Fans with a photo of Selena during a ceremony honoring her in 2017. Over the decades since her death, Selena's legacy has become even more profound than writer Deborah Paredez ever anticipated. Credit: AFP via Getty Images Selena At 50: Preserving And Protecting A Precious Legacy By at 5:00 am NPR This week marks what would have been the 50th birthday of Selena Quintanilla Perez, the popular musical superstar known by her legions of fans simply as Selena. Though she's been gone for over a quarter century, she seems more popular than ever. Why is it that 26 years after her death at age 23, Selena is experiencing such a remarkable revival? And has she ever really been that far from our thoughts or our playlists?