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'Selena' biopic will return to theaters in April to celebrate its 25th anniversary

Actress Jennifer Lopez, who plays Selena Quintanilla-Perez in the movie <em>Selena</em> performs with her band in one of the scenes from the movie. The biopic will premiere in theaters next month in honors of the film's 25th anniversary.
RICCO TORRES
/
AFP via Getty Images
Actress Jennifer Lopez, who plays Selena Quintanilla-Perez in the movie Selena performs with her band in one of the scenes from the movie. The biopic will premiere in theaters next month in honors of the film's 25th anniversary.

After its premiere 25 years ago, Selena is returning to theaters nationwide in celebration of the Queen of Tejano music, Selena Quintanilla-Perez.

The biopic honoring the late 23-year-old singer is being re-released in movie theaters across the U.S. on April 7. Selena's family made the official announcement Monday on Facebook.

"Rediscover a family's story of dedication, perseverance and hope in breaking a male-dominated music genre and taking the world by storm," her family wrote in the announcement of the film's re-release.

The biopic, starring Jennifer Lopez as the late singer, tells the story of the Mexican-American Tejano music star who was on the verge of crossing over into the English-language market just before her murder by her fan club president, Yolanda Saldivar, in 1995.

Saldivar was accused by Selena's father, Abraham Quintanilla, of embezzling funds from Selena's fan club and her Selena Etc. boutiques.

The film's success in the 1990s ultimately made Jennifer Lopez a household name, becoming the first Latin actress to earn more than $1 million for a film, according to Time.

The 52-year-old actress posted to social media Monday to share her excitement about the movie's return to theaters.

"This movie means so much to me ... Selena and her family mean so much to me, and I was so lucky to be chosen to play her," Lopez wrote on Instagram. "I'll never forget this time in my life and it's an honor as an artist to have been part of the magic that is this movie."

A native of Corpus Christi, Texas, Selena was a Grammy Award-winning superstar who won a Grammy for Best Mexican-American Album for Live!

The late Tejano singer sold around 18 million records worldwide, becoming one of the bestselling female artists in Latin music, Billboard reported.

Selena was killed weeks before her 24th birthday, which would have been April 16, 1995.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Jonathan Franklin is a digital reporter on the News desk covering general assignment and breaking national news.