Inde Navarette, Shakira, And 9 Other Multicultural Latine Celebs Who've Had Really, Really Different Experiences Growing Up Mixed

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1. Obsession star Inde Navarette, who has a Mexican American father and an Australian mother, revealed that she never doubted her Latina roots until moving to Redondo Beach as a teen. She told the LA Times, "Whenever I started having people question it, I started questioning it myself..."

She went on to discuss the complexity of not looking Latin enough for some people, saying, "I don’t speak Spanish, but neither do my dad and my abuelito. But my abuelito had dark skin. My dad is darker than me, and because I’m lighter, it’s questioned, which I understand. And there’s also a privilege that comes with that." She continued, explaining that she feels very proud of her heritage and felt happy that fans have embraced her and her identity since her big break.

2. KATSEYE's Daniela Avanzini, who is of Cuban, Venezuelan, and European descent, is no stranger to backlash over her mixed identity. She has been the topic of persistent online discourse over leaning into her Latin roots as a member of the girl group, but she's taken it in stride. "For the Americans and for the white people, I'm not white enough. Then for the Latinos, I'm not Latin enough,” she told Allure. "There's a lot of people in that middle ground that feel the same way, that don't feel accepted. I just want to be there for those people."

3. Aubrey Plaza, who is of Puerto Rican and Irish descent, learned at a young age that people were eager to question her heritage. "I was winning the diversity awards and people were always calling bullshit on me," she told Latina Magazine. "I won the Hispanic teenager of the year and I felt terrible. I always felt like I didn’t deserve to win because I was really half [Latino]."

Plaza didn't let those people get to her. Instead, she's pushed to portray Latinas on screen that feel true to her experience. "I just always am looking for opportunities to actually portray Latina characters, so that I can show the younger generation there’s all kinds of Hispanic characters," she told Time Magazine. "It’s not just these stereotypes."

4. Shakira, who is of Colombian and Lebanese descent, proudly sees herself as a "fusion" in every single way. "I’m a fusion between black and white, between pop and rock, between cultures — between my Lebanese father and my mother’s Spanish blood, the Colombian folklore and Arab dance I love, and American music," she told Faze Magazine.

5. Rachel Zegler's performance as María in West Side Story got her a Best Actress Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination, but to get there, she had "a bunch of white [studio] executives" want her to prove her Latina identity to them. Zegler, whose mother is Colombian American and whose father is Polish American, told Allure, "They kept calling to ask if I was legit. I remember thinking, Do you want me to bring my abuelita in? I will. I’ll bring her into the studio if you want to meet her."

Zegler also isn't afraid to have hard conversations about how her fellow Latinos perceive her mixed heritage. "Because I'm a white Latina, I hold a lot of privilege, and if that's the conversation people want to have...then I am absolutely welcome to have that conversation. Because yeah, it falls on my shoulders to open up the doors for the people who aren't, or they are disenfranchised in this industry." That being said, she will not entertain conversation attempting to invalidate her Latina identity. "I'm more immersed in my Colombian culture than I've ever been immersed in my American culture," she told Pop Sugar, "so why does someone else get to tell me what I am?"

6. R&B singer Miguel, who is Black and Mexican American, similarly recounted how record label executives and fans alike have struggled to understand his mixed roots and how they've shaped him as an artist. "It was definitely a point of, ‘Huh? We don’t really get it.' A lot of my audience didn’t know I was Mexican," he told Remezcla. "Most people think of me solely as a Black artist, but there’s a reason why my name is Miguel," he told Viceland.

7. In 2025, Selena Gomez, who is of Mexican and Italian descent, spoke up not only about the frequent pushback she receives from people for not looking Latin enough, but also about how it's a much more common experience for women in Hollywood than men. Gomez specifically called out people who comment on her appearance, saying, "[I'm] not white enough, I’m not Mexican enough... There’s just so many different things that come up in my face that I can’t help but see." She went on to say it's made her feel "sad" and "a tad bitter" to have people interact with her in that way.

8. Bella Thorne, who is of Cuban and European descent, is all too familiar with the struggle of people doubting her heritage because of how she looks. "Being Cuban/Latin in most people’s eyes means having dark eyes, dark hair, and dark skin. I’m naturally blonde. I have hazel brown eyes and I try not to go in the sun because skin cancer runs in my family," she wrote in a now-deleted Instagram post. "Honestly I wish I looked more Latin so I could feel more Latin, so I could feel closer to my father and be prouder of my heritage...to wear my heritage on my skin."

"It’s just hard sometimes when no one thinks u are who u are...and everyone wants u to be something else :/ I LOVE MY CUBAN HERITAGE," she continued. Thorne's Cuban roots comes from her paternal side, and she's shared that her pride in it helps her to honor her late father, who was killed in a motorcycle accident when she was just 9 years old.

9. Lee Rodriguez, who is Mexican American and Black, related heavily to her Never Have I Ever character, Fabiola. "In high school I was this shy, tall girl with a big afro. Playing Fabiola, that's how she feels too...She's an [Afro-Latina], tall, [with] dorky clothes," she told ET. Rodriguez feels "thankful" she is "close with both sides" of her heritage, calling it "the best of both worlds."

10. For Tori Kelly, who is of Jamaican, Puerto Rican, Irish, and German heritage, spending time in Puerto Rico was "a huge part of [her] childhood." Speaking with People Chica, she continued, "My grandmother on my dad's side was born and raised in Puerto Rico. She is still there now... I remember her coming over and cooking platanos for us."

As an adult, she's continuing to explore her Latin roots. "My dad never picked up Spanish and he never taught it to me and I want to learn," she said. She also revealed that her heritage just might be the inspiration for future music from her. "My dad is half Puerto Rican and half Jamaican, and I'm very proud of that Caribbean side of me. I'm inspired by gospel, pop music, R&B, rock and I want to get into some reggae. Maybe I'll do a Caribbean album at some point," she concluded.

11. And finally, Cardi B, who is Trinidadian and Dominican, has often faced backlash from critics who claim she doesn't embrace being Black in the same way she does being Latino. In an interview with Zendaya, she responded to the criticism, saying, "One thing that always bothers me is that people know so little about my culture. We are Caribbean people. And a lot of people be attacking me because they feel like I don’t be saying that I’m Black. Some people want to decide if you’re Black or not, depending on your skin complexion, because they don’t understand Caribbean people or our culture." She continued, "I don’t got to tell you that I’m Black. I expect you to know it."

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Inde Navarette, Shakira, And 9 Other Multicultural Latine Celebs Who've Had Really, Really Different Experiences Growing Up Mixed

1. Obsession star Inde Navarette, who has a Mexican American father and an Australian mother, revealed that she never doubted her Latina roots until moving to Redondo Beach as a teen. She told the LA Times, "Whenever I started having people question it, I started questioning it myself..."

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