Selena

During her short life singer-songwriter Selena Quintilla had a spectacularly successful career as a singer, actress and fashion designer making her one of the most celebrated Mexican-American personalities of the 20th century. Her forte was tejano (Tex-mex) music, a genre enormously popular in the southern states of USA.

Quintilla is credited with having brought tejano music to mainstream buying audiences. She started her singing career whilst still at high school and somehow managed to juggle performing commitments with her studying eventually taking up business administration at college. The newly formed EMI Latin record label recognised her potential as a crossover artist and signed her in 1989. Her major breakthrough came three years later with the album 'Entre A Mi Mundo' which peaked at number one in the regional charts selling 600,000 copies.

With her career in the ascendency Quintilla capitalised on her popularity and branched out into films and fashion launching a small chain of boutiques and making a cameo appearance in the film 'Don Juan DeMarco' alongside Johhny Depp and Marlon Brando. Her fourth album 'Amor Prohibo' launched four number one singles and the album sold over two million copies. At the height of this success Quintilla had an argument regarding financial irregularities with the manager of her boutique chain; the employee fired a gun which fatally wounded Quintilla. The singer was 23 when she died.