Rivero was raised in Mexico City and proved to be an excellent athlete, excelling in track, jai alai and Water polo. At an early age, he became a Bodybuilder and has used weightlifting to maintain his physique throughout his life. Graduating from Colegio Universitario Mexicano in 1960 with a chemical engineering degree, Rivero soon left that discipline behind to become an actor.
For Rivero's first film appearance, he was cast in René Cardona's movie The Invisible Assassin (1965) where he wears a mask throughout the film. His breakthrough role came in the Western El Mexicano (1966; directed by René Cardona), making him a star overnight in his native Mexico. Kicking off a string of westerns for the young actor, this movie was followed with Pistoleros de la frontera (1967). He also found time to appear in a few wrestling films, teaming with the famed Santo in Operación 67 (1967) and in El Tesoro de Moctezuma (1968; with Amadee Chabot).
Rivero's most notorious role came in The Sin of Adam and Eve (El pecado de Adán y Eva) (1969), in which Rivero and American costar Candy Wilson appear nude throughout most of the film. By 1970, Rivero had offers from Hollywood and acted in the big-budget films Soldier Blue (1970; with Candice Bergen and Donald Pleasence), Rio Lobo (1970; with John Wayne and Jennifer O'Neill) and The Last Hard Men (1976; with Charlton Heston and James Coburn). Afterward, Rivero continued to act in Mexican, Italian and U.S. productions, including appearances in Lucio Fulci's 1983 fantasy film Conquest, and the all-star action film Counterforce in 1988.
In 1996, Rivero acted in the film Werewolf alongside Richard Lynch and Joe Estevez.
