In the sixth episode of the series’ Part 2, Selena (played on the show by ChristianSerratos) is strolling through a shopping mall in her home state of Texas when two young sisters see her walk past and become instantly starstruck. The twist? Those little girls are none other than a pre-fame Beyoncé and Solange Knowles! “Who are you looking at? Who’s that?” mom Tina Knowles (or, you know, an actress playing her) asks her daughters as they stare at Selena. Viewers don’t actually find out who the girls are supposed to be until their mom says, “Beyoncé Knowles, you’d better learn not to be afraid of people if you ever wanna be famous too."
But wait, did Beyoncé actually meet Selena in real life?
Of course, now all fans want to know is whether their chance encounter actually happened or was just written into the series for dramatic effect. Turns out, it’s the truth! Beyoncé revealed in an interview years ago that she really did run into Selena at Houston’s Galleria mall and that she really did clam up when she saw the Tejano queen. “I didn’t say much to Selena because I wasn’t a celebrity,” Bey—who, like Selena, was born and raised in the Lone Star State—explained in the sitdown with the Latino-American channel MTV Tres. “I said ‘hello’ and kept it moving…I think she is a legend and I admire her. And she was so talented. So I’m very happy that [I met her] even though she didn’t know who I was. I’m still excited that I got that opportunity." The moment comes only a couple episodes before the Part 2 finale, in which Selena is murdered by a superfan-turned-friend, Yolanda Saldívar (Natasha Perez), just weeks before her 24th birthday in 1995. That tragedy also unfolded just months before Selena’s first English-language album, Dreaming of You, was released to widespread acclaim and a No. 1 spot on the Billboard charts. But as Beyoncé’s moment with her shows, Selena was a bona fide Texas superstar long before that happened. Next, find out where Selena’s brother is now.
