Hot Gallery: Catch Up with the Cast of Selena

Channeling the real-life Selena with this breakthrough performance, J.Lo earned her first Golden Globe nom. Although she lip-synced Selena’s songs, she did learn how to dance like her—a challenge since prior to shooting, J.Lo was a Fly Girl on In Living Color. J.Lo told Filmscout.com, "Selena was a special person who affected a lot of people.… Throughout the production, I was amazed by how many people would come up to me and say, 'I knew Selena' and share beautiful stories with me."

Though we lost one superstar, we gained another in Jennifer Lopez, who once again channeled Selena and broke a barrier of her own when she became the first woman to have a No. 1 movie and album in the same week—The Wedding Planner was the nation’s top-grossing film, while her album J.Lo was No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200. No stranger to the spotlight professionally or personally, this hopeless romantic has turned out hit films like Monster-in-Law, The Back-Up Plan, and Maid in Manhattan as well as songs like "Love Don’t Cost a Thing," "If You Had My Love," and her most recent, "On the Floor." In addition to being a performer, she also produces via her company Nuyorican, has a best-selling line of perfume and accessories, and shares her enthusiasm as a judge on American Idol, all while making time to be a mother to 4-year-old twins Max and Emme. Next up, What to Expect When You're Expecting, due out in May.

As Sara, she enjoyed more than just Grammy dress shopping with Selena—she got to give a condescending saleswoman a well-deserved smackdown that rivaled the "big mistake" made in Pretty Woman.

Since doing Selena’s inventory, Alex has appeared in films like 44 Minutes and Wrong Turn at Tahoe as well as a string of TV series including Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman; The Hughleys; Everybody Loves Raymond; and most recently as the voice of Svetlana on The Cleveland Show.

Only a year older than her on-screen daughter, played by Jennifer Lopez, Constance underwent four hours of makeup each day to transform into Selena’s ever-supportive mom—be it dance lessons (starting at 2:27), design tips, or advice on love, she encouraged her girl to go after what she wanted in hopes that Selena would have more than she ever did. Looks like it worked!

This mother of a role model has been busy; while her most notable role was as George’s hot, hardworking wife, Angie, on George Lopez, she also reteamed with two Selena alums, director Gregory Nava and costar Edward James Olmos, on American Family, but this time she played EJO’s daughter, Nina—how’s that for a role reversal? Trading in her age-transforming makeup for sign language, she’s currently playing mother to a deaf daughter on Switched at Birth and real-life mom to daughter Luna, which she blogs about on Green Mommy.

From the moment this proud patriarch discovers Selena can sing, he gives up everything to make sure his daughter’s dream comes true—living out his own dreams of stardom in the process. More than just his own satisfaction, Abraham knew what his daughter’s success would mean for his people, constantly reminding his kids, “We have to be more Mexican than the Mexicans and more American than the Americans, both at the same time! It's exhausting!”

Remaining active both personally and professionally, EJO has had several high-profile roles of his own, including American Family, which reunited him with his Selena wife, Constance Marie, this time pitting her as the strong-willed daughter to his bullheaded father, as well as the frakkin’ awesome Admiral Adama on Battlestar Galactica, and a fantastically eerie Professor Gellar, the Doomsday Killer’s “dark passenger,” on Dexter. He continues to push the boundaries of Latino stereotypes through his acting, producing, and activism. Next up, a fall release of the EJO-produced Sundance darling Filly Brown, directed by his son, Michael Olmos.

Proud of playing Selena’s supportive drum-playing older sister and the hard work she put in learning to play those drums for the film, she admits, “Before the movie, the only drumstick I’d ever picked up was on Thanksgiving!”

Since rocking the drums, she has appeared in films like Woody Allen’s Picking Up the Pieces, hosted the Style Network's You’re Invited, and reteamed with her former on-screen parents, Constance Marie and Edward James Olmos, in American Family. If you’re having trouble recognizing this talented comedian/actress/author/jewelry designer/host, it may be due to her dramatic 170-pound weight loss, which she discusses in her book Under Construction. Rock on!

As Selena’s lovable brother, he might not have been able to drive a motor home, but he made up for it by introducing her to her husband and writing and producing her hit songs.

Although he still looks like Selena’s baby-faced bro, Jacob has been busy creating memorable characters like Ice Cube’s nemesis Joker in the cult favorite Next Friday, Benicio del Toro’s partner Manolo in Steven Soderbergh’s Traffic (which earned him a SAG Award), Marine sniper Cortez in Sam Mendes’s Jarhead, and the fun-loving Ernesto in the short-lived series Greetings from Tucson with Selena alum Lupe Ontiveros. Hoping to break even more Latino stereotypes and pave the way for future generations, he added the role of producer to his roster, joining with friends to create the Web channel TVfantastic.

As Selena’s husband and guitarist, Jon had to become an ax master—luckily, he was able to spend time with real-life Chris Perez to nail down his guitar chops. Although the question lingers whether or not it was really Jon or Chris who played during this masterful close-up (speed ahead to 4:33 for immediate gratification), either way it’s hard not to fall in love with him.

Known for roles like Sgt. John Basilone in Steven Spielberg’s The Pacific and Det. Paul Falsone in NBC’s Homicide: Life on the Street, Seda is a part of history once again as Nelson Hidalgo in HBO’s Treme, set in post-Katrina New Orleans. The show focuses on the struggles of the city’s residents as they try to rebuild their city and their lives—and he’s just the venture capitalist to help. Season 3 of Treme returns fall 2012.

As the president of Selena’s fan club, who ultimately betrayed her friend by stealing her money and shooting her when she was confronted about the crime, Yolanda is responsible for putting an end to Selena and the hope she represented to her fans.

Said to have played a maid 150 times, this former villain can also start tallying matriarchs—with roles like Magdalena, grandma to the Mexican half of the Mexican-Irish family on Greetings from Tucson (in which she costarred with former Selena alum Jacob Vargas), Carlos Solis’s mother on Desperate Housewives, and her current stint as Rob Schneider’s Abuelita in his newly blended Mexican-American family on Rob—that’s at least three and counting!