Selena Gomez – Best Inspiring Biography, Career in 2025

Introduction

Selena Marie Gomez (born July 22, 1992) is an American actress, singer, and businesswoman. Gomez began her career as a child actress, appearing on the children’s television series Barney & Friends (2002–2004), and became a teen idol for her leading role as Alex Russo on the Disney Channel sitcom Wizards of Waverly Place (2007–2012).

She signed with Hollywood Records in 2008 and formed the band Selena Gomez & the Scene, which released three albums: Kiss & Tell (2009), A Year Without Rain (2010), and When the Sun Goes Down (2011). Gomez has released three solo studio albums, starting with her EDM-influenced debut, Stars Dance (2013), which featured the top-ten single “Come & Get It”. She followed with Revival (2015), which included “Good for You”, “Same Old Love”, and “Hands to Myself”.

Her third album, Rare (2020), produced her first Billboard Hot 100 number-one single, “Lose You to Love Me.” She later released the Spanish-language EP Revelación (2021) and her fourth studio album, I Said I Love You First (2025), created with her husband, Benny Blanco. Gomez has collaborated on a number of successful singles, including “We Don’t Talk Anymore,” “It Ain’t Me,” “Wolves,” “Taki Taki,” and “Calm Down (Remix),” the last of which is widely regarded as the most successful Afrobeats song to date.

Gomez has been active in philanthropy throughout her career. She supports mental health awareness as well as gender, racial, and LGBTQ+ equality, and has served as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador since 2009. She founded the cosmetics brand Rare Beauty in 2020—valued at $2 billion by 2024—as well as the associated nonprofit Rare Impact Fund. Gomez has been featured in lists such as Time 100 (2020) and Forbes 30 Under 30 (2016 and 2020), was named Billboard’s Woman of the Year in 2017 and Latin Woman of the Year in 2025, and received the Order of Arts and Letters from the French government in 2024. She is the most-followed woman on Instagram and one of the wealthiest musicians in the world.

Early life

Selena Marie Gomez was born on July 22, 1992, in Grand Prairie, Texas, to Ricardo Joel Gomez and Texas-born former stage actress Amanda Dawn “Mandy” (née Cornett) Teefey. She was named after Tejano singer Selena Quintanilla. Her father is of Mexican descent, while her mother, who was adopted, has Italian ancestry. Gomez’s paternal grandparents emigrated to Texas from Monterrey, Mexico in the 1970s. She has called herself “a proud third-generation American

Mexican” and once said “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’s Spanish fluency waned after age seven, when she began working on television. Her parents divorced when she was five years old, and she remained with her mother. Gomez’s mother and her second husband, Brian Teefey, had a daughter, Gracie Elliot Teefey, born in 2013.

Through her father and his second wife, Sara, she has a half-sister, Victoria “Tori” Gomez, and a step-brother named Marcus. For most of her childhood, she was homeschooled, save for a brief period when she attended a traditional school as a young girl. She earned her high-school diploma through homeschooling in May 2010.

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 [in Texas].” 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.

Career

2002–2006: Career beginnings

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

Gomez appeared in thirteen episodes of the show between 2002 and 2004, as well as in two direct-to-video films; the show’s producers released her “when she became 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.

2007–2012: Breakthrough with Disney and Selena Gomez & the Scene

Gomez was given a recurring role on the Disney Channel series Hannah Montana in 2007 as pop star Mikayla. During this time, Gomez filmed pilot episodes for two potential Disney Channel series; the first was a Suite Life spin-off titled Arwin!, and the second was a Lizzie McGuire spin-off titled What’s Stevie Thinking? She later auditioned for a role in the network’s series Wizards of Waverly Place, ultimately winning the lead role of Alex Russo.

Gomez and her mother subsequently moved to Los Angeles. In Wizards of Waverly Place, Gomez played a teenage girl in a family of wizards who own a restaurant in New York City. It quickly became a success for the Disney Channel and marked Gomez’s breakthrough into the mainstream. The role brought Gomez “teen idol” status, and

She became one of the ten highest-paid children’s TV stars of all time. The series received numerous awards and nominations, and won the Outstanding Children’s Program at the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards. It garnered positive reviews and particular praise for Gomez’s comic timing and sarcastic delivery. In 2008, while working on the second season of Wizards of Waverly Place, Gomez voiced Helga in the animated film Horton Hears a Who! The film became a commercial and critical success, grossing over US$300 million worldwide.

That same year, she starred as an aspiring dancer Mary Santiago in the teen musical comedy film Another Cinderella Story, the second installment of the A Cinderella Story series, released on direct-to-video. This role earned her a Young Artist Award. She contributed three songs to the soundtrack, including the single “Tell Me Something I Don’t Know”, which became her first entry on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. She also recorded the song “Fly to Your Heart” for the soundtrack of the animated film Tinker Bell.

Hoping to cross over into the music industry, Gomez formed the pop rock band Selena Gomez & the Scene under her deal with Hollywood Records. The name of the band is an “ironic jab” at the people who called Gomez a “wannabe scene“. The group’s debut studio album, Kiss & Tell, influenced by pop rock and electronic rock, was released in September 2009.

It debuted at number nine on the Billboard 200 albums chart in the U.S. with first-week sales of 66,000 copies. The album received mixed reviews, with some critics praising its “fun” nature and others criticizing Gomez’s vocal performance. Although the lead single was not commercially successful, the second single, “Naturally”, became a breakthrough hit, reaching number twenty-nine in the U.S. and number seven in the United Kingdom.

2015–2016: Revival

Gomez released her second studio album, Revival, in October 2015. It is primarily a dance-pop and electropop record with R&B vibes. The album was reviewed positively by critics, who praised its production and lyrical content. Writing for Rolling Stone, Brittany Spanos stated that “Revival is an audacious name for a 23-year-old singer’s second album, but from start to finish, Gomez earns it,” noting that “[t]his is the sound of a newly empowered pop artist growing into her strengths like never before.” Kristen S. Hé of Billboard called it “one of the most influential pop albums of the late 2010s.” Rob Sheffield…

From Rolling Stone Australia called it “one of the past decade’s most influential pop albums.” The album debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 117,000 album units and was certified platinum by the RIAA. “Same Old Love” was released as the album’s second single and topped the Pop Airplay chart. It also peaked at number five in the U.S., tying with “Good for You” as Gomez’s highest-charting single at the time, and reached the top ten in Canada.

“Hands to Myself” served as the album’s third single and became her third consecutive number-one on the Pop Airplay, making Gomez the sixth woman to score at least three number-one singles on the Pop Airplay chart from a single set. The single also peaked within the top ten in the U.S., and the top five in Canada. “Kill Em with Kindness” was released as Revival’s fourth and final single four months later. For her performance on Billboard’s music charts, Gomez received the Chart-Topper Award at the 2015 Billboard Women in Music event.

2024–present: Continued acting and I Said I Love You First

In January 2024, Gomez stated that she prefers acting over music, and only has “one more album in me”. She revealed that she “never really intended on being a singer full-time” but “that hobby” evolved into a career when she was working with Disney. Gomez later mentioned feeling “a little too old for the pop-star life”, but has since retracted this and stated that “music isn’t going away” and “I just set it down for a second”. In February, she released the standalone single “Love On”, which debuted within the top 60 in the US, and the top 70 on the Global 200 chart.

She played a supporting role as Jessi Del Monte, the title character’s wife, in the Spanish-language musical crime film Emilia Pérez, directed by Jacques Audiard. She took Spanish lessons for the role, and performed two songs for the film’s soundtrack. The film premiered at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Jury Prize. Gomez’s performance received praise; she was nominated for supporting actress categories at the 82nd Golden Globe Awards and the 78th British Academy Film Awards.

She and the female ensemble of the film collectively won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress, were nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture at the 31st Screen Actors Guild Awards, and were honored, as chevaliers, with the Order of Arts and Letters by the government of France.

Public image

Initially a teen idol, she has been referred to as a pop icon, as a “triple threat”, owing to her successful singing, performing, and acting careers, and as one of the most influential Latina in entertainment. Gomez is one of the most successful child stars. Vulture ranked her third on its “Disney and Nickelodeon Stars Gone Pop” listicle, writing in 2021 that “Gomez is perhaps the most effortlessly likable star of her generation”, and in the revision of this rating, named her as one of the few child stars with a successful music career as an adult.

Caroline Sullivan from The Guardian called Gomez the “Tween Queen”, and “the biggest star attached to the Walt Disney Company”, describing the Gomez phenomenon as a key figure in the influence of “billions of kids and, through them, their parents’ wallets”, bringing billions to the company through “her image, TV series, movies, music records, perfume and clothing ranges” being in the spotlight “all this means that tweens can barely avoid her”.

Billboard ranked her number 38 on its Decade-End listicle of the most successful artists of the 2010s decade. With an estimated net worth of US$1.3 billion, Gomez is the first former Disney star to become a billionaire, being one of the wealthiest musicians and youngest self-made billionaires in the world.

With over 690 million followers across various platforms, Gomez is the most-followed woman globally on social media, as of September 2024. She is the most-followed woman on Instagram, as of 2025, and was the most-followed person on the platform from March 2016 to October 2018. She was the first person to surpass 100 million followers and the first woman to surpass 400 million followers on the platform.

Gomez held the record for most-liked image on Instagram in 2016, and has 4 out of the 15 most-liked non-football related posts on the app, as of 2024. She is the seventh-most-followed woman on Twitter. The actress with the most likes on Facebook, she is also the third-most-followed woman on the platform.

Achievements

Gomez has won various awards including: an American Music Award, a Billboard Music Award, a Cannes Film Festival award, 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 three Screen Actors Guild 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. In addition, she has also won numerous awards for her philanthropic and charity work, and mental health advocacy, including the McLean Award, the Stanford Healthcare Innovation Lab Award, the Morton E. Ruderman Award in Inclusion from the Ruderman Family Foundation, and the Art Award from Hispanic Heritage Foundation for her impact on global culture via her music, filmography, and advocacy.

Discography

Main articles: Selena Gomez discography, List of songs recorded by Selena Gomez, and Selena Gomez & the Scene discography

Selena Gomez & the Scene studio albums

Kiss & Tell (2009)
A Year Without Rain (2010)
When the Sun Goes Down (2011)

Solo studio albums

Stars Dance (2013)
Revival (2015)
Rare (2020)

Collaborative studio albums

I Said I Love You First (with Benny Blanco) (2025)

Tours

Main article: List of Selena Gomez live performances

Selena Gomez & the Scene tours

Live in Concert (2009–2010)
A Year Without Rain Tour (2010–2011)
We Own the Night Tour (2011–2012)

Solo tours

Stars Dance Tour (2013–2014)
Revival Tour (2016)

Footnotes

Explanations

For her discography as Selena Gomez & the Scene, see Selena Gomez & the Scene discography.
Adapted from List of awards and nominations received by Selena Gomez.
including her releases with The Scene.

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