Selena Quintanilla’s Wax Figures Are Raising Questions From Fans

Oct 11, 2023

Fans are rediscovering the late Selena Quintanilla‘s several wax figures made in her honor over the years— and they have thoughts.

Whether talking about her current tribute at Madame Tussauds Hollywood, or more divisive wax figures like the one displayed at San Antonio's Louis Tussauds Wax Works in the early 2000s, fans are wondering if the figures really are meant to look like Selena.

Instagram account @selena.daily set off a blaze of questioning after posting the five wax figures made in Selena‘s honor. One fan said it all when they commented, "None of ’em do it for me," with another asking, "Who are these people?"

If you think commenters are being a tad dramatic, some of these wax figures might change your mind. In short, few fans could "Fall in Love" with some tributes and we get it.

A post shared by Selena Daily (@selena.daily)

First up, we’re going all the way back to the early 2000s. The genesis of Selena wax figures was reportedly unveiled at Louis Tussaud's Waxworks, owned by Ripley's Believe it or Not, in San Antonio. This is the main reason many fans don't trust a Selena wax tribute and with good reason.

One TikTok user posted about the divisive wax figure, calling it a "disrespect" to the star. While the hilarious video is quite expletive-filled, it's also so right — why is Selena wearing men's shoes? Is this supposed to be…the 1995 Houston Astrodome outfit? Why is it pink?

THE DISRESPECT THIS LOOKS LIKE LORD FARQUAAD 😭 #fypシ #foryoupage #fyp #selena #lareina #xyz #90s #selenaquintanilla #xyzbca

Apart from many questions about the outfit, the actual face is objectively pretty inaccurate as well. While the TikToker said the designers, unfortunately, made her look like "Lord Farquaad" from "Shrek," one user commented, "That's not Selena that's salami 😭." We’re done.

Many more joked this wax figure is a "perfect reason" for Selena's father Abraham Quintanilla "to sue." Several others commented: "Abraham Quintanilla get over here RIGHT NOW😕👇🏾."

With the TikTok video also pointing to how questionable Jennifer Lopez's wax figure is as well, one more commenter wrote, "Are those the dollar general versions of Selena and JLo? 😩 the audacity!"

While the early-2000s Selena wax figure was allegedly taken off display, her other tributes are still very much a thing. Exhibit B? Selena Quintanilla's current tribute at Louis Tussaud's Waxworks in Grand Prairie, Texas:

Lea Michele viendo la nueva figura de Selena exhibida en el museo "Louis Tussauds WAXWORKS" 🤣 pic.twitter.com/n33dBcqqNE

As one Twitter user said, this one might look more like "Glee" star Lea Michele than the "Cobarde" singer. Still, it's important to note they got the iconic Houston Astrodome outfit right, as well as Quintanilla's hair.

A closer look on TikTok shows that the figure looks a lot more like Selena up close than from afar. Fan consensus for this one is a bit more optimistic, with some writing, "This one is beautiful ❤️." However, many fans still commented, "That looks nothing, nothing like her" and "Eyes waaaaay off":

Selena Quintanilla wax figure by Vasquezwaxfigures at Louis Toussaud's Palace Wax Museum#foryoupage #fyp #NextLevelDish #DanceWithTurboTax #selenaquintanillaperez #selenaquintanillafans #selenaquintanillaedit #fypシ #selenaqueenofcumbia #beautifulselena #selenathequeenoftejano #selenathemovie #selenatheseries #fypage #selenatiktok #fypシ゚viral #selenaquintanilla #selena

Okay, so if you were a wax figure maker, you probably would start feeling a bit disgruntled. Is anything good enough for Selena fans? Well, she’ll always be our queen, so…no. But also, what are some of these wax figures?

Before you feel too much disappointment, there are better ones out there. For one, we have Hollywood Wax Museum's Selena Quintanilla tribute, which seems to fare much better. At least when it comes to social media debates:

"We were honoured to be invited to create a wax figure of one of the most talented performers of all time," one of the creators of the wax figure said on Instagram. "We wanted her to appear as if in motion, dancing onstage for her fans."

A post shared by Tony Webb (@tonywebbwaxfigures)

As you can see in the photos, this also seems to pay tribute to Quintanilla's Houston Astrodome concert, and for a good reason — it's legendary. One fan commented on IG, "This isn't bad at all. It actually resembles Selena. I just think the hair is off but facial wise it's pretty on point."

Still, many others questioned why they did not include her iconic bangs. Another commented that the figure "looks like Christian Serratos." Referring to the actress who plays Quintanilla in Netflix's "Selena: The Series."

#selenaquintanilla #waxfigure

A TikTok user gave us all a full-body look at the wax figure, and many fans were much more unconvinced. One wrote, "Not my Selena," with yet another saying it looks more like "the girl who played Selena in the Netflix show."

Last but certainly not least, we have the wax figure currently on display at Madame Tussauds Hollywood and its sister museum in New York. The first debuted at the Hollywood wax museum in August 2016, with a replica coming to NYC less than a year later.

Selena Quintanilla's wax figure at the Madame Tussauds Hollywood. 😍😍 pic.twitter.com/1PUxLS3iEK

The Quintanilla family participated in creating this wax figure, actually selecting her outfit. The clothes are a recreation of what the singer wore during her acclaimed Memorial Coliseum performance on February 1993.

"We, the family, chose this outfit because it signifies a very specific time in her career," Suzette Quintanilla told Caller Times. "This is a tribute to her winning the Grammy and that special moment in her career."

the making of Selena Quintanilla's wax figure! pic.twitter.com/nnPSYd9VDT

While the figure is valued at a whopping $350,000, it all came about from a fan petition. Yes, fans collected almost 10,000 signatures on Change.org to convince Madame Tussauds to honor the singer — and it worked.

"I wasn't sure that a wax figure of her would move me emotionally," Abraham Quintanilla told Madame Tussauds. He described the similarities of the "face, look, her makeup, and everything."

The singer's widower, Chris Perez, also took on an emotional tone at the unveiling.

He said, "It was literally a breath-taking experience, it kind of took our breath away to be in the room with the figure at the same time."

Wax figure Vs. Real life Selena Quintanilla- Perez 💋💜 pic.twitter.com/K0u0fY2JNw

What do you think about Selena Quintanilla's wax figures?

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