“Jenni,” the new Vix biopic, tells the tragic story of the late Mexican-American singer Jenni Rivera.
The movie follows the artist’s humble beginnings in Long Beach, California, her tumultuous marriages, the rise of her successful career as one the top female regional Mexican singers, and her untimely death on Dec. 9, 2012.
Twelve years after her fatal airplane crash, actor Annie Gonzalez brings “La Diva de la Banda” to life, showcasing Rivera’s talent, resilience and strength amid her struggles with teen pregnancy, domestic violence and more.
Directed by Gigi Saul Guerrero with a script co-written by Kate Lanier and Shane McKenzie, Manuel Uriza, Cinthya Carmona, Jero Medina and Miguel Angel Garcia co-star.
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Now in select theaters and available on the Spanish-language streaming service Vix, read on to learn more about the true story of Jenni Rivera and the biographical film.
Jenni Rivera and her famous family
Jenni Rivera was born July 2, 1969 in Long Beach, California, to parents Pedro Rivera and Rosa Saavedra.
She was one of six children, which also include Pedro Rivera Jr., Gustavo Rivera, Lupillo Rivera, Juan Rivera and Rosie Rivera. The Riveras were a musical household and as “Jenni” depicts, her father encouraged her to get into music.
While Jenni Rivera wanted to study and get an education, she said in an interview shared on her reality show “I Love Jenni” that she recorded an album in 1993 as a gift to her dad. He asked for the same gift every year, while he secretly started building her musical catalog.
Jenni Rivera was a Long Beach City College alumna and briefly attended California State University Long Beach as a business administration major. She was also a full-time real estate agent.
“Back in the 1990s, I decided to be a full-time real estate agent and I was doing well,” she told Parade. “After a divorce, I decided to go out with some friends to a club and have a couple shots of tequila. They dared me to go up and sing. I figured at that point I would give my father what he always wanted and become a recording artist.”
In 1999 while showing a house to a client, she heard her song “Reyna de Reynas” on the radio for the first time. The moment is depicted in “Jenni.”
"Someone had found it and played it and it’s all history from there," she told Parade.
Jenni Rivera got pregnant as a teen
“Jenni” begins with a high school Jenni finding out she is pregnant and telling her parents.
At the age of 15, Jenni Rivera did became pregnant with her first child, daughter Janney “Chiquis,” who is also a multi-Latin Grammy winning artist.
The singer would go on to marry José Trinidad Marín and the two welcomed Chiquis in 1985. The couple, who divorced in 1992, also welcomed daughter Jacqie in 1989 and son Mikey in 1991.
The couple’s tumultuous marriage is depicted as violent and complicated in the film. In an interview on “Historias Engarzadas” with journalist Mónica Garza, Jenni Rivera shared that she and Marín were physically violent towards each other.
Jenni Rivera was also married to Juan “Cinco” López from 1997 to 2003. López died in 2009 while serving time in prison.
The two shared daughter Jenicka and son Johnny. However in 2022, Jenicka opened up in her “Overcomfort with Jenicka López” podcast that she found out López was not her biological father.
Jenni Rivera was also married to baseball coach Esteban Loaiza from 2010 until her 2012 death.
Jenni Rivera's hardships depicted in the film
The film depicts an emotional scene where Jenni reveals during an interview that she was raped and that her first husband, Marín, molested her younger sister Rosie Rivera and her daughters, Chiquis and Jacqui, when they were little girls.
The moment is a re-creation of Jenni Rivera's real-life 2005 interview with journalist Charytin, where she did reveal that Marín sexually abused her daughters and sister. All four women were present in the interview.
However, at the time, the singer did not reveal she was raped. She later revealed that information in her posthumous memoir, “Unbreakable: My Story, My Way.” A scene similar to the book is shown in the film.
Marín would go on to be arrested and go on trial. In 2007, he was convicted of eight felony counts, including lewd acts with a child, continuous sexual abuse and aggravated sexual assault of a child, according to Deputy District Attorney Mark Burnley. He was sentenced to a minimum of 31 years in prison, according to Reuters.
Jenni Rivera's rise to fame and success
Jenni Rivera became one of the most successful female regional Mexican music singers of all time. In 2011, as shown in “Jenni,” the artist sold out Staples Center in Los Angeles, which was a major feat for any Latin artist at the time.
She was nominated for four Latin Grammys, multiple Billboard Music awards, Billboard Latin Music awards, Lo Nuestro awards and more. Among her greatest hits included “De Contrabando,” “Ahora Que Estuviste Lejos,” “La Misma Gran Señora,” “Culpable O Inocente” and “No Llega El Olvido.”
At the time of her death, she was the single most successful woman on the Billboard Latin charts, according to Billboard.
Also a businesswoman, Jenni Rivera had a clothing and beauty line, as well as starred in her “I Love Jenni” reality show with her family.
Jenni Rivera's tragic death
Jenni Rivera died Dec. 9, 2012 in a plane crash shortly after taking off from an airport in Monterrey, Mexico, according to NBC News and Telemundo. The singer had just performed in the city the night before and was headed to Toluca.
Also onboard the plane were two pilots, her lawyer Mario Macias Pacheco, makeup artist Jacobo Yebale, publicist Arturo Rivera and stylist Jorge Armando Sanchez Vasquez. There were no survivors.
Before the plane departed, Yebale shared a selfie with the crew from inside. That moment is also depicted at the end of “Jenni.”
This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:
