Who Is Selena Gomez?
Selena Gomez, an actress and singer, began her career in show business at the age of nine, with a two-year stint on the children’s show Barney & Friends. Gomez rose to fame on the Disney Channel in 2007 as the lead in the show Wizards of Waverly Place. She is well recognized for her parts in the Hotel Transylvania film franchise and Hulu’s successful comedy series, Only Murders in the Building, for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe in 2023.
Gomez expanded her pop music career at the same time, and her three solo albums have topped the Billboard 200 chart. Her chart-topping singles include “Lose You To Love Me,” “Good For You,” and “Calm Down.” Rare Beauty’s founder has a tremendous social media following and will be the first woman on Instagram to reach 400 million followers in March 2023.
Early Life
Selena Marie Gomez was born on July 22, 1992, in Grand Prairie, Texas, to Amanda Cornett and Ricardo Gomez. Her mother, Mandy, gave birth to Gomez when she was 16 years old.
Movies and TV Shows
Gomez debuted in the entertainment industry in 2001 as Gianna on the iconic children’s show Barney & Friends. After being fired from the show after two years, Gomez tried out for other shows with little success. In 2003, she appeared in the film Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over, and in 2005, she played Julie in Walker, Texas Ranger: Trial by Fire. In 2006, she also agreed to play Emily Grace Garcia in Brain Zapped, and even wrote a song for the show.
- The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and Wizards of Waverly Place
Gomez appeared as Gwen in The Suite Life of Zack and Cody on the Disney Channel in 2006. Gomez received further work from Disney when she was cast as the villainous Mikayla in the Hannah Montana series.
In 2007, she received her first leading role as Alex Russo in the sitcom Wizards of Waverly Place on the channel. The popular show aired for four seasons through 2012, winning two Emmys for Outstanding Children’s Program.
- Another Cinderella Story and Princess Protection Program
Gomez made her debut animated film, Horton Hears a Who!, in 2008, and she co-starred in the ABC Family film Another Cinderella Story with fellow Disney Channel actor Andrew Seeley. Selena also worked on two productions for the Disney Channel Original Movie brand. The first was Princess Protection Program, which was released in 2009 and starred Demi Lovato. Later that year, she appeared in Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie.
- Hotel Transylvania
Gomez provided the voice of Mavis in the animated film Hotel Transylvania in 2012. She has since reprised her roles in the film’s three sequels, which were released in 2015, 2018, and 2022, respectively.
Going beyond children’s films, Gomez appeared in Harmony Korine’s humorous crime thriller Spring Breakers (2013), opposite James Franco and Vanessa Hudgens, among others. That same year, Gomez co-starred in the action thriller Getaway alongside Ethan Hawke. Gomez co-starred in the 2014 comedy Behaving Badly opposite Mary-Louise Parker.
The following year, she joined the cast of The Voice Season 9 as a mentor for Gwen Stefani’s team.
- Only Murders In The Building
After a hiatus of several years, Gomez returned to the big screen in Jim Jarmusch’s zombie comedy The Dead Don’t Die in 2019. The next year, the multi-talented artist voiced Betsy the giraffe in Robert Downey Jr.’s film Dolittle.
Her most recent triumph has come as Mabel Mora in the Hulu comedy series Only Murders In The Building. Gomez co-stars with comedy superstars Steven Martin and Martin Short as real crime-obsessed neighbors attempting to investigate a murder in their building on New York City’s Upper West Side. Gomez was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Television Actress – Musical/Comedy Series in 2023, and the program, which she also produces, received back-to-back Emmy nods for Outstanding Comedy Series.
Music Career
Along with her acting, Gomez launched her music career in 2008 and 2009 by recording soundtrack songs for films. This included three songs for her film Another Cinderella Story, a song for the animated film Tinker Bell, the single “One and the Same” for Princess Protection Program as a duet with co-star Demi Lovato, and four songs for Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie.
Gomez soon transitioned to original music as the lead singer of Selena Gomez & the Scene. The Hollywood Records-signed pop band issued three albums: Kiss & Tell (2009), A Year Without Rain (2010), and When the Sun Goes Down (2011). Their hit tunes included “Love You Like a Love Song,” “Who Says,” and “Naturally.” The band disbanded in 2012.
Solo Albums
Gomez’s musical adventure was far from over, as she began on a solo career the next year. She has three studio albums, all of which debuted at the top of the Billboard 200, as well as a Spanish-language EP.
Gomez has said that she is working on a new album and has revealed photographs from inside a recording studio in June 2023. She has not revealed its name or any information on when it would be released.
Hit Songs
Gomez has frequently been on the Billboard Hot 100. “Come & Get It,” her first Top 10 hit, was released in April 2013. The songs “The Heart Wants What It Wants,” “Good For You” (with A$AP Rocky), “Same Old Love,” and “Hands To Myself” came next. Then, in November 2019, “Lose You To Love Me” hit No. 1 ahead of its inclusion on her third studio album, Rare.
Other hits include 2017’s “Bad Liar,” “Fetish” starring Gucci Mane, and “It Ain’t Me,” a duet with Norwegian DJ Kygo. She also collaborated with the enigmatic Marshmello on “Wolves.” Gomez released the song “Back to You” for Netflix’s teen suicide thriller 13 Reasons Why in May 2018.
Gomez has recently achieved success with collaborative hits such as “Baila Conmigo” with Rauw Alejandro, “Let Somebody Go” with Coldplay, and “Calm Down” with Rema. Her most recent single “My Mind & Me” was released in November 2022, shortly after her documentary.
Billboard’s Woman of the Year
Gomez was selected lady of the year at the annual Billboard Women in Music event in November 2017, months after undergoing kidney transplant surgery. “I would like to thank my amazing team and my family because they stuck with me through some really hard times,” she told the crowd. “And I got to do a lot this year, even though I had a couple of other things to do.”
Health: Lupus and Bipolar Diagnoses
Gomez had been suffering lupus—an inflammatory condition that can produce facial swelling, lethargy, headaches, and joint pain—for more than two years, according to reports in early January 2014. The multitalented musician disclosed in September 2017 that increasing lupus symptoms had prompted her to have a kidney transplant earlier that year, with her roommate and friend Francia Rasa serving as the donor.
In an NBC news interview one month later, Gomez described her encounter with Savannah Guthrie of The Today Show: “She lived with me in this interesting time where my kidneys were just done,” Gomez recalled. “The thought of asking somebody to [donate] was really difficult for me. And she volunteered and did it… The fact that she was a match, I mean, that’s unbelievable.”
Gomez was able to rapidly transfer to the surgery room for the life-saving treatment because to Rasa. While there were problems following the surgery, Gomez healed well, acknowledging that there was a 3 to 5% possibility of her lupus recurring.
Gomez was honored in November 2017 at the Lupus Research Alliance Annual Gala in New York City for her role in raising more than $500,000 for illness research. During her address, she described how doctors emphasized the need of undertaking a transplant operation to her.
“It actually got to a point where it was life-or-death,” she said. “Thankfully, one of my best friends gave me her kidney, and it was the ultimate gift of life. And I am doing quite well now.”
The chart-topping performer, who previously discussed her struggles with anxiety and sadness, disclosed in an April 2020 interview with Miley Cyrus that she has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. “When I got to know more information, it actually helps me,” Gomez told her fellow former Disney star. “It doesn’t scare me once I know it.”
In the 2022 Apple TV+ documentary Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me, Gomez talked up even more on her mental health, stating that she was first dubious. “I’m gonna be honest, I didn’t wanna go to the mental health hospital,” she says in the documentary. “I didn’t want to, but I didn’t want to be trapped in myself and my mind anymore. I thought my life was over. I thought, ‘This is what my life’s going to be like forever.’”
Rare Beauty and Activism
Gomez has ventured into business in addition to acting and music. She joined with Coach to launch the Selena Grace line of handbags and accessories in 2017, and the two sides collaborated again the following year for a ready-to-wear collection.
Selena Gomez’s enormously popular beauty business, Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez, and the Rare Impact Fund, its charity partner focused to mental health, were both launched in September 2020.Bloomberg reported in July 2023 that the company has sold $70 million in liquid blush year to date, with the company expecting to increase its entire sales year over year.
Gomez has also worked as a spokeswoman for Borden Milk, appearing in the company’s commercial campaign and print ads. She also worked on a campaign to get youths interested in the 2008 presidential contenders. Gomez, a UNICEF supporter, became an ambassador for the organization in 2009 and strives to aid children all around the world through her C.A.N. (Charity, Action, Now) program.
Relationships
Gomez has dated Nick Jonas, Zedd, and The Weeknd, as well as been romantically linked to other celebrities. Her most well-known romance, though, was with pop star Justin Bieber.
She and Bieber first met in 2009 and had an on-again, off-again relationship. Even after their definitive split in early 2018, the romance continues to feed the celebrity news mill. The internet was ablaze in 2023 due to a social media drama involving Gomez and Hailey Bieber, whom Justin married in September 2018.
Mandy Teefy, Gomez’s mother, and she have a public feud. In December 2017, the two unfollowed each other on Instagram, with some assuming that it was because the singer had restarted her romance with Bieber, however another source stated the situation was more complicated. Teefy later told Gossip Cop that she was unhappy with her daughter’s relationship with Bieber, but that there was nothing she could do about it.
“Selena can live her life however she wants as long as she is happy, safe and healthy,” she said.