How Did Vanessa Villanueva Try To Change Chris Perez’s Life? (Explained)

Vanessa Villanueva is an actress who is known for being an ex-wife of Chris Perez, who was a band member of Selena Quintanilla’s band Selena y Los Dinos.

Who Is Venessa Villanueva?

Born in the United States of America, Venessa Villanueva is an actress who is mostly known for being the former wife of musician Chris Perez. She’s also made a career as an actor and performer. Vanessa Villanueva appeared in the 2011 film “Memphis Rising: Elvis Returns” as a crew member and an electrician. She also played a role in the 2015 film “Forgotten Memories” as Gabi Valdez.

Her ex-husband Chris Perez rose to prominence as a member of the band Selena y Los Dinos. He strongly backed Selena Quintanilla, the band’s star, and became her boyfriend, but their relationship was cut short when her former manager killed her.

Life before Fame

Despite being Mexican by birth, she spent most of her young age in the United States. This is due to her parent’s decision to relocate from Mexico to the United States. On the other hand, Venessa’s early

life, schooling, and upbringing were all kept out of the spotlight before she became renowned. Vanessa was living her normal life until she met Chris Perez in America.

Who is Chris Perez?

Gilbert Pérez and Carmen Medina gave birth to Christopher Pérez on August 14, 1969, in San Antonio, Texas. His ancestors are Mexicans and Americans. Chris’ father was a computer programmer. In 1974, his parents got separated when he was only five years old, although his mother got remarried in 1978.

Chris Perez, the main guitarist and composer for the band Selena y Los Dinos, was gaining popularity around this period. He was a well-known musician because of his skills, which prompted him to join Selena Quintanilla’s band.

After two years of sticking together with Selena and the band, Chris began dating Selena and they both fell in love deeply. Selena’s father, Abraham Quintanilla, was initially opposed to the relationship. Their relationship was fraught with difficulties at first. But after his father saw their bonding and her daughter’s happiness with Chris, he eventually approved their romance, and then the couple decided to get married in 1992.

Selena Quintanilla was murdered at the age of 23

Yolanda Saldvar, the president of a Selena fan group, murdered her on 31st March 1995 at the age of 23 just as Selena Quintanilla was about to achieve huge global fame. Thousands of people were devastated by her death, though none more than Chris Pérez, her husband since 1992.

Selena’s sudden demise had a profound impact on Chris Perez. Chris felt guilty and he got extremely depressed that he couldn’t eat much and developed an alcohol and drug addiction as a consequence. Later, he confessed that he had never recovered from his late wife’s death and bandmates.

Since then, the Grammy-winning Pérez has remained in the limelight, both in his efforts to remember his late wife. His book “To Selena, With Love,” which explores their love and tribulations, is one of his accomplishments. He found the book therapeutic, and it helped him go on, and he earned acclaim for it. Selena and Pérez are again back in the limelight because of a Netflix show Selena: The Series.

Pérez pouring his heart out in an interview

Chris Perez has spoken about the outpouring of love and support from fans following Selena’s death in an interview with CNN.

“When she passed away, the outpouring of love and support that we got from the fans shocked us. We weren’t prepared for that,” he said. “So I thought I knew about it, but then when this book came out, the response that we’ve gotten from that, I’m actually shocked again. I didn’t realize that I was putting something out there that all those fans had been waiting for. The response has been crazy.”

How did Vanessa Villanueva meet Chris Perez?

Venessa and Chris met through a mutual friend, John Garza, around 1996-1997. Chris was struggling from depression and had other personal challenges at the time, and she encouraged him and aided him to overcome his struggles, allowing the two to begin dating. They continued to see each other more frequently after their first encounter and fell in love after that.

When Vanessa entered his life, he was able to pull himself out of his bleak situation. They dated for several years until getting married in 2001.Chris used to get depressed over everything, and the pressure in their relationship became too much for them, and the couple got separated in 2008. Because he didn’t confront the source of his grief over Selena’s death, the second marriage was doomed to fail.

Children

Chris and Vanessa have two children. Despite the fact that both are divorced, they still spend time with their children. Cassie Gabrielle Perez, a medical aesthetician, and Noah Perez are two children of them.

Noah was born with Down syndrome. Throughout her pregnancy, Villanueva was aware of Noah’s condition and doctors had even urged her to undergo a late abortion.  But she turned down the offer and gave birth to her son. She acknowledges and always embraces reality. Venessa truly cares about both of her children and nourishes motherhood wonderfully.

How Venessa Villanueva Came Into The Spotlight?

The relationship between Chris and Vanessa was compelling and unquestionably full of love, but it did not endure forever because of certain reasons. Venessa Villanueva drew a lot of media interest when they announced their marriage on October 20, 2001.

Later, Vanessa went on to pursue an acting career, starring in a few films. Chris and Venessa’s divorce after seven years of marriage sparked more controversy, which led her to become popular. Chris’ alcoholism and substance addiction were the reasons for the divorce. The split-up was heavily publicized. Vanessa is keeping her life relatively low key since her divorce from her ex-husband Chris Perez.

Net Worth

Venessa Villanueva has an estimated net worth of more than $100,000. She is believed to have obtained all of Chris Pérez’s assets as a spousal provision following the divorce.  She became a famous figure and phenomenon suddenly since she was Chris Perez’s ex-wife. She made a living as an actress and appeared in two noteworthy films.

Where Is Vanessa Now?

V’s Day Spa, a nail shop with a private spa, is now her own company. Venessa met Henry Soliz in the 2010s and started dating him in 2012. Henry Soliz, her long-time lover, was married to her in February of 2018.