Background

Ethnicity: Gomez’s father is of Mexican descent. Her mother has Italian roots.

Selena Marie Gomez was born to former actress Amanda Dawn Cornett, and her Mexican husband, Ricardo Joel Gomez, on July 22, 1992, in the Grand Prairie city of Texas, the United States. Her mother, commonly known as Mandy, gave birth to Gomez at the age of 16. Gomez was named after Tejano singer and actress Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, who died in 1995. Her father is of Mexican descent while her mother, who was adopted, has some Italian ancestry. Regarding her Hispanic heritage, Gomez has stated, "My family does have Quinceañeras, and we go to the communion church. We do everything that's Catholic, but we don't really have anything traditional except [that we] go to the park and have barbecues on Sundays after church." Gomez's parents divorced when she was five years old, and she remained with her mother. Selena has two younger half-sisters: Gracie Elliot Teefey through Amanda and her second husband Brian Teefey, and Victoria "Tori" Gomez through Ricardo and his wife Sara Gomez.

After her parents separated, the young Gomez and her twenty-one-year-old mother struggled to survive amidst dire poverty. At one point, Gomez recalled, they had to search for quarters just to get gas for their car. Her mother later recalled that the two would frequently walk to their local dollar store to purchase spaghetti for dinner. Gomez stated, "I was frustrated that my parents weren't together, and never saw the light at the end of the tunnel where my mom was working hard to provide a better life for me. I'm terrified of what I would have become if I'd stayed [in Texas]." She later added that "[My mom] was really strong around me. Having me at 16 had to have been a big responsibility. She gave up everything for me, had three jobs, supported me, sacrificed her life for me." Gomez had a close relationship with her grandparents as a child and appeared in various pageants growing up. Her grandparents often took care of her while her parents finished their schooling, and the pair went as far as stating that they "raised her" up until she found success in the entertainment industry. Amanda's stage performances inspired Selena to choose a career in acting, and soon the little girl was attending try-outs.

Education

Selena Gomez studied at Danny Jones Middle School. The future star said she never had very many friends during her student days, preferring instead to keep herself to herself. She said: "I was never the popular kid at school. I had two friends, but I just sat at the back of the room and got on with my work." She earned her high-school diploma through homeschooling in May 2010.

Career

When Selena Gomez was 7 years old she auditioned for kids show Barney & Friends, she impressed all producers and got her 1st role on TV. 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 even recorded a song for the show. When Selena was 11 years old she auditioned for Disney Channel. The casting director noticed the girl with an unforgettable smile and spark in eyes from thousands other contenders. Selena appeared on Suite Life with Zack and Cody and played Mikayla in Hannah Montana, alongside Miley Cyrus.

At age of 14, Gomez won casting again and got the role wizard Alex Russo in the new TV series Wizards of Waverly Place. The TV show became breakout for Selena. The show was a success, and so was the theme song performed by Gomez, Everything is Not What It Seems, shooting the talented actor to stardom, in the process getting compared to a fellow performer, Miley Cyrus. The hit series ran until 2012.

In 2008, Gomez made her first animated movie, Horton Hears a Who!, and starred in the ABC Family movie Another Cinderella Story with fellow Disney Channel actor Andrew Seeley. Selena filmed two projects for the Disney Channel Original Movie franchise as well. The first was Princess Protection Program, released in 2009 and also starring Demi Lovato. Later in 2009, she starred in Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie. Along with her acting, Gomez focused on her burgeoning music career by recording a cover of Cruella de Vil for DisneyMania 6 in 2008. She also recorded three tunes for the soundtrack to her movie Another Cinderella Story and a song for the animated movie Tinker Bell. Other feature film contributions included the single One and the Same for Princess Protection Program as a duet with Lovato, as well as four songs for the soundtrack to Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie. Gomez also had a cameo in the Jonas Brothers' music video for the single Burnin' Up, released in 2008. In 2009, apart from acting in movies, she lent her voice to the character, Princess Selenia, for the film, Arthur and the Revenge of Maltazard.

Selena always had a passion for music, she plays electric guitar and piano, she always sang soundtracks for her movies and she always wanted to have her own band. And in 2008 she signed with music label Hollywood Records, formed a group called Selena Gomez & The Scene and started work on her first studio album. Selena’s debut album Kiss & Tell came out in September 2009 and sold over 66.000 copies in 1st week. In December 2009 Selena released her single from the album - Naturally. That song was produced by Rock Mafia and was so different from other songs on the album. The song was so catchy and had crazy success, in release week it became the most added song on pop radio and also number one at Billboard’s Dance club play songs chart. In April 2010 Naturally became platinum. Naturally was Selena’s breakout in music and turned Selena from a young actress to a pop-rock princess.

The following year, Gomez introduced an environment-friendly apparel brand titled, Dream Out Loud, which was then sold through the Kmart departmental stores. After the success of her first album, Selena also released her second record, in 2010, A Year Without Rain.

With every next album, Selena Gomez was getting more success, hit single Love You Like A Love Song became Selena’s first multiplatinum single and her latest record Stars Dance debuted at #1 at Billboard Hot 200, overtaking new Jay-Z’s album. With every next album, Selena was getting more success, hit single Love You Like A Love Song became Selena’s first multiplatinum single and her next record Stars Dance debuted at #1 at Billboard Hot 200, overtaking new Jay-Z’s album.

In 2011, the Selena Gomez featured in the commercially successful film, Monte Carlo, working hard to perfect her role. Her character Grace is a teenager "mistaken for a socialite while on a trip to Paris." To prepare for the role, Gomez learned how to play polo and also took two weeks of vocal training to learn two different British accents. She also bagged cameos in the movie like The Muppets as well as the TV shows, PrankStars and So Random. Selena Gomez & the Scene released their third and final studio album that same year When the Sun Goes Down. The album received mixed reviews, with the album's second single receiving a 4x Platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). However, the album's lead single and last single both achieved moderate success. It was announced on July 14, 2011, that Gomez had signed a license agreement with Adrenalina, extreme sports, and adventure-themed lifestyle brand, to develop, manufacture, and distribute the actress's fragrance. Chairman and C.E.O. of Adrenalina, Ilia Lekach, said, "We are incredibly enthused to be working with Ms. Gomez and will reveal more details pertaining to the fragrance as we get closer to the launch date." The perfume was released in May 2012.

In 2012, Gomez performed the voice of Mavis in the animated film Hotel Transylvania. She then starred alongside James Franco and Vanessa Hudgens, among others, in Harmony Korine's comedic crime thriller Spring Breakers (2013), where Selena plays Faith, a member of a four-person girl gang who rob a diner in order to afford a spring break trip to Florida. That same year, Gomez co-starred with Ethan Hawke in the action thriller Getaway. She also continued to pursue her musical career, releasing Stars Dance in 2013 and the greatest hits collection, For You, in 2014. That same year Gomez was featured in the comedy Behaving Badly, with Mary-Louise Parker.

Despite her earlier claims that she would be taking a break from her music career, Gomez confirmed in October 2012 that she was working on new material. She later confirmed that she would be releasing her solo debut album, as opposed to another album with her band. Gomez released Come & Get It as the lead single from the album. The single became Gomez's first top ten entry on the Billboard Hot 100. Another single from the album, Slow Down, peaked at number 27 in the Billboard charts. Stars Dance was released on July 23, 2013. It became her first album to debut at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, where it sold 97,000 copies in its first week. The album remained in the top ten in its second week, though declined down the chart in the following weeks. The record was met with mixed reviews where some music critics noticed her inability to create her own musical identity and her lack of vocal abilities "doesn't help." Gomez incorporated choreography and dance routines into her promotional performances and music videos for the album, feeling inspired by artists such as Janet Jackson and Britney Spears. As of September 2015, the album has sold 392,000 copies in the United States, making it her lowest selling studio album to date in the country. It remains her only studio effort to not receive a certification from the RIAA. Selena Gomez released a greatest hits collection, For You, in 2014, an album in which she compiled songs from her three previous albums with her former band (Selena Gomez & The Scene) and her solo album. In addition, she played Nina Pennington in the comedy film Behaving Badly.

While working on her second studio album, Gomez collaborated with Zedd for his single I Want You to Know (2015), released as the lead single from his second album on February 23. The single became Gomez's fourth top twenty entry on the Billboard Hot 100 and received a platinum certification from the RIAA. Gomez became the face of hair care brand Pantene in 2015. Gomez returned to the charts with the single Good for You in the summer of 2015, and in October of that year released her fifth album, Revival. She also contributed vocals to Hotel Transylvania 2, released that fall as well, and joined the cast of Season 9 of The Voice as a mentor for Gwen Stefani's team.

In 2016, Gomez appeared in a fashion campaign for luxury brand Louis Vuitton. Gomez also appeared in ads for Coca-Cola's "Share a Coke" campaign, and she appeared in advertisements for the campaign and lyrics from two of her songs will be featured on packages of Coca-Cola products nationwide.

In 2017, Gomez confirmed that she was partnering with Coach, Inc, beginning with their fall line. She has a limited-edition collection of handbags called the "Selena Grace" that she designed in collaboration with luxury brand Coach, Inc. On March 29, 2018, Gomez released photos from her partnership with Coach on her Instagram account. The photos featured a black and brown Coach bag and the numbers “3 29 ‘98”, referencing a date 20 years before. She also partnered with the athletic brand, Puma, as brand ambassador appearing in campaigns, including the Phenom Lux sneakers that was released in March 2018.

Gomez enjoyed even more success in 2017 with such acclaimed tracks as Bad Liar and It Ain't Me, a collaboration with Norwegian DJ Kygo. She also teamed with rapper Gucci Mane for Fetish and the mysterious Marshmello for Wolves. Gomez serves as executive producer for the series adaptation of the novel Thirteen Reasons Why. She shared the first trailer of the show on January 25, 2017, and the show premiered on Netflix on March 31, 2017. In 2018 she released the track Back to You for Netflix's teen suicide drama 13 Reasons Why. Gomez, alongside Ozuna and Cardi B, were featured in DJ Snake' song "Taki Taki". The song was released in September 2018. Gomez was featured on the Benny Blanco song "I Can't Get Enough", alongside Tainy and J Balvin, which was released in February 2019. She also revived her role as Mavis in Hotel Transylvania 3, she will also appear in Jim Jarmusch's film The Dead Don't Die in June 2019 and is set to voice a character in the upcoming The Voyage of Dr. Doolittle (2020).

Achievements

• 

  Selena Gomez has won several awards, including an ALMA Award, an American Music Award, two Billboard Women in Music Awards, an iHeartRadio Music Award, an MTV Video Music Award, and sixteen Teen Choice Awards, as well as ten Guinness World Records. She has received four Billboard Music Awards nominations.
  
  Gomez was the most followed Instagram user in the world before being surpassed by athlete Cristiano Ronaldo in October 2018, she was also the first to reach 100 Million Instagram Followers. Gomez earns $800,000 for every single Instagram post she creates.
  
  Gomez has worked with various charitable organizations for years and became a UNICEF ambassador at the age of seventeen, breaking the record held earlier by New Zealand performer Hayley Westenra.
  
  

Works

More photos

• movie

  • Ramona and Beezus

    (The adventures of young Ramona Quimby (newcomer Joey King...)

    2010
  • Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising

    (Mac and Kelly are forced to team up with their ex-neighbo...)

    2016
  • Monte Carlo

    (Grace (Selena Gomez) is an ordinary girl who becomes an a...)

    2011
  • Dubious Battle

    (Set in California apple country in the 1930s, nine hundre...)

    201
  • Hotel Transylvania

    (Welcome to Hotel Transylvania, Dracula's lavish five-stak...)

    2012
  • Hotel Transylvania 3

    (Join Drac, Mavis and all of your favorite monsters for fu...)

    2018
  • Getaway

    (Former race car driver Brent Magna (Hawke) is pitted agai...)

    203
  • Hotel Transylvania 2

    (The Drac-Pack is back in this hilarious comedy starring D...)

    2015
  • Another Cinderella Story

    (Somewhere deep in the heart of the San Fernando Valley, a...)

    2008
  • Behaving Badly

    (Young and in love, Rick (Nat Wolff) is willing to do what...)

    2014
  • Spring Breakers

    (Four college girls hold up a restaurant in order to fund ...)

    2012
  • Wizards of Waverly Place The Movie

    (Alex's inadvertent magic spell makes it so her parents ha...)

    2009
  • Princess Protection Program

    (Princess Rosalina is threatened by an evil dictator.)

    2009
  • Rudderless

    (William H. Macy makes his directorial debut in this heart...)

    2014

• music

  • Kiss & Tell 2009
  • A Year Without Rain 2010
  • When The Sun Goes Down 2011
  • Stars Dance 2013
  • Revival 2015

• TV series

  • Watch Wizards of Waverly Place

    (Alex Russo and her brothers Justin and Max are a lot like...)

    2007
  • 13 Reasons Why

    (After a teenage girl's perplexing suicide, a classmate re...)

    2017

Religion

Gomez was raised Catholic. When she was 13, she wanted a purity ring, and her dad went to the church and got it blessed. She stated, "He actually used me as an example for other kids. I'm going to keep my promise to myself, to my family and to God." The singer stopped wearing the ring in 2010. Gomez later stated in 2017 that she did not like the term "religion" and that sometimes it "freaks me out", adding "I don't know if it's necessarily that I believe in religion, as much as I believe in faith and a relationship with God." Despite that she did not like the term religion, she attends Hillsong Church. In 2014, she said that she listened to Hillsong United's song "Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)" before performing in the American Music Awards 2014. In 2016, she appeared at Hillsong Young & Free concert in Los Angeles to leading worship by singing her song titled Nobody. When a fan asked her who the lyrics referred to in Nobody song, Gomez answered on Twitter, “God.” She also covered Hillsong Worship's song Transfiguration in her Revival Tour.

Politics

Selena Gomez was involved in the UR Votes Count campaign which encouraged teenagers to learn more about 2008 presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain. She was also a huge supporter of Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential elections.

Views

Outside of acting and music, Gomez has served as a spokesperson for Borden Milk, appearing in the organization's advertising campaign and print ads. She also worked on a campaign that encouraged teenagers to learn more about the 2008 presidential candidates. A longtime supporter of UNICEF, Gomez became one of the organization's ambassadors in 2009 and works to help the world's children through her C.A.N. (Charity, Action, Now) initiative. In April 2012, Gomez was named an ambassador to the Ryan Seacrest Foundation. The year before, Gomez made an appearance at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia during a Ryan Seacrest Foundation broadcast from the hospital’s multimedia center. She was also a spokesperson for State Farm Insurance and appeared in numerous television commercials, which aired on the Disney Channel, to raise awareness of being a safe driver. In April 2018, Gomez attended the WE Day California event in Los Angeles. During the event, Gomez introduced Nellie Mainor, a young fan who had a rare kidney disease.

Quotations: "I’ve learned there’s power deep down inside yourself, and you can find it when you don’t give up on yourself and when you ask for help."

"It's insane how much press my Instagram will get. It's weird, in a way, that I can dictate the agenda - but I love being able to have a say in all of that."

"I'm human, I'm not perfect. I make mistakes all the time, but I guess my job is to keep those mistakes to myself, which I'm already fine doing and just try to be the best I can be for those kids."

"I don’t want to become little or hurt or a victim. I want to be strong for girls…I just want them to know that there is an option of standing up for yourself."

"You fall in love and it completely consumes you. So a part of you is broken when that's gone. And part of you wants to have that rebellious feeling where you're just like "Forget it- I can do anything i want" I've tried it and I've never been that girl. I'm always going to be the girl you want to take home to your parents, not for the night. "

Membership

From 2009 to 2012, Gomez was involved in "Disney's Friends for Change", an organization that promoted "environmentally-friendly behavior", and she appeared in its public service announcements.

Selena became the ambassador of DoSomething after being involved with the charity Island Dog, which helped dogs in Puerto Rico. She began her involvement while filming Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie in Puerto Rico. Gomez is also involved with the charity RAISE Hope For Congo, an initiative of the Enough Project, which helps raise awareness about conflict minerals and violence against Congolese women.

• 

  Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, Miley Cyrus, and the Jonas Brothers, as the ad hoc musical team Disney's Friends For Change, recorded the charity single Send It On, all of whose proceeds were accepted into the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund. It debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 20.

  Disney's Friends for Change

  2009 - 2012

Personality

Selena Gomez has a charming personality. She always reciprocates the love her fans give to her. With her upbeat and often inspiring personality, Selena Gomez makes friends easily and attracts people from all walks of life. She went through the toughest times in her life, but still maintains to keep it to herself and come up with confidence.

Physical Characteristics: Selena has a slim build, a heart-shaped face, medium-sized dark-brown eyes, button nose, long dark brown wavy hair with a side fringe. Selena Gomez has a weight of 59 kg (130 lbs) and a height of 5'5” (165 cm). She maintains her figure (36-28-35 inches) with an intense workout regimen created by trainers.

Selena Gomez remained silent through her lupus diagnosis for almost two years before telling the public about it. She had checked into a rehab facility in January of 2014, upon which the tabloid world exploded, speculating everything from drug use to depression over her breakup with Justin Bieber. But in October of 2015, she opened up to Billboard, saying, "I was diagnosed with [autoimmune disease] lupus, and I've been through chemotherapy. That's what my break was really about. I could've had a stroke." As for why she remained mum, she felt it was unfair to even have to address such ridiculous rumors during what was actually a medical crisis, so she just steered clear of it completely.

Though she was hesitant to speak out at first, Gomez has become a prominent voice for lupus awareness and research. She also partnered with the Keck School of Medicine to create The Selena Gomez Fund for Lupus Research, to which she also made a donation. Gomez also continues to monitor herself and take time off from her hectic career when needed. In August of 2016, Gomez took another break from her Revival World Tour, saying in a statement to People, "I want to be proactive and focus on maintaining my health and happiness and have decided that the best way forward is to take some time off. Thank you to all my fans for your support. You know how special you are to me, but I need to face this head on to ensure I am doing everything possible to be my best. I know I am not alone by sharing this, I hope others will be encouraged to address their own issues." Sadly for her, the former Disney Channel star's battle with Lupus continues to have its many ups and downs. In September 2017, she revealed that she had been laying low during the summer because she was recovering from a kidney transplant. The kidney donor was her best friend, actress Francia Raisa.

Quotes from others about the person

• "I really like her. She’s unusually bright. She’s kind and she’s natural. I’m always pleased to find some kind of pop icon who I really like." - Bill Murray
  
  "When I met her, she was such a sweet, adorable person. She's really what you see. She's really a sweetheart" - Cardi B

Interests

• Yoga and pilates

• Politicians

  Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John McCain

• Writers

  On Becoming Fearless by Ariana Huffington, The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren, 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher

• Sport & Clubs

  Skateboarding, surfing, basketball

• Athletes

  Tony Parker

• Music & Bands

  Kelly Clarkson, Bruno Mars, Britney Spears, Rihanna, Skrillex, Paramore, Cheryl Cole, Taylor Swift, Julia Michaels

Connections

Selena Gomez dated Nick Jonas in 2008. She appeared in Jonas' band music video for "Burnin' Up". In December 2010, Gomez began dating Justin Bieber. After separating in November 2012, they reconciled a few weeks later before splitting up again in January 2013. They later reconciled for a few months in each of 2013, 2014, and 2015. Late in 2017, it was reported that they had gotten back together again. However, they broke up again in March 2018.

Gomez reportedly started dating The Weeknd in January 2017 and they moved in together temporarily in September 2017 in Greenwich Village, New York. They broke up in October 2017. The Weeknd released My Dear Melancholy, in March 2018, which, according to media outlets, referenced Gomez in several songs.

Father:

Ricardo Joel Gomez

Mother:

Amanda Dawn "Mandy" Cornett

colleague:

Laurence Fishburne III

step-father:

Brian Teefey

step-mother:

Sara Gomez

half-sister:

Gracie Elliot Teefey

half-sister:

Victoria "Tori" Gomez

ex-boyfriend:

Justin Bieber

Justin Bieber was in an on-and-off relationship with singer Selena Gomez for multiple years, beginning in December 2010. They totally broke up in March 2018.

ex-boyfriend:

Nick Jonas

ex-boyfriend:

The Weeknd (Abel Tesfaye)

The Weeknd reportedly started dating Selena Gomez in January 2017 and they moved in together temporarily in September 2017 in Greenwich Village, New York. They broke up in October 2017.

colleague:

Demi Lovato

colleague:

Adam Sandler

Friend:

Taylor Swift

colleague:

Miley Cyrus

colleague:

James Franco

colleague:

Sylvester Stallone

References

• Selena Gomez: On Cloud 9 She's released multi platinum albums, starred in Hollywood films, and had relationships with some of the world's biggest stars. Selena is on a roller coaster ride to celebrity superstardom, and she shows no signs of slowing down...
  2016
• Selena Gomez: Living The Dream Follow Selena's journey from child phenomenon to international sensation, with interviews from showbiz experts and Gomez herself. Selena Gomez is living the dream.
  2014