Christian Serratos Will Play Selena Quintanilla in Netflix Series

Twenty-four years after her untimely death Selena Quintanilla remains an American cultural touchstone. Her 1997 biopic Selena shot Jennifer Lopez to super stardom. And now actress Christian Serratos will help keep the legacy live by playing the Queen of Tejano music in an upcoming Netflix series about the singer’s life.

Dubbed Selena: The Series, Netflix announced the project, created in conjunction with the Quintanilla family late last year. A creative team, including script writer Moisés Zamora, a Mexican-American novelist and writer for Star and American Crime, was announced at the time. Now, according to Vulture, they’ve found their star.

28-year-old Serratos is most recently known for her turn as Rosita Alvarez on The Walking Dead, but others might remember her best from her role in the Twilight movies as Angela Weber, Bella’s best (human) friend or as the titular character’s longstanding crush in Nickelodeon’s Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide. With 1.9 million Instagram followers, she’s not exactly an unknown. Like Quintanilla, Serratos is also of Mexican decent.

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While the Selena film famously had Lopez lip-syncing to Quintanilla’s own vocals, it’s unclear how the series will tackle the issue. Though, in case you’re wondering, Serratos does have some experience singing.

The series will reportedly come in two parts, and focus on Quintanilla’s family life and rise to superstardom.

“Selena’s career achievements are legendary, but our scripted series will focus on the incredible story of a Mexican-American family and how an extraordinary young woman transcended categories and borders to become a global star,” said producer Jaime Davila when the project was announced. “I can’t imagine a better partner than Netflix to celebrate Selena and her family’s lives.”

Selena herself has remained as popular as ever in recent years. She was the subject of a hotly snapped-up MAC beauty collaboration, received a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and has served as beauty inspiration for everyone from Demi Lovato to Kim Kardashian.