Mexican Singer, TV Star Jenni Rivera Dies in Plane Crash

A plane carrying Mexican-American singer and actress Jenni Rivera along with seven others has crashed in northern Mexico, authorities say.

Jenni Rivera, known as the “Diva of Banda” with over 20 million albums sold worldwide and recently named one of People En Español‘s 25 most powerful women, was tragically killed in a plane crash in Nuevo Leon state, Mexico on Sunday, Dec. 9, 2012.

Rivera was 43, three times divorced, the mother of five and one of the defining stars of Spanish-language television, where her brassy, no-nonsense style made her such an icon to US Latinas that ABC was developing a sitcom for her, titled just “Jenni.”