Selena Gomez: From Disney Star to Global Icon

Selena Gomez has transitioned from a child actor to an Emmy-nominated actor, Grammy-nominated singer, and the founder of Rare Beauty. Her journey reflects not only a multifaceted talent but also a commitment to philanthropy and advocacy.

Early Life and Beginnings

Selena Marie Gomez was born on July 22, 1992, in Grand Prairie, Texas. She was named after Tejano music icon Selena Quintanilla. Her parents, Amanda "Mandy" Cornett and Ricardo "Rick" Gomez, were teenagers when she was born. Her father is of Mexican descent, while her mother has Italian ancestry. Mandy's determination to provide a better life for Selena led her to work multiple jobs. "We didn’t have much," Selena later said. "But I felt like we did because my mom was always doing a hundred million things just to make me happy, and we volunteered at soup kitchens on Thanksgiving; we went through my closet for Goodwill."

Mandy aspired to be an actor and brought Selena along to rehearsals. After one of them, Selena, then around age 6 or 7, even gave her mom an acting tip. “On the way home, she was quiet, and then she goes, ‘You know, Mom, that might be funnier if you did it this way,’” Mandy told The New York Times. “And I thought, Oh, no. She’s going to be an actor.” Selena also used to conduct casting calls with neighborhood kids and direct them. Soon enough, Selena was on TV and movie sets just like her mother predicted. Since their split, both of Selena’s parents have remarried. Her mom wed Selena’s stepfather, Brian Teefey, in 2006 and now goes by Mandy Teefey. The couple managed Selena’s career until 2014. The previous year, Mandy and Brian welcomed Selena’s half-sister Gracie, who has walked the red carpet with her famous sister at a movie premiere for Frozen II (2019) and the 2023 Golden Globes. With his wife, Sara Tovar Gomez, Rick had Selena’s other half-sister, Victoria, in 2014. Rick and Sara are also raising a son, Marcus, who she had in 2008 with a previous partner.

Early Acting Career

Gomez's career began in 2002 on Barney & Friends, where she played Gianna. “I was very shy when I was little […] I didn't know what 'camera right' was. I didn't know what blocking was. Dropped from the series after two years, Gomez auditioned for other shows without much success. She landed a small role in the movie Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over in 2003 and a bit part as Julie on Walker, Texas Ranger: Trial by Fire in 2005. She also signed on to play Emily Grace Garcia in Brain Zapped in 2006 and recorded a song for the show.

In 2006, Gomez guest starred as Gwen in The Suite Life of Zack & Cody on the Disney Channel. Earning more work from Disney, Gomez was tapped to play the evil Mikayla for the Hannah Montana series.

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Disney Channel Star: Wizards of Waverly Place

In 2007, Gomez landed her first starring role as Alex Russo in Wizards of Waverly Place. The hit series ran for four seasons, until 2012, and won two Emmys for Outstanding Children’s Program. It also launch the Disney Channel Original Movie spinoff, Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie (2009).

During her Wizards run, Gomez worked on her first animated movie, 2008’s Horton Hears a Who!, and starred in the ABC Family movie Another Cinderella Story (2008) with fellow Disney Channel actor Andrew Seeley. The next year, she and Demi Lovato anchored Princess Protection Program, another Disney Channel Original Movie. The pair recorded the song "One and the Same", included on the film's DVD release. Gomez next starred in Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie, a television film based on the series. The film premiered in August 2009 to an audience of 11.4 million viewers and ranked as the second-highest-rated cable television film of all time, behind High School Musical 2.

More than a decade after Wizards wrapped, news broke that a reboot of the hit show was in the works. Wizards Beyond Waverly Place premiered in October 2024 and focuses on Alex’s brother. Gomez guest starred in the pilot episode and serves as an executive producer on the show.

Transition to More Mature Roles

Breaking out of children’s fare, Gomez starred alongside James Franco and Vanessa Hudgens, among others, in Harmony Korine’s comedic crime thriller Spring Breakers (2013). That same year, Gomez co-starred with Ethan Hawke in the action thriller Getaway. In 2014, Gomez was featured in the comedy Behaving Badly, with Mary-Louise Parker.

After several years away from the big screen, Gomez returned in 2019 in Jim Jarmusch’s zombie comedy The Dead Don’t Die. The next year, the multi-talented artist voiced the character of Betsy the giraffe in the Robert Downey Jr. film Dolittle.

Hotel Transylvania

In 2012, Gomez performed the voice of Mavis in the animated movie Hotel Transylvania. She has since reprised the roles in the film’s three sequels, released in 2015, 2018, and 2022.

Only Murders In The Building

But her most successful role of late is as Mabel Mora on the Hulu comedy series Only Murders In The Building. Now four seasons in, Gomez stars alongside comedic legends Steven Martin and Martin Short as true crime-obsessed neighbors who attempt to solve a murder in their building on New York City’s Upper West Side. Over the years, guest stars have included Meryl Streep, Paul Rudd, Jane Lynch, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, and Nathan Lane.

Gomez has earned three Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Actress in a Comedy Series, from 2023 to 2025. Her 2024 nod for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series marks her first Emmy nomination for acting. The show, for which Gomez serves as an executive producer, has attracted three consecutive Emmy nods for Outstanding Comedy Series.

New Movies: Emilia Peréz and Linda Ronstadt Biopic

The actor’s latest movie is Emilia Peréz, a 2024 Spanish-language film about a Mexican drug lord who transitions into a woman. Gomez landed her supporting role, as the drug lord’s wife, a year after she audition. “I acted insane in the audition,” Gomez told The Hollywood Reporter. “[Director Jacques Audiard] wanted me to perform one of the numbers, and I just surrendered and completely gave myself. I was, like, well, at least I could walk away and say that I did my best.” She and her costars Karla Sofía Gascón, Zoe Saldaña, and Adriana Paz earned wide praise when the musical comedy premiered at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. The four women shared the fest’s best actress award. Emilia Peréz released in theaters and on Netflix months later, in November. The following month, Gomez was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture at the 2025 Golden Globes.

Elsewhere, Gomez is set to star as 11-time Grammy-winner Linda Ronstadt in a new biopic directed by David O. Russell. The movie is in the early stages of production.

Music Career

Gomez began building a music career in the late 2000s. Still, she sees herself as an actor first. “Acting has always been my first love,” Gomez told Vanity Fair in 2024. “Music is just a hobby that went out of control. Now it is a part of who I am.”

Early Music

Her first foray as a singer was recording for soundtracks in 2008 and 2009. That included three tunes for the soundtrack to her movie Another Cinderella Story, a song for the animated movie Tinker Bell, the single “One and the Same” for Princess Protection Program as a duet with costar Demi Lovato, as well as four songs for the soundtrack to Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie.

Selena Gomez & the Scene

Soon, Gomez moved on to original music as the lead singer of Selena Gomez & the Scene. The pop band, which had a contract with Hollywood Records, released three albums: Kiss & Tell (2009), A Year Without Rain (2010), and When the Sun Goes Down (2011). Some of their popular songs included “Love You Like a Love Song,” “Who Says,” and “Naturally.” The group split up in 2012.

Solo Albums

Far from the end of her musical journey, Gomez embarked on a solo career the next year. She has released three studio albums, all of which have topped the Billboard 200 upon release, and a Spanish-language EP. Gomez has shared she is working on a new album, sharing photos from inside a recording studio in June 2023. She hasn’t announced its name or details about its release other than to say she “hopes” it will be in 2024.

Hit Songs

Gomez has regularly graced the Billboard Hot 100. Her first Top 10 hit, “Come & Get It,” came in April 2013. “The Heart Wants What It Wants,” “Good For You” featuring A$AP Rocky, “Same Old Love,” and “Hands To Myself” followed. Then, in November 2019, “Lose You To Love Me” soared to No. 1 ahead of its inclusion on her third album, Rare.

Other popular songs include 2017’s “Bad Liar,” “Fetish” featuring Gucci Mane, and “It Ain’t Me,” a collaboration with Norwegian DJ Kygo. She also teamed up with the mysterious Marshmello for “Wolves.” In May 2018, Gomez released the track “Back to You” for Netflix’s teen suicide drama 13 Reasons Why (she was also an executive producer on the show).

More recently, Gomez has found success on collaboration singles, such as “Baila Conmigo” with Rauw Alejandro, “Let Somebody Go” with Coldplay, and “Calm Down” with Rema. Her newest songs include “Single Soon,” which cracked the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 after its August 2023 release, and “Love On.”

Billboard’s Woman of the Year

In November 2017, months after undergoing kidney transplant surgery, Gomez was named woman of the year at the annual Billboard Women in Music event. “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.”

Personal Life

Husband Benny Blanco

Gomez is married to music producer and songwriter Benny Blanco. She first confirmed their relationship on social media in December 2023, stating they had been together for six months at that point. The pair have known each other for many years and have also worked together on songs such as 2015’s “Same Old Love,” 2019’s “I Can’t Get Enough” with J Balvin, and 2023’s “Single Soon.”

When they were just friends, Gomez once asked Blanco if he could set her up with someone he knew. He introduced her to a friend at a birthday party, and it was then the singer realized the person she had feelings for was actually Blanco. Likewise, the music producer didn’t realize how deep his feelings were for Gomez. “I was the last one to know,” he said in an April 2024 interview with WSJ magazine. “It’s crazy how your partner could just be sitting there the whole time, right in front of your eyes, and you don’t even notice, and then you have that Clueless moment where you’re like ‘Wait, I’m in love.’”

Gomez announced her engagement to Blanco in December 2024, posting photos of her ring on Instagram with the caption, “Forever begins now.” The couple tied the knot in an intimate ceremony in September 2025. The wedding was attended by Gomez's Only Murders in the Building co-stars Martin Short and Steve Martin and other celebrity friends like Taylor Swift and Paris Hilton, as well as Ed Sheeran, SZA, Paul Rudd, and Camila Cabello.

Past Relationships: Justin Bieber and More

Gomez previously dated fellow musicians Nick Jonas, Zedd, and The Weeknd, as well as been romantically linked to other stars. But her most well-known relationship has been with pop star Justin Bieber. She and Bieber first met in 2009 and eventually entered into an on- and off-again relationship. Even after their final breakup in early 2018, the romance still provides fodder for the celebrity gossip mill. In 2023, the internet was aroar over a social media drama between Gomez and Hailey Bieber, whom Justin married in September 2018.

Health: Lupus and Bipolar Diagnoses

In 2015 Gomez revealed that she had been diagnosed with lupus, a malfunction of the immune system that causes chronic inflammation in various parts of the body. As a result of complications from the disease, she had a kidney transplant in 2017. Gomez also talked about her struggles with depression and anxiety, and in 2020 she revealed that she had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

Business Ventures and Philanthropy

Rare Beauty and Activism

Outside of acting and music, Gomez has delved into business. In 2017, she teamed with Coach to launch the Selena Grace line of handbags and accessories, and the following year, the two sides collaborated again for a ready-to-wear collection.

September 2020 saw the launch of Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez, her massively popular makeup line, and the Rare Impact Fund, its philanthropic partner dedicated to mental health. Each year, 1 percent of product sales are donated to the charitable venture; as of September 2024, Rare Impact Fund has raised more than $16 million. Bloomberg reported in July …

UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador

In 2009 UNICEF appointed her a goodwill ambassador, through which she advocates for the education and health of children worldwide.

Other Charitable Work

Gomez has supported numerous charitable initiatives beyond her work with UNICEF. In 2008, she participated in St. Beyond mental health, Gomez has been involved in a range of civic and youth-focused initiatives. Gomez has expressed support for LGBTQ rights. Gomez has also spoken out on political and humanitarian issues. During the 2014 Gaza War, she posted a message on social media asking for prayers for Gaza, and later clarified that she was "not picking any sides" but praying for "peace and humanity for all".

Recognition and Awards

Selena Gomez has received numerous accolades for her work in entertainment and her philanthropic efforts. In October 2024, the Government of France granted Gomez the title of Chevalier de l'Ordre des arts et des lettres for "significant contribution to the enrichment of the French cultural inheritance". The Hollywood Reporter awarded her the Equity in Entertainment Award that December, with Molly Shannon noting that she had used her voice to "change the world for the better" and "changed the entertainment landscape". Shannon called her "a role model, not just because of her immense talent and success, but because of the way she uses her influence to empower others.

Gomez has won various awards including: an American Music Award, a Billboard Music Award, a Cannes Film Festival, 16 Guinness World Records, three iHeartRadio Music Awards, six Latin American Music Awards (she is the fourth most-awarded female artist), three MTV Movie & TV Awards, two MTV Video Music Awards, and five People's Choice Awards. For her music work, she was nominated for three Grammy Awards (including Album of the Year as featuring artist) and a Latin Grammy Award. For her acting work, she won a Satellite Award, and was nominated for three Critics' Choice Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, three NAACP Image Awards, and four Actor Awards. As a producer, she was nominated for six Emmy Awards including: three times as producer for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series, marking her the most-nominated Latina producer in the category's history. With 18 wins, Gomez is the fourth-most awarded solo artist at the Teen Choice Awards. She currently holds the record for the most Kids' Choice Awards wins (12) for an individual.

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