Date of Birth

22 December 1992, Grand Prairie, Texas, USA

Birth Name

Selena Marie Gomez

Nickname

Sel
Selly
Selenita
Conchita

Height

5' 5" (1.65 m)

Mini Biography

Actress and singer Selena Gomez was born on July 22, 1992 in Grand Prairie, Texas. She is the daughter of Mandy Teefey and Ricardo Gomez. Her mother is of part Italian ancestry, and her father is of Mexican descent. She was named after Tejano singer Selena, who died in 1995.

Her first acting role was as "Gianna" in the popular '90s children's television show Barney & Friends (1992), alongside Demi Lovato from 2002-2004. Gomez also had roles in Spy Kids 3: Game Over (2003), Walker, Texas Ranger: Trial by Fire (2005), and House Broken (2006).

Gomez moved to Los Angeles, California when she booked the lead role of "Alex Russo" and rose to fame in the Disney Channel series Wizards of Waverly Place (2007). She then starred in Another Cinderella Story (2008) on ABC Family, had her first voice-role in the animated film Horton Hears a Who! (2008), and co-starred with childhood friend, Demi Lovato, in Princess Protection Program (2009).

In 2009, Gomez released her first album with her band called "Selena Gomez & the Scene," which ranked #9 on the Billboard 200 album charts. Gomez later released two other albums with her band and starred in Monte Carlo (2011), Spring Breakers (2012), and Hotel Transylvania (2012).

In 2013, she released her first solo album "Stars Dance" and the lead single "Come & Get It" from the album, became Gomez's first top ten entry on the Billboard Hot 100 list. She starred in Getaway (2013), Rudderless (2014), and Behaving Badly (2014).

In 2015, she released her second solo album "Revival," which debuted #1 on the Billboard 200 list, and starred in Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015), The Fundamentals of Caring (2016), In Dubious Battle (2016), and Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising (2016). She made her third solo album "Rare" in 2020.

Trivia

• She wasn't a fan of magic or the "Harry Potter" franchise, but ironically landed the lead role of magic kid Alex Russo in Wizards of Waverly Place (2007).
• Her role model and favorite actress is Rachel McAdams.
• While filming the animated movie Horton Hears a Who! (2008), she played Steve Carell's daughter but never got to meet him.
• She became interested in acting after watching her mom, Mandy Teefey.
• She adopted her dog named Chip from an animal shelter.
• Discovered by Disney in a nationwide casting call.
• She sings the theme song in Wizards of Waverly Place (2007).
• Has six dogs: Chip, Willy, Fina, Wallace, Chaz and Baylor.
• Mandy Teefey & Rick Gomez's daughter.
• She wore a purity ring from 2005-2010 that said: "True Love Waits.".
• Her father is of Mexican descent. Her mother, who was adopted, is of part Italian ancestry.
• Her mom gave birth to her at the age of 16.
• Her parents divorced when she was five years old.
• She was named after Tejano singer Selena, who died almost 3 years after she was born.
• She went to Danny Jones Middle School located in Texas.
• Her first name means "moon" in Greek. In classical myth, Selene was the goddess of the moon (though some later classical poetry gives that role to Artemis, the goddess of hunting and animals).
• She is a huge fan of Johnny Depp and Lady Sovereign.
• Both her family and Fernanda Romero are from the same town in Mexico.
• Used to do a YouTube show with best friend Demi Lovato called "The Demi and Selena Show".
• Has a song about her on YouTube called "Selena Gomez" by Greg Kurka.
• Involved with the charity Raise Hope for Congo which helps raise awareness about the violence against Congolese women.
• Participated in the "Runway for Life" benefit for St. Jude's Children Research Hospial. [2008]
• She was named the youngest UNICEF ambassador at age 17. [August 2009]
• Lead singer of the band Selena Gomez & The Scene.
• She and her mom, Mandy Teefey said good-bye to friends and family in Grand Prairie, TX, to start a new Life in Los Angeles, after hearing the life-changing news of Selena's new role on Wizards of Waverly Place (2007).
• Is a huge fan of Britney Spears.
• Huge fan of Fefe Dobson, she covered one of Dobson's tracks "As a Blonde" on her album "Kiss and tell" and Fefe also co-wrote Selena's hit single "Round and Round".
• For her 2011 music video "Love You Like A Love Song", Gomez had horses spray-painted pink. This led to accusations from PETA and singer Pink about the treatment of the animals.
• (June 13, 2011) She was hospitalized with nausea and headaches after appearing on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1992). She was later diagnosed with physical exhaustion and food poisoning.
• Met Demi Lovato at an audition for Barney & Friends (1992); they were both on the show from 2002-2004. Later, they worked together on Princess Protection Program (2009) and Sonny with a Chance (2009). Also directed, together, The Demi and Selena Show (2008).
• Dated Justin Bieber from December 2010 to November 2012, from November 2012 to January 2013, from May 2013 to October 2013, from January 2014 to October 2014, from April 2015 to November 2015 & from October 2017 to March 2018.
• (December 16, 2011) Her mother Mandy Teefey miscarried a baby girl to be named Scarlett J. Teefey at 16 weeks pregnant.
• Has two younger half-sisters,Gracie Elliot Teefey (b. June 12, 2013) through her mother, Mandy Teefey and step-father Brian Teefey and Victoria Gomez (b. June 25, 2014) through her father Ricardo Gomez and step-mother Sara Gomez.
• Appeared in a commercial for Borden milk. [2009]
• Ranked #19 on Maxim's "Hot 100" of 2014 list.
• (December 27, 2013) It was reported that she was suffering from lupus.
• (October 9, 2015) She confirmed that she was battling lupus for several years and underwent course of chemotherapy.
• Took a career break after suffering from "anxiety, panic attacks, and depression" and spent 90 days in rehab. [August 2016]
• The first to reach 100 Million Instagram Followers.
• She likes putting pickle juice on her popcorn.
• Is good friends with Taylor Swift.
• Dated The Weeknd from January 2017 to October 2017.
• (July 13, 2013) Her album "Stars Dance" was released by Hollywood Records.
• (October 9, 2015) Her second album "Revival" was released by Interscope and Polydor Records.
• From 2010-2014, she released her own fashion clothing line called 'Dream Out Loud" through retailer K-Mart. Her collection consisted of, bohemian dresses, floral tops, jeans, skirts, jackets, scarves and hats, all of which were made from recycled or eco-friendly materials.
• In May 2012, she launched her self-titled fragrance "Selena Gomez by Selena Gomez".
• In 2013, she launched her second perfume "Vivamore by Selena Gomez".
• Her favorite Disney movie is Alice in Wonderland (1951).
• In 2017, she had a kidney transplant due to her lupus after Francia Raisa donated a kidney to her. During the transplant, Gomez broke an artery. An emergency surgery was conducted to build a new artery using a vein from her leg.
• She has a limited-edition collection of handbags called the "Selena Grace" that she designed in collaboration with luxury brand Coach.
• Born at 7:19 AM (CDT).

Trademarks:

• Known for her contributions to pop and Latin music.
  
• Voice of Mavis Dracula.
  

Quotes

• Be yourself always, there's no one better!
• I was never the girl who thought I need to make sure I look like all the other girls. I think you look best when you stand out.
• [on having her own band] I'm going to be in a band--no Selena Gomez stuff. I'm not going to be a solo artist. I think that I don't want my name attached to it. I basically want to make music that is fun and that parents and kids can jump around to and have a good time to.
• I wanted to be like my friends. I hung out with girls who had blue eyes and blond hair and I thought, "I want to look like them!".
• [on declaring she will remain a virgin until marriage] I said, "Dad, I want a promise ring". He went to the church and got it blessed. 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.
• [on wearing a purity ring] I've had my ring since I was 12 years old. But for me it's not something I want to go around saying, "Hey, look what I have". It's a promise I made to myself and God. I think some people misinterpret that as a trend and think everyone's getting one.
• [on reports that she and friend Demi Lovato had a feud] You can't care [about reports like that], It's really toxic what they do to the girls in the industry.
• [on Lindsay Lohan and her time in rehab] I don't think anybody should be mean because you never understand what's someone is going through. And it is partly [this] business, because it is crazy and hectic. So I think that nobody should be rude. If this were a normal person, you wouldn't be so judgmental. I feel like people shouldn't judge as much, they should give their sympathy.
• [on revealing she would prefer to date someone who is not famous] You kind of can't help who you'll fall in love with. I'd date someone who isn't in the business in a heartbeat.
• I love Katy Perry! She gave me a song for my second album.
• Everyone wants songs written by Katy Perry. I asked her and she was so nice--she just said, "Yeah, you can have it". She was very kind.
• I don't actually like dates. I get awkward as I never know what to do.
• For me, the person that I really admire because they came from this Disney world would be Shia LaBeouf. He had his own show on Disney Channel. He was really funny and I loved his show. Then he started to do films. Now he is doing really great films and he is respected as an actor. I really like him a lot as an actor. I think he is cute, too, so that helps. I feel that I can relate to him the most.
• I'm going to be Katy Perry for Halloween. I'm going to have the blue hair and the ice cream outfit she did. It's going to be awesome.
• [on working with Katy Perry] It is so much fun. It's very soulful and it's kind of got her flair mixed in with my dance kind-of-a-little techno vibe. So it was really amazing and I really loved it. I was extremely honored, cause I'm a huge fan of hers.
• [on Justin Bieber] I love Justin. When he first started to come over from Canada his manager contacted me and he just said that he would like to meet me and he was just such a good kid.
• [on Demi Lovato] I love her. I completely love her and her whole family to death. I will always talk extremely highly of her and I always have.
• I love Nicki Minaj, Eminem, Katy Perry. They are all about being themselves and I love that.
• [on going to her first concert--a Britney Spears show] We were in the nosebleeds with my cousin. I got the T-shirt and glow sticks and I just remember it being the highlight of my life! I felt like I was on cloud nine!
• [on doing a Britney Spears tribute for her concert] We are working on a Britney tribute, which I'm so stoked about, 'cause I love Britney. I was like, "I have to do it". I wanna do a mash-up of all her songs and just go for it. We're gonna do a little tribute. We're gonna do her hits . . . "Baby One More Time", and then I think we're going to try to incorporate "Toxic" and that phase. And then we might do some of her recent, new stuff.
• [on performing songs from Britney Spears during a tribute concert] I'm not going to even touch Britney! She's so good. I wouldn't want to butcher it. I'm just going to pay tribute to her! I'm gonna say she's awesome.
• [on Rebecca Black's song "Friday"] I love it! Total guilty pleasure! I totally admire her, I think it's awesome that she hasn't taken that downward spiral that other child stars have taken.
• [on her boyfriend, Justin Bieber] Yeah, he is romantic. He gave me a bottle of his new perfume the other day. (2011)
• [on her mother] She made me feel like I was capable of doing anything I wanted, maybe because she didn't really have that opportunity. She taught me everything I know. How I'm no less but also no greater than anyone. How when people come at you with their worst, you should come at them with your best.