Gone, but never forgotten.

As the lights dim on 2012, we take a moment to remember the great minds, voices and talents we lost in the past year.

Some stars lived long fulfilling lives imprinting their footsteps on the world until the very end, while others were taken from us too early, without so much as a farewell.

Atop the list of great celebs lost, was the one-and-only Whitney Houston— a star so big she shined even in the darkest light. The world cried as the inimitable music icon fought a battle with drugs that ended in her tragic demise. Still, her legacy lives on in her timeless classics that will be relished for a lifetime.

As we count down New Year’s Rockin’ Eve without Dick Clark, who passed earlier this year, we will remember the resounding voice of soulful beauty Etta James, the baritone sound of Oscar-nominated Green Mile actor Michael Clarke Duncan, and the unique rap rhythm of Beastie Boys frontman Adam “MCA” Yauch.

Moving forward, these stars will be forever famous for the contributions they made and the impact they had on us all.

Celebuzz pays tribute to these late, great stars with a gallery of the 10 biggest celebrity lives lost this year.

Jenni Rivera was a jack of all trades — a banda singer, a reality show star, an entrepreneur, a mother of five and a spokeswoman for domestic violence awareness.

But her blossoming career was cut short when her plane crashed early Sunday on its way to Toluca, Mexico, after a concert in Monterrey. Of the seven people on the flight, authorities said there were no survivors. Rivera was 43.

“I’m happy, I’m very happy for the success that I’ve had, but I’ve worked so hard at it,” Rivera said in April at Billboard’s Latin Music Conference. “It’s not that I feel that I deserve it. You kind of work hard and you have expectations, so I’m living my expectations right now … Being a recording artist, selling music, selling concerts out, having a reality show, starting film; it’s great, it’s beautiful.”

So who was Rivera? Best known as La Diva de la Banda, the singer was one of the biggest stars in the mostly male-dominated Spanish-language pop scene.

Here are five things to know about the late singer whose star will still on the rise.

1. A California native
The singer-actress was born Dolores Janney Rivera. She grew up in California in a musical family. Her father Pedro founded the Cintas Acuario label and her four brothers — the most well-known of which is her younger brother Lupillo — are all Mexican musicians. After working for her dad’s company following college graduation, Rivera signed with EMI/Capitol’s Latin division in 1995.

2. A reality star
Rivera was the star of three Mun2 channel shows, the best known of which was mun2′s I Love Jenni. She was also a coach on the Mexican version of TV singing competition The Voice, and was reportedly in talks with ABC to begin a sitcom about her life, simply entitled Jenni.

3. A prolific brand
Rivera had developed fragrances, cosmetics and clothing lines. As an entrepreneur, she launched many companies, including Divina Realty, Divina Cosmestics, Jenni Jeans and the Jenni Rivera Foundation.

4. A chart topper
During her 17-year career, Rivera sold more than 15 million albums worldwide. And within the Latin music industry, Rivera blazed Billboard charts: she had seven Top 10s on Top Latin Albums; 10 Top 10s on Regional Mexican Airplay; eight Top 20 singles on the Hot Latin Songs; and eight Top 10s on Regional Mexican Albums. River was even nominated three times for a Latin Grammy Award.

5. An advocate
By the time she was 16, Riva was married with her first daughter, Janney, now known as Chiquis. But in 1996, River divorced her child’s father, José Trinidad Marín, on account of abuse. In 2006, Marín was convicted of molesting Chiquis and a sister-in-law Rosie. That early-life trauma led Rivera to take a stand — she founded the Jenni Rivera Love Foundation, which lends a hand to single mothers and domestic abuse victims.

Cable network mun2 and Telemundo Media issued a statement to press on Sunday regarding the presumed death of Latin star Jenni Rivera and six others in a plane crash on Sunday.

“mun2 and Telemundo Media have learned that Jenni Rivera, Latin entertainment icon and star of mun2 reality series I Love Jenni, was on the private plane that went down in Galena, Nueva Leon, Mexico early this morning,” the joint statement released by mun2 General Manager Diana Mogollon and Telemundo Media President Emilio Romano reads.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Rivera family and the families of her team, as we await for details and official confirmation from the authorities on this tragic accident,” the statement continues.

“In honor of Jenni Rivera, Telemundo will broadcast a two-hour prime time special at 7 PM ET, coast to coast, and mun2 will re-air it at 9 PM ET. mun2 will also be airing two I Love Jenni previously produced specials at 11 PM ET and midnight ET.”

According to the Chicago Tribune, Local authorities in the state of Nueva Leon confirmed that they have found the wreckage of a plane in which Rivera, 43, and six others were traveling from Monterrey to their intended destination of Toluca, outside of Mexico City.

“There is nothing recognizable, neither material nor human” in the wreckage, Transportation and Communications Minister Gerardo Ruiz Esparza told the Televisa network.

The plane left Toluca at 3:30 AM on Sunday and was reported missing 10 minutes later. According to Billboard, also on board the plane were Rivera’s publicist, Arturo Rivera; her stylist, Jorge Sanchez; her makeup artist, Jacobo Llenares; her attorney Mario Macias, along with the plane’s pilots.

The singer, businesswoman and actress from Long Beach, Calif. has five children and two grandchildren. She announced in October that she would be divorcing baseball player and her third husband, Esteban Loaiza.