Selena Quintanilla Pérez: The life story you may not know

According to Selena's father, Abraham Quintanilla, doctors initially mistook the pregnancy of Selena's mother, Marcella Ofelia Quintanilla, for a tumor. Thankfully, Selena's parents did not follow the surgeon's orders to remove the mass. Instead, the couple sought a second opinion and found out that the misdiagnosed tumor was a child. The Tejano queen was delivered on April 16, 1971, in Lake Jackson, Texas, by former congressman and presidential candidate Ron Paul, an obstetrician-gynecologist at the time.

Selena's name derives from the Greek word Selene, meaning "moon goddess." In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Selena's sister Suzette Quintanilla shared that her parents were positive they were having a boy when they were pregnant with Selena and didn't have a name picked out for a girl. Another woman giving birth near her mom suggested the name Selena.

Selena was 8 when she started her career performing with ​​her older siblings—her brother A.B., who played the bass guitar, and sister Suzette, who played the drums—as Selena y Los Dinos. They were a second-generation group inspired by their father's late '50s doo-wop-turned-Tejano band, the Dinos.

When a friend of Abraham Quintanilla commented that Lake Jackson needed a good Mexican restaurant, it got him thinking. In 1980, Abraham opened Papagayo's, a Mexican restaurant he ran with his wife, Marcella. He built a small stage and dance floor where Selena y Los Dinos would perform for diners before it closed due to the economic recession.

"Big Bertha" was the Selena y Los Dinos tour bus. It was a 1964 Eagle motor coach without power steering, heating, air-conditioning, or a restroom. The MAC Cosmetics Selena La Reina collection pays homage to the tour bus with a liquid lip color lovingly named Big Bertha.

In 1986, Selena won Female Vocalist of the Year at the Tejano Music Awards at the age of 15. Between 1988 and 1996, she was named Female Entertainer of the Year nine times in a row. According to Guinness World Records, Selena still holds the record for most Female Entertainer of the Year wins at the Tejano Music Awards.

In 1988, backup singer Pete Astudillo joined Selena y Los Dinos and began collaborating with A.B. on a more danceable, cumbia-inspired sound that drew on funk and hip-hop elements. Their unique fusing of sounds set them apart from other Tejano bands.

Selena took the stage in 1989 to open up the Tejano Music Awards. This performance caught the attention of José Behar, founder of EMI Latin. Behar approached her band with a record deal, and they signed with the label that same year.

Selena signed with the newly formed Los Angeles record label EMI Latin in 1989. At the time, it was the nation's second-largest Latino music label. Music executive José Behar correctly assumed Latinos would buy music from their favorite artists, and Selena was proof of that. "Ven Conmigo," Selena's second studio album with the label released in 1990, was the first Tejano album to be certified gold by the RIAA. The National Recording Registry added the album to the Library of Congress archives of "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" recordings in 2020.

Inspired by other musical icons like Paula Abdul and Madonna, Selena designed and crafted most of the outfits she wore on stage throughout her career. Remember the iconic white outfit she wore at the 1994 Astrodome show? Selena's sister Suzette recalls Selena beading her boots ahead of the Houston concert and said she was sewing beads onto her bustier backstage right before the show.

During an interview with Hola! USA, Suzette revealed that her younger sister didn't have a dedicated makeup artist: "Whenever we had to do a TV show, on-air performance or red carpets, Selena did her own makeup." Selena's signature bold red lip and beauty trends have become even more profound in the years since.

Selena developed her iconic fashion style and brand with the help of her friend and fashion designer, Martin Gomez. He's responsible for designing Selena's looks at the 1994 San Antonio fashion show. In a 2020 interview with the Houston Chronicle, Gomez remarked that the image of glamor in Selena's mind and his own were the same.

Selena signed a partnership with Coca-Cola when she was 17 years old that she held until she died in 1995. She appeared in multiple commercials where she sang Coca-Cola jingles in English and Spanish—her representation was influential to the brand's success in reaching the Latinx market and driving sales.

Selena reinterpreted the '60s-era Japanese pop song "Sukiyaki" (aka "Ue o Muite Arukou"), originally sung by well-known Japanese singer Kyu Sakamoto, into a sentimental Spanish-language version. Selena covered the song in her 1989 self-titled album and 1990 7-inch single.

Selena and Chris Pérez married in 1992 after secretly dating while on tour. Whether it was because of his image or because he believed no one would be good enough, Selena's father opposed their relationship, yet despite his objection, the couple eloped. Chris was the lead guitarist in her band, Selena y Los Dinos. In 2012, he wrote a bestselling book about their relationship titled "To Selena, With Love."

In 1993, Selena signed with EMI Latin subsidiary SBK Records to record her first all-English album, becoming the first female crossover Latin artist signed to the label. The record deal gave Selena the chance to record an all-English album, the first in her career.

Despite Selena's fame and wealth, she lived in the working-class district of Molina in Corpus Christi. After her death, in an interview with ​​the San Antonio Express-News, neighborhood kids reflected on Selena's kindness and how she never hesitated to give them autographs or concert tickets.

Selena was a role model in her community and beyond. According to the Texas Historical Society, Selena considered herself a public servant. She was involved with various outreach programs, including the Houston Area Women's Center, a shelter for battered women for whom she taped a public-service announcement in 1993.

Founded in 1993 by Selena's father, Abraham Quintanilla, Q Productions is Quintanilla's company office and recording facility in Corpus Christi, Texas—specializing in audio mixing and recording, artist management, promotions, bookings, film and video production. Q Productions also houses the Selena Museum, honoring the life and legacy of Selena.

Selena had a small role as a mariachi singer in the 1994 film "Don Juan DeMarco" featuring Johnny Depp and Marlon Brando. Selena sang "El Toro Relajo" and "No Me Quieras Tanto." The film premiered seven days after her death on April 7, 1995.

In 1994, Selena opened Selena Etc., boutiques in Corpus Christi and San Antonio. According to the Chronicle, her boutiques featured apparel the singer designed, Selena memorabilia and clothing, and a full-service salon. The San Antonio store closed in 1999 the Corpus Christi store closed in 2009.

1994 marked a historic achievement for Selena, having won the Grammy for Best Mexican-American Album for "Live," marking her first career Grammy and the first time a female Tejano artist won the category. Selena's acceptance speech was short but powerful, saying, "I'd like to thank all my Latin family."

Selena teamed up with legendary Talking Heads frontman David Byrne to record the single "God's Child" in March 1995. In an interview with Rolling Stone, David Byrne says he was approached by film producers for "​​Don Juan DeMarco" to create a song for Selena.

Byrne recalled: "She recorded her parts in Spanish, and I thought it was incredible. The movie people never used it. I feel kind of sad about that. I thought, 'What's going to happen to this song now?' As we all know what happened then, lo and behold, her posthumous album, "Dreaming of You," the song finally found a place."

Selena's posthumous crossover album, "Dreaming of You," was released on July 18, 1995, almost four months after her death. It sold 175,000 copies in a single day and instantly went to #1. While at the time in the music industry, it was often considered necessary for Spanish-speaking artists to "crossover" to English to be successful, Selena's "Dreaming of You" was one of the first albums to find a place in the mainstream with songs featured in both English and Spanish.

In 2022, the Quintanilla family released "Moonchild Mixes," 10 unreleased songs of Selena's original recordings between the ages of 13 and 16 via Warner Music Latina. Selena's father told Billboard that it's their way of maintaining her presence through her music.

Story editing by Olivia Monahan. Copy editing by Kristen Wegrzyn. Photo selection by Clarese Moller.