Selena Marie Gomez (born July 22, 1992) is an American singer, actress, producer, and businesswoman. Gomez began her acting career on the children’s television series Barney & Friends (2002–2004). As a teenager, she rose to prominence for starring as Alex Russo on the Disney Channel television series Wizards of Waverly Place (2007–2012). Alongside her television career, Gomez appeared in the films Another Cinderella Story (2008), Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie (2009), Ramona and Beezus (2010), Monte Carlo (2011), Spring Breakers (2012), Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising (2016), and The Dead Don’t Die (2019), and voiced Mavis in the Hotel Transylvania film franchise (2012–2022).

Gomez released three albums with her former band, Selena Gomez & the Scene, all of which reached the top ten of the US Billboard 200 and were certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA): Kiss & Tell (2009), A Year Without Rain (2010), and When the Sun Goes Down (2011). All of the singles from the band’s three albums have been certified gold or higher by the RIAA. Her debut solo album, Stars Dance (2013), topped the U.S. Billboard 200, while its lead single, “Come & Get It”, reached the top ten in the US Billboard Hot 100. Gomez’s second studio album Revival (2015), debuted at number one in the US, was certified platinum by the RIAA, and spawned three US top-ten entries: “Good for You”, “Same Old Love”, “Hands to Myself”. Her third studio album, Rare (2020), became her third consecutive number one in the US, and its lead single, “Lose You to Love Me”, her first number-one song in the US and Canada. In 2021, she released the Spanish-language EP Revelación, for which she received a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Album.

Gomez executive produced the Netflix television series 13 Reasons Why (2017–2020) and Living Undocumented (2019) through her production company, July Moon Productions. Additionally, she executive produces and stars in the HBO Max cooking series Selena + Chef (2020–2022), for which she received a nomination as producer for a Daytime Emmy Award, and the Hulu mystery-comedy series Only Murders in the Building (2021–present). The latter earned Gomez critical praise, and nominations for a Golden Globe Award, and two as a producer, at the Primetime Emmy Awards. She also starred in the Apple TV+ documentary, Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me (2022).

She has received various accolades and was named Billboard’s Woman of the Year in 2017, and she also broke 16 Guinness World Records. Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2020. She has a large following on social media and is the most followed woman on Instagram and has over 400 million followers as of 2023. Gomez’s other ventures include makeup, clothing, handbag and fragrance lines. She has worked with many charitable organizations and served as a UNICEF ambassador since age 17; for many years she held the record as the youngest UNICEF ambassador.

Selena Marie Gomez was born on July 22, 1992, in Grand Prairie, Texas, to Ricardo Joel Gomez and Texas-born former stage actress Mandy Teefey. She was named after Tejano singer Selena Quintanilla, who died in 1995. Her father is of Mexican descent, while her mother, who was adopted, has Italian ancestry. Gomez’s paternal grandparents emigrated to Texas from Monterrey in the 1970s. Of her heritage, Gomez has said she is “a proud third-generation American-Mexican” and “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 go to the park and have barbecues on Sundays after church.” Gomez was fluent in Spanish until age seven. Her parents divorced when she was five years old, and she remained with her mother. Gomez has two younger half-sisters and a younger stepbrother: Gracie Elliot Teefey, through Mandy and her second husband, Brian Teefey, and Victoria “Tori” and Marcus Gomez, through Ricardo and his second wife, Sara. She earned her high-school diploma through homeschooling in May 2010.

Gomez was born when her mother was 16 years old. The family had financial troubles throughout Gomez’s childhood, her mother struggling to provide for the pair. At one point, Gomez recalls that 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 buy spaghetti for dinner. Gomez has said, “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.” She later added that her mother “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. Her grandparents often took care of her while her parents finished their schooling, and she has said they “raised her” until she found success in show business.

Gomez first gained an interest in pursuing a career in entertainment watching her mother prepare for stage productions. In 2002, she began her acting career on the children’s television series Barney & Friends, portraying the character Gianna. The show was her first acting gig. Gomez recalled of the experience, “I was very shy when I was little I didn’t know what ‘camera right’ was. I didn’t know what blocking was. I learned everything from Barney.” Gomez appeared in thirteen episodes of the show between 2002 and 2004; the show’s producers released her as she was “too old” for the series. While working on Barney & Friends, Gomez had bit part roles in the film Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (2003) and the made-for-television film Walker, Texas Ranger: Trial by Fire (2005). She guest starred in a 2006 episode of the Disney Channel series The Suite Life of Zack & Cody.