Selena (film)
Updated: 12/20/2025, 1:14:49 PM Wikipedia source
Selena is a 1997 American biographical musical drama film about Tejano music star Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, played by Jennifer Lopez. The film, written and directed by Gregory Nava, chronicles the star's rise to fame and death when she was murdered by Yolanda Saldívar at the age of 23. In addition to Lopez, the film also stars Edward James Olmos, Jon Seda, Constance Marie, Jacob Vargas, Lupe Ontiveros, and Jackie Guerra in her film debut. Selena was released in the United States on March 21, 1997, by Warner Bros. Pictures. The film received positive reviews from critics and grossed $35 million worldwide against a production budget of $20 million. For her performance, Jennifer Lopez received a Best Actress nomination at the 55th Golden Globe Awards. In 2021, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant", and was re-released in select cinemas on April 7, 2022, to coincide with the film's 25th anniversary. In 2024, the Pérez Art Museum Miami organized a screening of Selena as part of the institution's Floating Films with Ballyhoo Media. During this event, the film was screened from the water.
Infobox
Directed by
Gregory Nava
Written by
Gregory Nava
Produced by
mw- Moctesuma Esparza Robert Katz
Starring
Jennifer Lopez Edward James Olmos Jon Seda Constance Marie Jacob Vargas Lupe Ontiveros Jackie Guerra
Cinematography
Edward Lachman
Edited by
Nancy Richardson
Music by
Dave Grusin
Productioncompany
Q-Productions
Distributed by
Warner Bros.
Release date
March 21, 1997 (1997-03-21)
Running time
127 minutes
Country
United States
Languages
English Spanish
Budget
$20 million
Box office
$35.8 million(United States)
Tables
· Accolades
ALMA Awards
ALMA Awards
Award
ALMA Awards
Date
June 4, 1998
Category
Outstanding Feature Film
Recipient(s)
Won
Outstanding Actor in a Feature Film
Outstanding Actor in a Feature Film
Award
Outstanding Actor in a Feature Film
Date
Edward James Olmos
Category
Won
Jon Seda
Jon Seda
Award
Jon Seda
Date
Nominated
Outstanding Actress in a Feature Film
Outstanding Actress in a Feature Film
Award
Outstanding Actress in a Feature Film
Date
Jackie Guerra
Category
Nominated
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez
Award
Jennifer Lopez
Date
Won
Outstanding Latino Director of a Feature Film
Outstanding Latino Director of a Feature Film
Award
Outstanding Latino Director of a Feature Film
Date
Gregory Nava
Category
Won
Golden Globe Awards
Golden Globe Awards
Award
Golden Globe Awards
Date
January 18, 1998
Category
Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
Recipient(s)
Jennifer Lopez
Result
Nominated
Grammy Awards
Grammy Awards
Award
Grammy Awards
Date
February 25, 1998
Category
Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television
Recipient(s)
Dave Grusin
Result
Nominated
Imagen Awards
Imagen Awards
Award
Imagen Awards
Date
April 1, 1998
Category
Best Theatrical Feature Film
Recipient(s)
Won
Lasting Image Award
Lasting Image Award
Award
Lasting Image Award
Date
Jennifer Lopez
Category
Won
Lone Star Film & Television Awards
Lone Star Film & Television Awards
Award
Lone Star Film & Television Awards
Date
1998
Category
Best Actress
Recipient(s)
Won
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actor
Award
Best Supporting Actor
Date
Edward James Olmos
Category
Won
MTV Movie Awards
MTV Movie Awards
Award
MTV Movie Awards
Date
May 30, 1998
Category
Best Breakthrough Performance
Recipient(s)
Jennifer Lopez
Result
Nominated
Young Artist Awards
Young Artist Awards
Award
Young Artist Awards
Date
March 14, 1998
Category
Best Performance in a Feature Film – Supporting Young Actress
Recipient(s)
Rebecca Lee Meza
Result
Nominated
| Award | Date | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
| ALMA Awards | June 4, 1998 | Outstanding Feature Film | Won | ||
| Outstanding Actor in a Feature Film | Edward James Olmos | Won | |||
| Jon Seda | Nominated | ||||
| Outstanding Actress in a Feature Film | Jackie Guerra | Nominated | |||
| Jennifer Lopez | Won | ||||
| Outstanding Latino Director of a Feature Film | Gregory Nava | Won | |||
| Golden Globe Awards | January 18, 1998 | Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy | Jennifer Lopez | Nominated | |
| Grammy Awards | February 25, 1998 | Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television | Dave Grusin | Nominated | |
| Imagen Awards | April 1, 1998 | Best Theatrical Feature Film | Won | ||
| Lasting Image Award | Jennifer Lopez | Won | |||
| Lone Star Film & Television Awards | 1998 | Best Actress | Won | ||
| Best Supporting Actor | Edward James Olmos | Won | |||
| MTV Movie Awards | May 30, 1998 | Best Breakthrough Performance | Jennifer Lopez | Nominated | |
| Young Artist Awards | March 14, 1998 | Best Performance in a Feature Film – Supporting Young Actress | Rebecca Lee Meza | Nominated | |
References
- Tied with The Disappearance of Garcia Lorca.
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- KSAThttps://www.ksat.com/news/local/2021/04/16/san-antonio-native-remembers-experience-as-stand-in-for-jennifer-lopez-in-1997-selena-movie/
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- Chicago Tribunehttps://www.chicagotribune.com/1997/03/30/the-unforeseen-legacy-of-selena-quintanilla-perez/
- Texas Archive of the Moving Imagehttps://texasarchive.org/library/index.php?title=Selena_National_Casting_Call,_San_Antonio_-_Raw_Footage_(1996)
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- Box Office Mojohttp://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=selena.htm
- Blu-ray.comhttps://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=26715
- NPRhttps://www.npr.org/2022/03/22/1088082740/selena-movie-returns-to-theaters
- Selenahttps://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1073427_selena?
- Selenahttps://www.metacritic.com/movie/selena/critic-reviews
- "Home - Cinemascore"https://www.cinemascore.com/
- Ebert, Roger. The Chicago Sun-Times, film review, March 21, 1997. Last accessed: January 9, 2008.https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/selena-1997
- Berardinelli, James. Reel Views, film review, 1997. Last accessed: January 9, 2008.http://preview.reelviews.net/movies/s/selena.html
- Turan, Kenneth. Los Angeles Times, "In the Authorized Selena, She's Seen in the Best Light", Calendar Section, March 21,http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/reviews/cl-movie970321-5,2,2183.story
- Leonard Maltin's 2009 Movie Guidehttps://books.google.com/books?id=6EgPDierNGUC&q=selena++leonard+maltin&pg=PA1217
- Addiego, Walter. San Francisco Examiner, film review, page C, March 21, 1997.http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/e/a/1997/03/21/WEEKEND1948.dtl
- "1998 ALMA Awards nominees"http://almaawards.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/1998-NCLR-ALMA-AWARDS-NOMINEES.pdf
- Icons of American popular culture : from P.T. Barnum to Jennifer Lopezhttps://archive.org/details/iconsofamericanp0000cott
- Latino American cinema an encyclopedia of movies, stars, concepts, and trendshttps://archive.org/details/latinoamericanci0000baug
- "13th Annual Imagen Awards"http://www.imagen.org/awards/1998
- Cultivating Chicana/o Images: Negotiating the Cinematic Masterpiece for Cultural Survival
- Varietyhttps://variety.com/1998/film/news/mtv-watchers-pick-their-pix-1117469703/
- YoungArtistAwards.orghttps://web.archive.org/web/20161222144713/http://www.youngartistawards.org/pastnoms19.htm
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- Selenahttps://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/21/movies/selena-national-film-registry.html
- Return Of The Jedihttps://deadline.com/2021/12/national-film-registry-2021-list-star-wars-return-of-the-jedi-fellowship-of-the-ring-sounder-nightmare-on-elm-street-wall-e-1234890666/