Selena Marie Gomez (born July 22, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television producer. After appearing on the children's television series Barney & Friends (2002–2004), she received wider recognition for her portrayal of Alex Russo on the Emmy Award-winning Disney Channel television series Wizards of Waverly Place, which aired from 2007 until 2012. Gomez also starred in the films Another Cinderella Story (2008), Princess Protection Program (2009), Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie (2009), Ramona and Beezus (2010), and Monte Carlo (2011). Thereafter, she focused on more mature roles in Spring Breakers (2012), Getaway (2013), The Fundamentals of Caring (2016), and The Dead Don't Die (2019). She voices the character of Mavis in the Hotel Transylvania film franchise, and serves as an executive producer of the Netflix television drama series 13 Reasons Why (2017–present) and the Netflix documentary series Living Undocumented (2019).
With her former band Selena Gomez & the Scene, she attained the gold certified top-ten albums Kiss & Tell (2009), A Year Without Rain (2010) and When the Sun Goes Down (2011) on the US Billboard 200. In 2012, the band went on hiatus, and Gomez focused work on her debut album as a solo artist. The pop and dance influenced Stars Dance (2013) became her first number-one album on the Billboard 200, and included "Come & Get It", which became her first top-ten entry on the US Billboard Hot 100. To finish out her contract with Hollywood Records, she released the compilation album For You (2014). It included the single "The Heart Wants What It Wants", which became her second top-ten entry.
After signing with Interscope Records in late 2014, she released her second studio album, Revival (2015). It became her second consecutive number-one regular album on the Billboard 200, with the highest first week sales of her career. The album was well-received by music critics, who praised the album's production and lyrical content and became Gomez first album to achieve platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The first three singles, "Good for You" with ASAP Rocky, "Same Old Love", and "Hands to Myself", all became top-ten entries on the Billboard Hot 100, and reached number one on the Mainstream Top 40 chart. Since then, she was featured on several collaborations, including "We Don't Talk Anymore" with Charlie Puth, "It Ain't Me" with Kygo, "Wolves" with Marshmello, and "Taki Taki" with DJ Snake. After a short absence from the music scene, Gomez returned with new music, including "Lose You to Love Me" from her third album Rare, which became her first number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Rare also debuted at number-one on the Billboard 200, becoming her third consecutive number-one album.
In 2017, Billboard reported that Gomez has sold over 7 million albums and 22 million singles worldwide. Gomez has earned numerous awards throughout her career, and was recognized as the Billboard Woman of the Year in 2017. She has a large following on social media, and was at one time the most followed individual on Instagram, before being surpassed by athlete Cristiano Ronaldo and fellow singer Ariana Grande in 2018. Gomez's other ventures include a clothing line, a handbag line, a fragrance line, and a production company named July Moonhead Productions. She has worked with various charitable organizations and became a UNICEF ambassador at the age of seventeen.
