Naya Rivera won our hearts — and maybe even regions a bit farther south — as the intimidating, out mean girl and Cheerio-to-beat Santana Lopez on Glee. But this half of beloved lesbian couple — now formerly Brittana — told MTV that her mixed race made landing roles tough for the talented actress. 

In a sneak peek video from MTV's new series This Is How I Made It, the stunning songstress, who describes herself as half Puerto Rican, a quarter German and a quarter black, says casting directors couldn't decide what ethnic box to place Rivera into. 

"From the time I was 16 until I was 21, the roles were really, really few and far between," says Rivera in the video. "I had people say that I just wasn't a good singer, they didn't know what to do with me, I would never fit in any market."

Rivera said the dry spell was so bad that she nearly quit acting all together. Watch Rivera speak out in the video below. This Is How I Made It airs Saturdays at 12 p.m. Eastern on MTV.