Selena Gomez was born in New York City on July 22, 1992. Soon after, the
family moved to Grand Prairie, Texas, where she was raised, an only
child, born to Ricardo Gomez and Mandy Teefy (née Cornett), a former
stage actress who was 16 when she gave birth to Gomez. Her birth parents
separated when she was five years old; her mother remarried in 2006 to
Brian Teefy. Gomez was named after Tejano singer Selena. Her father is
Mexican and her mother is of Italian descent.
Gomez’s debut was
at age 12 playing Gianna on the children’s show "Barney and Friends." It
was on the set of Barney that she met her best friend, Demi Lovato.
Two
years later, she landed a small role in the Disney Channel sitcom The
Suite Life of Zack and Cody, playing Gwen. She has also guest starred in
"Hannah Montana" as Mikayla, Hannah’s rival.
Currently, Selena
Gomez stars as Alex Russo in "The Wizards of Waverly Place." The show
first aired in October 2007, and has become a huge success. Alex Russo
is a girl who is part of a wizard family. Some of her co-stars include
David Henrie, Jake T. Austin, and David DeLouise. A "Wizards of Waverly
Place" television movie is due out in the summer of 2009.
In
2008, Selena starred in the DVD sequel to the very successful film "A
Cinderella Story" titled "Another Cinderella Story." She was also
featured in the Jonas Brothers music video for their hit song Burnin’
Up.
Gomez has just completed filming in Toronto for the full-length feature "Ramona and Beezus," due out in 2010.
