Gomez was born in Grand Prairie,Texas to Ricardo Gomez and Mandy Teefy (nee 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!."
Selena Marie Gomez was born to Ricardo Gomez and Mandy Cornett on July 22, 1992 in New York City, New York. At a young age, she moved from New York to Grand Prairie, Texas. Giving birth to Selena at 16, her mom Mandy recalls living "paycheck-to-paycheck".
Selena started out on “Barney and Friends” (1992) as "Gianna" in 2001 where she really discovered her talent. Unfortunately, they dropped her from the series after just two years. In 2003, she had a very small role in the movie Spy Kids 3-D:Game Over (2003) and a bit part in 2005 when she played "Julie" in Walker,Texas Ranger :Trial by Fire (2005) (TV) with Mitchel Musso and in 2006 as "Emily Grace Garcia" in Brian Zapped (2006) (TV) when she recorded a song for the movie. She guest starred as "Gwen" in “The Suit Life Of Zack and Cody” (2005) and as Hannah's rival, the 'evil' "Mikkela", in “Hannah Montana”(2006). Selena's amazing talent landed her roles in two Disney series, both spin-offs. Unfortunately, neither show was picked up until 2007 when she got the role of "Alex Russo" in the magical series “Wizards of Waverly Place”(2007) which she auditioned for three times. In March 2008, she made her first animated movie “Horton Hears a Whoo!” (2008) and later starred in “Another Cinderella Story” (2008) (V) with Disney Channel star Andrew Seeley for ABC Family. Her two Disney Channel Original Movies “Princess Protection Program” (2009) (TV), with real-life BFF Demi Lovato, & “Wizards of Waverly Place : The Movie” (2009) (TV) were both aired in Summer 2009.
