Selena Marie Gomez (born July 22, 1992) is an American actress and singer best known for her portrayal of Alex Russo on the Emmy Award winning Disney Channel Original Series, Wizards of Waverly Place. She has starred in the television movies, Another Cinderella Story and Princess Protection Program.
Before Disney, she had one of the kid roles on Barney & Friends. In 2008, she signed a record deal with Hollywood Records and contributed to the Tinker Bell, Another Cinderella Story and Wizards of Waverly Place soundtracks. Her band, Selena Gomez & the Scene, released their debut studio album Kiss & Tell on September 29, 2009, which was certified Gold by RIAA on March 5, 2010.
Early life
Gomez was born in Grand Prairie, Texas to Ricardo Gomez and Mandy Teefy (née Cornett), a former stage actress who was 16 when she gave birth to Gomez.Gomez is an only child. Gomez' birth parents divorced when she was five years old, in 1997. She was raised solely by her working mother, who remarried to Brian Teefy in 2006. Gomez was named after Tejano singer Selena. Her father is Mexican and her mother is of half Italian descent. Gomez has stated that when she was a child, she developed an interest in acting from watching her mother perform in theater productions. "My mom [Mandy] did a lot of theater, and I would watch her rehearse. When she got ready for the show and put on her makeup, I would sit behind her and color. She said, 'You have my lines memorized better than I do!' One day I said [to her], "I want to be like you!."
Acting career
Gomez on the studio set of Wizards of Waverly Place before filming an episode for the show's first season in April, 2007.
Gomez began her acting career at age seven, playing Gianna on Barney & Friends. She said that she learned "everything" about how to act while on the show. Season 7 of Barney & Friends, when Selena Gomez was on the show, was held up for some time. Because of this, the episodes featuring Gomez did not air until she was in 5th grade. This resulted in some mild controversy/confusion as to whether she was on Barney in the 5th grade or the 1st grade.She later had minor roles in Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over and the TV film Walker, Texas Ranger: Trial By Fire. In 2004, Gomez was discovered by the Disney Channel in a nation wide scouting. Gomez appeared as a guest star on The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and had a guest appearance - that later turned into a recurring role - on Hannah Montana from season's two to three. In early 2007 Gomez was cast in the Disney Channel series Wizards of Waverly Place as one of the three main characters, Alex Russo.In 2008, Gomez appeared in Another Cinderella Story, the direct-to-DVD sequel to the 2004 Hilary Duff film, opposite Drew Seeley. She also had a minor voiceover role as one the Mayor's ninety-six daughters in Horton Hears a Who! which released in March of that year. In April, Lacey Rose, of Forbes ranked Gomez as being fifth on their "Eight Hot Kid Stars To Watch" list; and Rose described Gomez as having been "a multitalented teen". In June, 2009, Gomez appeared in the made-for-television Disney Channel movie, Princess Protection Program with her best friend Demi Lovato.On August 28, one month after appearing in Princess Protection Program, Gomez appeared in Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie, a made-for-television film based on the show.
In 2009, Gomez did a guest appearance as herself in one episode, of Lovato's Disney Channel television show Sonny With a Chance, entitled "Battle of The Network Stars". Gomez, along with two cast members of Wizards of Waverly Place appeared in a television three-way cross-over episode with Hannah Montana and The Suite Life on Deck, entitled Wizards on Deck with Hannah Montana. In February 2009, Gomez signed on to star as one of the two female leads in Ramona and Beezus a film adaption of the children's novel series by Beverly Cleary. In October, 2009, it was confirmed that Gomez was to star as the lead in What Boys Want. In March, 2010, Variety reported that Gomez was set to star as one of the three lead roles in Monte Carlo.Gomez later confirmed this on her Facebook account.
Music career
In 2008, Gomez recorded a cover of "Cruella de Vil" -which included a music video for - for the compilation album DisneyMania 6. Gomez recorded three songs for the Another Cinderella Story soundtrack, which Gomez appears in. Gomez also recorded "Fly to Your Heart" for the 2008 animated film Tinker Bell. In July 2008 - before Gomez' sixteenth birthday, she signed a recording deal with Hollywood Records, a music label owned by Disney. In 2008, Gomez appeared in the Jonas Brothers music video for "Burnin' Up". In 2009, Gomez recorded "One and the Same" for Princess Protection Program as a duet with Lovato - they both appear in the film.Gomez recorded four songs, one of which was a cover, for the Wizards of Waverly Place soundtrack, only one single (Magic) from the album was released. In May, of the same year, Gomez was featured - with Forever the Sickest Kids, on a duet version of the non-album song "Whoa Oh!". Entrepreneurship
As of September, 2009, Gomez currently is the new face of Sears back-to-school fashion ad campaign. As part of the endorsement deal Gomez is featured in their television commercials and recorded "I'm Gonna Arrive (Don't Just Go Back)". In August, 2009, Gomez also hosted the "Sears Arrive Air Band Casting Call" – to select five people for the first-ever "Sears Air Band", which performed at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards on September 13, 2009.
In October 2008, Gomez launched her own production company, July Moon Productions, and partnered with XYZ Films to create star vehicles for Gomez. As part of the agreement Gomez will have the opportunity to be able option articles, hire writers and create talent packages to shop to studios.Also, as part of the deal, "XYZ Films will allow Gomez to star in and produce at least two films. Variety reported that: "In August, XYZ [Films] inked a similar deal with Time Inc. and management-production company the Collective to finance the development of the print media giant's content for the bigscreen As part of the July Moon-XYZ deal, [Selena] Gomez will have the ability to cherry-pick projects from the vast Time Inc. library, which includes Time, Sports Illustrated, Fortune and Life."
In October, 2009, Gomez announced her plan to launch her own fashion line, called "Dream Out Loud by Selena Gomez", which is set to launch in fall 2010. The clothing line will consist of and feature bohemian dresses, floral tops, jeans, skirts, jackets, scarves and hats, all made from recycled or eco-friendly materials. Gomez said that the line will reflect her own personal style and described the clothing as being "pretty, feminine, and bohemian," and: "With my line, I really want to give the customer options on how they can put their own looks together I want the pieces that can be easy to dress up or down, and the fabrics being eco-friendly and organic is super important Also, the tags will all have some of my inspirational quotes on them. I'm just looking to send a good message." Gomez, who has no background in fashion, teamed up with designers Tony Melillo and Sandra Campos, both who have worked with big-name fashion houses. Gomez said of the partnering: "When I met Tony and Sandra, I was instantly comfortable with them and now they are just like family to me They are so creative and I love how I can just call them up whenever and talk to them about everything, even if it's just about changing a button They've been so cool about everything."The brand will be manufactured by, Melillo and Campos teamed with New York-based Adjmi Apparel and formed by Adjmi CH Brands LLC; which is the holding company for the brand. Personal life
Gomez began wearing a purity ring when she was 12 years old.As of December 2009, Gomez has five rescue dogs, and has described herself as being a "huge animal lover”.Gomez is close friends with Demi Lovato, whom she first met at the Barney & Friends auditions. After Gomez and Lovato posted a video blog on YouTube in March 2008, Miley Cyrus and her friend Mandy Jiroux uploaded a parody of that video, which caught the interest of entertainment media. Reports included the theory that Gomez and Lovato might replace Cyrus. Gomez clarified there was no feud, saying: "I'm not interested in being anybody but myself, and I'm not here to replace anyone. I think that she's a wonderful performer, and of course it's a compliment. But I would like to take a different route."
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