Date of Birth: 22 July 1992
Place of Birth: Grand Prairie, Texas, USA
Birth Name: Selena Marie Gomez
Heart Monitor: Nick Jonas, ex-boyfriend ; Taylor Lautner, dated

(2008 to 2009)

Selena Gomez, best known for her portrayal of Alex Russo on the Disney Channel’s Wizards of Waverly Place (TV), was born Selena Maria Gomez on July 22, 1992. The award winning American actress and singer, who was named after the Tejano singer Selena, hails from Grand Prairie, Texas, and is an only child. Her birth parents Ricardo Gomez and Mandy Teefy, divorced when she was five years old. Her father was Mexican and her mother was of Italian decent, and gave birth to Selena when she was just sixteen years old. A former stage actress, Mandy remarried to Brian Teefy from Detroit, Michigan in 2006. Selena travels back to Michigan frequently to visit with family.

Selena developed an early interest in acting by watching her mother perform at local theaters in Dallas. She would often sit with her as she prepared for a performance, and helped her get ready. During rehearsals, her mom would quip, “You have my lines memorized better than I do.” Selena recalls one day telling her, “I want to be just like you.”

By the age of seven, she was. Her first acting role came as a regular on Barney and Friends (TV). She played Gianna during Season 7 of the hit children’s show. After Barney, she moved on to various movies, TV shows, and commercials.

In 2007, at the age of ten, Selena was cast in her biggest role to date as Alex on Wizards of Waverly Place (TV), where she continues to play one of the three leading characters in the Disney Channel series.

When she’s not acting, she’s singing. She has recorded songs for Disney and is currently under contract with Hollywood Records, a label owned by Disney. She has no interest in being a solo artist, instead she prefers the collaborative atmosphere of a band. On September 29, 2009, Selena Gomez and The Scene, released their debut studio album titled “Kiss and Tell.” It debuted at number nine on the Billboard 200, selling 66,000 copies in its first week of release.

Given the choice, Selena prefers acting over singing. When she’s taking a break from both, she enjoys basketball, cheer leading, skateboarding, surfing, and dancing. She is a fan of Lady Sovereign and Johnny Depp, and lists her celebrity crushes as Ryan Gosling and Shia LaBeouf. Her favorite band is Fall Out Boy, although she is also a fan of Christina Aguilara and Paramore. She observes as one of her favorite gifts a CD containing Frank Sinatra love songs.

Selena, at the young age of 17, is already concerned with giving back. She was involved in the UR Votes Count campaign, which encouraged other teenagers to learn about the 2008 Presidential candidates, Barack Obama and John McCain. In 2008, she was named spokesperson for UNICEF’s Trick or Treat campaign, which encouraged kids to raise money over Halloween to help children around the world. They raised $700,000 for the cause. She was also named ambassador of DoSomething.org, after her involvement with the charity Island Dog, which offers assistance to dogs in Puerto Rico.

As a spokesperson for State Farm Insurance, Selena appears in TV ads that run on the Disney Channel to promote safe driving. She is currently involved with RAISE Hope for Congo, a charity that raises awareness about the violence against Congolese women, and was recently named the youngest UNICEF Ambassador. In her first field mission, she traveled to Ghana in order to see the poor conditions under which children live.

She believes in using her celebrity to shine a light on those in need. Consequently, she is involved in several other charities and organizations which allow her to fulfill her goal of making a difference in the lives of others, particularly children.

Selena Gomez is a self professed Christian, and since the age of twelve, has been wearing a purity ring with “true love waits” engraved inside of it. She is an animal lover, and as of June 2009, has four dogs. She is very close to friends Demi Lovato, who she met while working on Barney and Friends (TV), and Miley Cyrus.

Aside from her acting/singing career, and her philanthropic activities, Selena launched her own production company in 2008, called July Moon Productions. Partnered with XYZ Films, she will develop and produce film projects in conjunction with Time, Inc.

She’s also working on a clothing line which she plans to launch in the fall of 2010 called “Dream Out Loud by Selena Gomez.”

Selena currently lives in Los Angeles, California.

Written By Jennifer Maurer (Jr. Staff Writer)