Netflix's new miniseries Selena: The Series may surprise viewers expecting the story to be told entirely from the perspective of the Queen of Tejano music. Selena is as much a family drama as it is a biographical look back at the life of the famed singer who was tragically killed at the age of 23 in 1995. As a result, Selena's siblings A.B. and Suzette Quintanilla play a central role in the story, too, with the real Suzette even serving as an executive producer on the series.
Under their father Abraham's guidance, Selena, A.B., and Suzette formed the band Selena y Los Dinos in 1981. And while neither A.B. or Suzette became international sensations on the same level as their sister, they are celebrities in their own right. These days, Suzette has largely left the music industry behind to instead focus on maintaining her sister's legacy through charities, memorial events, and brand partnerships. However, A.B. continues to have a prolific career as a performer and songwriter.
But in real life, just as on the show, the siblings remain intrinsically linked to their little sister.
A.B. Quintanilla Is A Successful Musician Whose Personal Life Has Gotten A Bit Messy In The Past
Professionally, A.B. has made a name for himself in the music industry independent of his youngest sister. After taking some time to mourn Selena, he started his own band, Kumbia Kings, in 1999. Their first album, Amor, Familia y Respeto, earned a Grammy nomination for Best Tejano Performance later that year.
While Kumbia Kings continued to grow in popularity with each album release, the group ultimately split up in 2006, paving the way for A.B. to form Kumbia All Starz. In the meantime, he also founded his own label and production company called King Of Bling. Most recently, A.B. hosted a special live stream performance to honor Selena on the 25th anniversary of her death and raise money for St. Jude's in April 2020.
Professionally speaking, A.B. has carved out a space for himself in the music industry as a producer, songwriter, and performer. But personally, his life has been a bit more turbulent. Over the years, the songwriter has reportedly married five different women, been divorced four times, and fathered eight children (he also has at least one grandchild, per his Instagram). He's currently married to Anjelah Quintanilla.
In 2017, A.B. made headlines when he landed on the Top 10 Most Wanted List of the Nueces County Sheriff's Office in Corpus Christi, Texas for allegedly not paying child support. At the time, he claimed to TVynovelas.com that he was "the victim of a misunderstanding."
Suzette Quintanilla has dedicated her life to preserving Selena's memory
Compared to her siblings, Suzette has led a comparatively quiet life. Since her time as drummer for Selena y Los Dinos ended, Selena's older sister has turned her attention to managing the Selena museum and maintaining her sister's legacy through charity organizations, brand partnerships, and memorials.
On Nov. 3, 2017, Suzette was on hand to accept her sister's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and earlier this year, she partnered with MAC cosmetics to produce a second capsule collection inspired by Selena. In interviews, she tends to keep the focus on her sister, while keeping mum about her private life, but she did share on Instagram that she's been married to her husband Bill Arriaga for more than 25 years now (they also have a son, Jovan).
In a 2015 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Suzette revealed there's not a single day that goes by where she doesn't think about Selena. "She is always with me, even in the smallest of things. I speak with my mother about it, and together we remember her," she told the publication. "We still feel so much pain about losing her, although now it’s a different kind of pain. Some days I feel fine speaking about her, and other days I can't."
It's clear that even as they've forged their own paths within and outside of the music industry, the Quintanilla siblings' primary focus remains keeping Selena's legacy alive for her legion of fans.
Images: Netflix