Jenni Rivera, the California-born singer who rose through personal adversity to become a superstar adored by millions in a male-dominated genre of Mexican-American music, was confirmed dead in a plane crash in northern Mexico, the National Transportation Safety Board said Monday.
Rivera, 43, began her career working in the office of her father's small Mexican music label in Long Beach, California. She recorded her first album, Chacalosa, in 1995. It was a hit, and she followed it with two other independent albums.
By the end of the '90s, she won a major-label contract, and built a loyal following on both sides of the border.
Rivera had been widely presumed dead since the wreckage of her plane, also carrying six friends and colleagues, was found Sunday.
