Selena Gomez (born July 22, 1992, Grand Prairie, Texas, U.S.) is an American actress and singer who first won legions of young fans as the winsome star of the Disney television series Wizards of Waverly Place (2007–12) and as a pop vocalist. She later transitioned to adult roles, notably Mabel Mora in the TV series Only Murders in the Building (2021– ). Gomez also founded (2020) the cosmetics company Rare Beauty.
Wizards of Waverly Place and early films
Gomez, who was named after the popular Tejano singer Selena Quintanilla-Perez, was raised in suburban Dallas. Inspired by her mother, an amateur actress, Gomez tried out for a role on the PBS children’s television series Barney & Friends and, as a result, appeared regularly on the program in 2002–04. After making her big-screen debut in the family movie Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (2003), she auditioned for the Disney Channel, which eventually led to a guest spot on the TV series The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. In 2007 Gomez was cast as Alex Russo, a mischievous tomboy with magical powers, on a new Disney sitcom, Wizards of Waverly Place. The show, for which she also sang the theme song, became an instant hit among the preteen set, and she earned favorable comparisons to the channel’s leading ingenue, Miley Cyrus.
While continuing to star in Wizards of Waverly Place, Gomez acted in various tween-oriented videos and TV movies and provided a voice for the animated feature Horton Hears a Who! (2008). She then landed lead roles in the theatrical film Ramona and Beezus (2010), which was based on a children’s novel by Beverly Cleary, and the romantic comedy Monte Carlo (2011). Gomez departed from her family-friendly image with a role as a college student seeking adventure in Florida in the lurid Spring Breakers (2012).
Gomez then portrayed the girlfriend of a college student who is killed in a shooting on campus in the drama Rudderless (2014) and a sorority sister in Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising (2016). Gomez also voiced a character in the animated Hotel Transylvania (2012) and its sequels (2015, 2018, 2022) as well as Dolittle (2020). In 2019 she appeared in Jim Jarmusch’s zombie movie The Dead Don’t Die and in Woody Allen’s A Rainy Day in New York.
Music career
Gomez ventured into music as the front woman of Selena Gomez & the Scene, an electronic-influenced pop band that produced several dance hits. The group released the albums Kiss & Tell (2009), A Year Without Rain (2010), and When the Sun Goes Down (2011) before announcing its separation in 2012. Gomez then forged a solo career with Stars Dance (2013), which featured the seductive single “Come & Get It.” Subsequent solo albums included Revival (2015) and Rare (2020), the latter of which yielded the hit ballad “Lose You to Love Me.”
Personal life and Rare Beauty
As Gomez transitioned into adulthood, her fame was undoubtedly magnified by a romantic relationship with pop singer Justin Bieber; the couple dated on-and-off from about 2010 to 2018. She was also known for her philanthropic work, much of it accomplished through UNICEF, which in 2009 appointed her a goodwill ambassador.
