The first woman to win the Grammy Award for Best Mexican-American Album was Selena Quintanilla-Pérez , for her live album Live! at the 36th Grammy Awards in 1994.

Quick Scoop: Who Was the First Woman?

  • Answer: Selena was the first female artist to ever win the Grammy for Best Mexican-American Album.
  • Winning album: Live! (a concert album recorded in Corpus Christi, Texas, in 1993).
  • Year and event: She received the award at the 36th Annual Grammy Awards in 1994.
  • Historic note: This win also made her the first female Tejano artist to receive a Grammy Award.

In other words, if you’re asking “who was the first woman to win the Grammy for Best Mexican American Album,” the name you’re looking for is Selena.

Why This Was a Big Deal

  • Tejano and Mexican-American regional music were heavily male-dominated at the time, so a young woman winning such a category was seen as a breakthrough.
  • Selena’s win helped push Tejano music further into the U.S. mainstream and cemented her image as the “Queen of Tejano Music.”

A quick way to remember it:

  • Category: Best Mexican-American Album
  • First woman winner: Selena
  • Album: Live!
  • Year: 1994 (36th Grammys)

Mini FAQ

Q: Was she the first woman ever in any Latin category?
No. She was specifically the first female Tejano and the first woman to win in the Best Mexican-American Album category.

Q: Is that category still called “Best Mexican-American Album”?
The Grammy Latin-related categories have changed names and structures over the years, but historically it was known as Best Mexican/Mexican-American Album when Selena won.

TL;DR: The first woman to win the Grammy for Best Mexican-American Album was Selena , for her album Live! at the 1994 Grammys.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.