Santana Lopez is a
fictional character from the
Fox musical comedy-drama series
Glee. The character is portrayed by actress
Naya Rivera, and has appeared in
Glee from its
pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. Santana was developed by
Glee creators
Ryan Murphy,
Brad Falchuk and
Ian Brennan. Introduced as a minor antagonist and a sidekick to
Quinn Fabray (
Dianna Agron) in first episode of
Glee, Santana's role grew over the course of the show's
first season. In the
second season, Rivera was promoted to series regular, and Santana was given more high profile storylines, such as the development of her romantic feelings for her best friend
Brittany Pierce (
Heather Morris), and subsequent realization that she is a
lesbian. Rivera, who has been vocally supportive of the love story between her and Morris' character, has received widespread praise for her portrayal of Santana, as well as for her for vocal work in numerous songs performed as part of the show's central glee club, New Directions.