From First Big Hit to ‘Dreaming of You’

Selena was born on April 16, 1971 at the Freeport Community Hospital in Lake Jackson, Texas. She was the daughter of Marcella Quintanilla and Abraham Quintanilla, a Mexican-American former musician. Selena — which means “moon goddess” in Greek — is the youngest of three siblings, following her brother, A.B. and sister, Suzette.

Her Childhood Years

She attended OM Roberts Elementary, but because she started singing and performing at a very young in her family’s restaurant, she often missed school on Fridays and Mondays. At one point, she did home school and would submit her homework through mail to a school in Chicago.

In a rare interview documented on Isabel Castro’s 2025 film Selena y Los Dinos, a then-10-year-old Selena in 5th grade said, “[the reason] I like to play in the band is the good money.” Selena’s first-ever performance was around the age of 6 in front of relatives.

Selena y Los Dinos became Selena’s debut independent studio album under Freddie Records, with 10 songs in both English and Spanish. In 1995, the album was re-issued as Mis Primeras Grabaciones. Selena y Los Dinos released five other albums independently: Alpha (1986), Muñequito de Trapo (1986), And The Winner Is… (1987), Preciosa (1988) and Dulce Amor (1988).

Selena’s breakout hit arrived in 1986, a soft Tejano tune with romantic lyrics called “Dame un Beso,” part of her album Alpha. The song’s radio success earned Selena her first major win at the 1986 Tejano Music Awards, as female vocalist of the year. “Without Los Dinos, I wouldn’t be anyone. When I win, they win. When they lose, I don’t know them,” a then 15-year-old Selena joked in her acceptance speech.

The following year, the then-teenager won female vocalist of the year, most promising band of the year, album of the year (Alpha), and song of the year (“Dame un Beso) at the 1987 Tejano Music Awards. In total, Selena has won 44 TMAs.

Due to the rising success of Selena y Los Dinos, the artist traveled to Matamoros, Mexico for the first time to perform “Dame Un Beso” on The Johnny Canales Show. The Mexican-American group then became regulars on the popular family-friendly TV show, where they would often promote their new projects.

In 1989, Selena released her debut studio album, Selena, under a major label, EMI Latin. With cutting-edge Tejano fusions, the album included a freestyle dance track in English (“My Love”), a cover of a pop hit originally sung in Japanese (“Sukiyaki”) and a chill reggae tune (“No Te Vayas”), in addition to popular Tejano bops “Besitos” and “Amame, Quiereme.” The album became Selena’s first Billboard chart entry on Top Regional Mexican Albums, peaking at No. 7 that December.

Shortly after Selena began to secretly date Los Dinos guitar player Chris Pérez, the couple eloped on April 2. (The artist was 20 years old.) According to Castro’s documentary — which shares never-before-seen footage of Selena — the couple’s first kiss was on a ride home from Mexico, and the first time they said “I love you” to each other was in Laredo, Texas. “My love was strong enough,” Selena said in an interview about her surprise wedding.

The First Billboard No. 1 Hit

That same month, Selena earned her first No. 1 hit on the Hot Latin Songs chart with the heartfelt ballad “Buenos Amigos,” in collaboration with Salvadoran crooner Alvaro Torres. The song reached No. 1 nine days after she eloped.

Entre a Mi Mundo (Enter My World), the third studio album home to timeless hits “Como La Flor,” “La Carcacha” and “Qué Creías,” marked Selena’s first No. 1 hit on the Billboard Top Regional Mexican Albums chart, where it spent 19 weeks at the top.

“It’s one of the best albums that we have released, and it showed the versatility we had musically,” Suzette Quintanilla (Selena’s sister and drummer of Los Dinos) said in the album’s spoken liner notes. “We were very strong. If you look at ‘La Carcacha’ and ‘Como La Flor,’ you can hear the different sounds of cumbia that made people recognize us as Selena y Los Dinos.”

In February 1993, Selena performed at her first Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo at the coveted Astrodome, which drew over 66K attendees. At that concert, the artist performed “Como La Flor,” which she released in October 1992, for the first time. The artist performed two other times at the Houston Rodeo, in 1994 and 1995. The latter performance — where she rocked the iconic purple jumpsuit — also marked her last televised concert.

At the 36th annual Grammy Awards, Selena won her first-ever Grammy award for best Mexican/American album with her Selena Live! album, marking the first time a female Tejano artist had won in the category. On the Billboard charts, the set peaked at No. 1 on Top Regional Mexican Albums. (Additionally, Selena was posthumously honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2021 Grammys, alongside Marilyn Horne, Salt-N-Pepa, Talking Heads, Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five and Lionel Hampton.)

Selena Boutique and Salon

Passionate about fashion, in 1994 Selena opened her Selena Boutique & Salon, offering fashion and beauty salon services. The boutique, which first opened in Corpus Christi and later expanded with a second location in San Antonio, sold her designs and those of her costume designer, Martin Gomez. With his new career venture, the artist wanted to prove to herself that she could be a businesswoman and not just an entertainer.

Amor Prohibido, her fourth studio album under EMI Latin, became Selena’s first No. 1 album on Billboard‘s Top Latin Albums chart, where it reigned for 20 weeks. Home to the title track about forbidden love, inspired by Selena’s own grandparents, the album also earned Selena her first Billboard 200 entry.

Four singles off of the timeless set peaked at No. 1 on the Hot Latin Songs chart: “Amor Prohibido” for nine weeks, the joyful “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom” for four weeks, the mariachi-driven “No Me Queda Más” for seven weeks and the nostalgic bop “Fotos y Recuerdos” for seven weeks.

Fun facts about the title track: Selena added the “oh baby” because A.B. had a gap when he produced the song. Meanwhile, the red buttoned-up shirt she wears in the music video belonged to her husband, Chris Pérez.

In March, Selena performed at the Noche de Carnaval festival held in Miami, Fla., where she delivered her biggest career hits to date. “Before performing that night Selena said in an interview that it was important for her music to be versatile because it allowed her songs to reach so many different regions,” reads a post on the official Selena Instagram account about the performance. Noche de Carnaval was one of the last concerts Selena gave.

At the peak of her career—and as she prepared for her crossover English-language album—the Queen of Tejano passed away at the age of 23, after being shot by the president of her fan club on March 31. Her brother A.B. was at the recording studio waiting for her when he received the tragic news, and her sister, Suzette, got the news from a friend.

In footage from Castro’s documentary, which has been acquired by Netflix, Selena says: “I’d like to do music for the rest of my life, but I’m ultimately going to die, right? It depends on the public until when I’m going to be here.” Selena’s legacy, music and impact has endured for more than three decades, making her one of the top five Best Female Latin Pop Artists of All Time, according to Billboard Latin‘s staff.

Before her death, Selena was working on her English-language album, which was meant to veer away from her signature cumbia and tejano melodies, and introduce a contemporary pop and R&B sound. The artist, who routinely worked on three-four hours of sleep, was afraid of attempting the crossover, because she thought she was going to leave behind Los Dinos. In fact, Castro’s documentary said that “she cried during a family reunion” — but Suzette says in the film that she had assured her that “they will never separate us, because we are one.”

Dreaming of You was released posthumously on July 18, 1995, headlined by the popular singles “I Could Fall in Love,” “Tú Solo Tú,” and the title track. The bilingual album made history as the first predominately Spanish-language album to ever debut at No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart, and spent 44 weeks atop the Top Latin Albums chart. “Dreaming of You,” the single, marked Selena’s debut song on the Billboard Hot 100, ultimately peaking at No. 22.