Child actress grows into role as the Latina Gleek

[Brian Damage]

Early in her career, Naya Rivera acted opposite entertainment heavyweights Will Smith and Redd Foxx, and she counts two iconic shows of the 1990s, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Baywatch, on her resume.

Today, the former child actress is enjoying life as part of television's most popular show, one that is already a pop cultural icon after one season on the air.

As part of the multitalented ensemble cast of Fox's hit musical comedy Glee, Rivera gets to sing and dance to hit tunes while developing her acting chops as not-so-nice cheerleader Santana Lopez.

``Being a part of (Glee) has truly been the biggest blessing and the most amazing experience. I have gotten to do things that I never thought I would be experiencing in my lifetime, like playing Radio City Music Hall,'' Rivera writes in an e-mail.

Rivera, 23, is currently on tour with her Glee cast mates, taking the songs and dances fans have enjoyed watching on the show to the stage, including the aforementioned venue. The tour ends this month.

``The tour prep was actually not that different from what we do on the show,'' Rivera writes during a break from rehearsals. ``We were surprised how many numbers we remembered and how fun it was to go back and re-work them for the stage.''

She says preparation for each show takes about two weeks, and includes learning lines, recording songs in the studio and learning choreography.

The demanding schedule of Glee has paid off for Rivera. Her role on the show was recently upgraded to a series regular, a position she'll assume in the second season of Glee next year. Glee, which Fox recently picked up for a third season, concluded its highly successful freshman year on Tuesday.

The multiracial Rivera, a California native of Puerto Rican, German and African-American descent, started in show business as a model, appearing in commercials for the retail chain Kmart.

Her first regular series gig came in 1991, when she was cast in the Eddie Murphy-created sitcom The Royal Family. The show lasted one season, but Rivera would spend the next 15 years doing several television guest spots, including a 2008 appearance on CSI: Miami. She was cast on Glee about a year later.

``I really think that every audition and every job that I've ever done has prepared me for what I'm doing now on Glee. Nothing was for naught, and nothing was in vain. It's all worked together in shaping the person I am today,'' Rivera writes.

A songwriter since her teens, Rivera calls music one of her biggest loves. But don't look for her to break out in a music career any time soon.

``Right now I'm pretty 100 percent focused on Glee. I'm always looking out for film projects and writing songs in my free time, but Glee keeps me pretty busy now and I love it,'' she says.



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