Synopsis

Selena follows the rise of Selena Quintanilla-Perez from singing with her family's struggling band to becoming a major Tejano music star. As her popularity grows, she balances demanding performances, family expectations, a secret romance with guitarist Chris Perez, and ambitions for an English-language career. Her success is ultimately cut short by tragedy.

Factoids & Trivia

• More than 21,000 performers auditioned for the title role. The casting search took place in several U.S. cities, including San Antonio, Chicago, Miami, New York, and Los Angeles.

• Jennifer Lopez's performance became her breakthrough film role. She received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy for the 1998 awards.

• Selena's family and former band members were closely involved with the production. Several members of Los Dinos appeared in the film, helping connect the dramatization with the real group.

• Much of the music heard in the concert sequences uses Selena's original recordings. Lopez performed the movements and lip-synced to Selena's vocals rather than replacing them with newly recorded versions.

• The production filmed in Texas locations associated with Selena's life and career, including Corpus Christi, San Antonio, Lake Jackson, and Aransas Pass.

• The official soundtrack was released shortly before the movie and eventually reached No. 7 on the Billboard 200 chart.

• In 2021, the film was selected for preservation in the Library of Congress National Film Registry for its cultural, historical, or aesthetic importance.