Selena Gomez

Gomez was born in Grand Prairie, Texas^[1] 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 singerSelena. 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!." 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.