Background
Julissa was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Puerto Rican parents.
Julissa was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Puerto Rican parents.
She was the oldest of four siblings. Julissa debuted as a singer when she was twelve, with the choir of her church. At age 16, she started singing professionally with a local group called Generación Escogida.
With them, she recorded several albums.
During recordings, she met musician, songwriter, and producer Mike Rivera. Julissa and Mike have three children: John Michael, Alyrah, and Jayden.
Under her own label, Firmeza Music, Julissa releases her first solo album titled Regresará Por Mí in 1998. Julissa then toured Latin America with pastor Yiye Avila as part of his crusade.
Julissa"s second album was a Christmas album titled Nació En Mi Corazón, which was recorded during her first pregnancy.
During the following years, she worked on several projects like her first live album (Admisión General) released in 2002, and Duetos, an album featuring duets with known Christian singers like Roberto Orellana, René González, and others In 2006, Julissa became the first Puerto Rican to be nominated for a Dove Award for her album Mi Propósito. That same year, she released her ninth album titled Inolvidable, which features contemporary renditions of classic hymns.
She also started hosting a weekly show called Espíritu Latino on Gospel Music Channel.
In 2007, Julissa released the album El Ritmo de la Vida, which was accompanied by a book written by her. The album gave Julissa her second Dove Award nomination.
Two years later, she was nominated again for the album Adorándote. In 2012, she released her album "Metamorphosis".
In 2015, she released her most recent album Maine vistio de promesas.
1999 Tu Música, Puerto Rico: Christian Album of the Year (Regresará Por Mí) 1999 Tito Lara, Puerto Rico: Revelation Artist 2001 Viva, Guatemala: International Female Voice 2001 Viva, Guatemala: Song of the Year ("Enamorada") 2004 Conquistadores, Los Angeles, California: Contemporary Album of the Year (Corazón Latino) 2004 Paoli, Orlando, Florida: Female Singer of the Year 2004 Latin Music Fan, Los Angeles, California: Christian Album of the Year (Corazón Latino) 2006 Paoli, Orlando, Florida: Female Singer of the Year 2006 Arpa, Mexico: Female Album of the Year (Mi Propósito) 2003 Arpa, Mexico 2004 Nuestra Música, Los Angeles, California 2004 Arpa, Mexico: Female Album of the Year 2004 Global Media Arts Dove, Nashville, Tennessee: Spanish Language Album of the Year (Exitos de Hoy) (Shared nomination) 2005 Paoli, Puerto Rico: Female Singer of the Year 2005 Paloma de la Paz Award, Orlando, Florida 2005 Latin Music Fan, Los Angeles, California: Album of the Year (Duetos) 2006 Global Media Arts Dove, Nashville, Tennessee: Spanish Language Album of the Year (Mi Propósito) 2008 Global Media Arts Dove, Nashville, Tennessee: Spanish Language Album of the Year (El Ritmo de la Vida) 2010 Global Media Arts Dove, Nashville, Tennessee: Spanish Language Album of the Year (Adorándote).
