Does Selena Quintanilla have children? She was not pregnant at the time of death
The murder of pop star Selena Quintanilla in 1997 sparked endless gossip about her personal life.
One of the biggest questions that remained thirty years after Quintanilla’s death at age 23 was whether she was pregnant at the time of the murder. (Quintanilla was fatally shot by her former friend and business partner Yolanda Saldivar in Corpus Christie, Texas, on March 31, 1995. She was convicted of first-degree murder in October of that year.)
A hoax about Quintanilla’s alleged pregnancy emerged during the early days of the Internet, with Saldívar seemingly giving credence to the speculation in subsequent prison interviews.
Prior to Netflix’s release Selena and Los Dinos documentary in November 2025, Quintanilla’s widower, Chris Pereztried to clear up the pregnancy rumors. He also provided insight into what his life was like with Quintanilla during their three-year marriage.
Keep scrolling to learn more about Quintanilla’s views on motherhood and the truth about whether she was pregnant at the time of her murder.
Does Selena Quintanilla have children?
No. Selena Quintanilla and her husband Chris Pérez had no children together.
The 2025 documentary Selena and Los Dinos featured archival footage of Quintanilla talking to a reporter about the prospect of becoming a mother, according to People.
“I would like to have children in the future. I think it’s part of my femininity that as a woman I feel like I’m missing out,” Quintanilla said. “Even more in the future. I feel like I have to take out all the goals I have in mind and achieve them.”
She added: “In the future, when I have time to take care of my children, of course I will have children. About six. Another group!”
Another segment in the documentary featured Selena’s sister, Suzette Quintanillain which she reflects on her conversations with the “Dreaming of You” singer about their future.
“After she married Chris, she would always tell me about her dreams. She would remove her makeup and always put her hair in a bun,” Suzette recalls. “We talked about getting married, about me getting married one day, about having kids, her kids and my kids would play together and we would make sure we raised them together. Normal stuff.”
After Selena’s death, Chris married his second wife, Vanessa Villanuevafrom 2001 to 2008. Chris and Vanessa share two children: Cassie and Noah.
Was Selena Quintanilla pregnant when she died?
No. Selena’s widower Chris has consistently denied persistent rumors that she was pregnant at the time of her death.
While promoting his memoir, To Selena, with loveIn 2012, Chris denied the pregnancy theories, along with speculation that he and Selena were planning to divorce.
“I could pretty much fill an entire book [those rumors],” said Perez Chron. “There were some things that were just ridiculous.”
What has Selena Quintanilla’s widower Chris Perez said about their marriage?
Chris has occasionally spoken about his marriage to Selena over the years, including writing warmly about her in his memoir: To Selena, with love.
The couple’s romance grew from their musical collaborations, as Chris was a member of his future wife’s tejano band, Selena y Los Dinos. In the 2025 Netflix documentary: Chris thought about what life was like for one of the world’s biggest stars.
“Selena always kept going, always kept going,” he said. “I think ‘life on the road’ started to get quite busy, quite hectic.”
Chris recalled that one of Selena’s favorite hobbies during her free time was designing clothes.
“Designing was something that made her happy,” Chris said. “She made some time – quiet time. She had her sketch pads and she went to town… Some of our outfits that we wore on stage were drawn by her.”
Elsewhere, Chris admitted he was struggling with “guilt” over the way Selena died. He said he was aware that Yolanda Saldívar once showed a gun to his wife, but was assured by Selena that Yolanda intended to return the gun. (Yolanda originally purchased a Taurus Model 85 .38-caliber revolver from a San Antonio shooting range. She later returned the gun before repurchasing the gun days before using it in the fatal shooting.)
“There was a lot of that, a lot of it [guilt] goes through my head,” he said Chron. “But when something like this happens so quickly, and the way it happened, I think it’s only natural for most people to feel the same way. The reason something like this happens is because no one expected it to happen. We didn’t think this person was capable of doing what she did.”
