On what would have been the Queen of Tejano’s 55th birthday, celebrate her ongoing legacy revisiting the biopic that launched Jennifer Lopez’s acting career in 1997. Little-known at the time beyond the dance world, but gaining recognition through solid if not lucrative performances onscreen, Lopez brought tenacity and energy to the role of Selena Quintanilla Perez, inhabiting it fully to bring the singer’s too-short life story to the big screen where it belonged. Selena’s family was deeply involved in the project, and her father Abraham even produced, though he said in 2017 he’d only watched the tragic ending once, just before the film’s release. – Kat McNevins
