After taking a hiatus in 2015 for a few years, the E! True Hollywood Story returned to the entertainment network’s lineup in 2019 with episodes like “Does Hip-Hop Reject Women?” and “Horror Movies: Cursed or Coincidence?”
The popular docuseries that covers salacious Hollywood stories, scandals and crimes is returning for season 2 of its rebooted series on March 15. The season will start with an in-depth look into the life and career of Grammy-winning rapper Cardi B. Another episode titled “Death of Innocence,” which airs March 29, will revisit the death of Tejano Queen Selena Quintanilla Perez. Selena was already given the E! True Hollywood Story treatment when an episode called “The Selena Murder Trial” aired in December 1996. It was the third episode in the debut season of the show.
Since then, other celebrities who have been the focus of the show over the last 25 years include Britney Spears, Paula Abdul, Marlon Brando, Heath Ledger, Courtney Love and Sylvester Stallone, just to name a few of the over 500 episodes.
There have also been a few famous and infamous Latinos featured on the show over the years for their lives as actors, comedians, musicians, athletes, news personalities, reality stars and criminals. Here’s a look at 12 of them who have been the subject of an E! True Hollywood Story episode since the series debuted in 1996.
Selena
This episode in season 1 featured a recreation of Selena’s 1995 murder trial. The Tejano star was murdered by her friend and fan club president, Yolanda Saldivar.
Freddie Prinze
This season 2 episode in 1998 investigated the 1977 suicide of the Chico and the Man star, which was later ruled to be medication-induced an accidental.
Rudy Galindo
Another season 2 episode featured the life of the champion figure skater who came out as gay in 1996, making him the first openly gay skating champion in the United States. Two years after the episode aired, Galindo announced that he was HIV positive.
Cheech & Chong
Profiled in this episode of season 4 was the comedy duo, who was made up of Mexican American comedian Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong. The pair is famous for their comedy albums and movies like 1978’s Up in Smoke. After the episode aired in 2000, Cheech & Chong continued working together with the Light Up America tour in 2008.
The Menendez Brothers
Cuban American brothers Lyle and Erik Menendez are the infamous pair on this list of a dozen. The Menendez brothers were the focus of this episode for their conviction for the 1989 murders of their parents, José and Kitty. The murder trial in 1994, which sparked a media frenzy at the time, ended in a mistrial. Two years later, they were retried and found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole.
Mariah Carey
By the time this episode ran in 2001, Carey had already released eight albums–from her self-titled debut album in 1990 to her 2001 album Glitter, which was released simultaneously with a movie of the same name.
Jennifer Lopez
JLo had broken out in Hollywood seven years prior in biopic Selena when this 2004 episode aired. Other career highlights until then had included many successes at the box office and charts like The Wedding Planner and the single “Jenny from the Block.” Oh, and that plunging green Versace dress she wore to the Grammys had already happened, too.
Geraldo Rivera
In the 2004 episode, the journalist and talk show host was already controversial, but he wasn’t the same Fox News-contributing nutcase that he is today. Still, by this time, Rivera had already disappointed viewers with the gimmicky two-hour live special The Mystery of Al Capone’s Vaults, which is still a program mocked today. He was also expelled from Iraq the year prior to the episode for disclosing a U.S. military operation while traveling with the 101st Airborne Division.
Christina Aguilera
By the time this episode ran in 2005, Aguilera had already released four albums–from her self-titled debut album in 1999 to 2002’s Stripped where she introduced her alter ego Xtina. The album would go quadruple platinum with songs like “Dirrty,” “Beautiful” and “Fighter.”
Mario Lopez
The 2009 episode profiled the Saved by the Bell star and 1980s heartthrob. Lopez competed on the third season of Dancing with the Stars three years prior to the E! episode. He and partner and then-girlfriend Karina Smirnoff won second place.
Eva Longoria
At the time, Eva Longoria was still married to NBA star Tony Parker. The 2009 episode documented her life and career up to that point, which included starring in five seasons of the hit ABC TV series Desperate Housewives.
Snooki
The 2011 episode starred the reality-show diva, who was a hot commodity at the time for her breakout on the MTV show Jersey Shore. She had been arrested the year before the episode aired for disturbing the peace and disorderly conduct.