was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years in 2025. Life with the possibility of parole was the maximum prison term allowed in Texas that could be imposed at the time. In 2002, under a judge's order, the gun used to kill Selena was destroyed and the pieces were thrown into Corpus Christi Bay. Fans and historians disapproved of the decision to destroy the gun, saying the event was historical and the gun should have been in a museum.
During her childhood, Selena helped organizations such as Toys for Tots. She was active in the U.S. Latino community, visiting local schools to talk to students about the importance of education. At Fulmore Junior High School in Austin, she educated two hundred high school students about positive attitudes and setting life-goals in their adult lives. Selena urged children to stay in school, and that alcohol and drugs will lead them nowhere in life. She spent her free time helping her community. Selena performed in Washington, D.C. to celebrate the forming of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Following the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew, Selena helped victims in Florida by performing at a Houston benefit concert.
In January 1995, Selena headlined the Teach the Children festival in San Antonio. The concert funded a non-profit program to provide school supplies to needy children. Selena was a spokesperson for women in abusive relationships. She also helped out at homeless shelters. According to the A&E television series Biography, Selena's fans were often minorities; she encouraged them to make the most of their lives.
Forever 21 announced the launch of a clothing line celebrating her legacy named "Selena: The White Rose Collection", was released in 2019. In a 10-part podcast miniseries, Anything for Selena, broadcast in 2021 by WBUR-FM and Futuro Media, Latina journalist Maria Garcia "goes on an intimate, revelatory quest to understand how Selena has become a potent symbol for tensions around race, class and body politics in the United States". In the same year, Selena was posthumously presented with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award which her family received on the artist's behalf.
Summary Table
| Attribute | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Selena Quintanilla-Perez |
| Date of Birth | April 16, 1971 |
| Date of Death | March 31, 1995 |
| Age at Death | 23 years |
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) |
| Net Worth (2025) | ~$5 million |
| Spouse | Chris Perez |
| Notable Ventures | Music, Fashion Boutiques, Cosmetics |
| Education | Home-schooled, high school via correspondence |
| Social Media | @SelenaLaLeyenda (Instagram), YouTube, Facebook |
Selena’s legacy as a musician, fashion icon, and businesswoman remains unparalleled, inspiring millions around the world.
