Glee star Naya Rivera recounts her successes and missteps. She urges young women to pursue their dreams and to refuse to let past mistakes define them. Navigating through youth and young adulthood isn't easy, and Naya shows us that we're not alone in the highs, lows, and in-betweens. Whether it's with love and dating, career and ambition, friends, or gossip, Naya inspires us to follow our own destiny and step over - or plod through - all the crap along the way. After her rise and fall from early childhood stardom, barely eking her way through high school, a brief stint as a Hooters waitress, going through thick and thin with her mom/manager, she resurrected her acting career as Santana Lopez on Glee. American television actress and singer Naya Rivera was born and raised in the Valencia neighborhood of Santa Clarita, California. She is of Puerto Rican, African American, and German descent. For six seasons, she played Santana Lopez on the Fox Network's musical comedy-drama television series Glee. As a child, she appeared on Family Matters, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and The Royal Family.