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Selena Gomez Biography: Disney Star Turned Beauty Mogul

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Selena Gomez headshot

Selena Gomez biography: the Disney child star who built a billion-dollar beauty empire. Selena Marie Gomez (born July 22, 1992) is an American singer, actress, producer, and entrepreneur best known for Disney Channel’s Wizards of Waverly Place, Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building, and founding the cosmetics brand Rare Beauty — the asset behind her disputed $700M–$1.3B net worth.

Quick facts

  • Full name: Selena Marie Gomez
  • Born: July 22, 1992, Grand Prairie, Texas, USA
  • Nationality: American
  • Occupation: Singer, songwriter, actress, producer, entrepreneur
  • Known for: Wizards of Waverly Place, Only Murders in the Building, Rare Beauty
  • Spouse: Benny Blanco (married September 27, 2025)
  • Children: None publicly known

Early life and background

Selena Marie Gomez was born on July 22, 1992, in Grand Prairie, Texas, to Amanda Dawn “Mandy” Teefey (née Cornett), a former stage actress, and Ricardo Joel Gomez. Her father is of Mexican ancestry; her mother is of half-Italian descent. She was named after the Tejano singer Selena Quintanilla-Pérez. Her birth parents divorced when she was five, and Gomez was raised by her mother, who was just 16 when Selena was born. She began auditioning as a child and landed her first acting role at around age nine.

Career

Gomez’s acting debut came on the children’s series Barney & Friends (2001–2003). Her breakthrough arrived in 2007 when she was cast as Alex Russo in the Disney Channel sitcom Wizards of Waverly Place, which ran until 2012 and made her one of the network’s most recognizable stars.

Parallel to acting, she launched a music career, fronting Selena Gomez & the Scene from 2009 to 2012 (all three studio albums — Kiss & Tell, A Year Without Rain, When the Sun Goes Down — earned RIAA Gold certification). She then went solo with the albums Stars Dance (2013), Revival (2015), and Rare (2020), followed by the Spanish-language EP Revelación (2021), which earned a Grammy nomination.

Her adult acting career took a decisive turn in 2021 with Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building, in which she stars as Mabel Mora and serves as an executive producer. In 2024 she appeared in Emilia Pérez, sharing the ensemble Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival that year. In March 2025 she released the joint album I Said I Love You First with her husband, music producer Benny Blanco.

Her most consequential business move came in 2020, when she founded the cosmetics brand Rare Beauty — insisting on being an owner rather than a paid face, a decision that would transform her finances.

Philanthropy and advocacy

Alongside Rare Beauty, Gomez launched the Rare Impact Fund in 2020, pledging to raise $100 million for youth mental-health organizations (1% of Rare Beauty sales is donated). At the fund’s fourth annual benefit, held October 14, 2026, at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles — where Gomez hosted in a red custom Prada gown — she announced the fund had raised more than $30 million, supporting organizations across five continents and reaching an estimated 3.5 million young people annually. She has served as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador since 2009.

Personal life

Gomez is married to music producer Benny Blanco (Benjamin Joseph Levin). The couple announced their engagement in December 2024 and married on September 27, 2025, in Santa Barbara, California, celebrating their first wedding anniversary on September 27, 2026. She is close friends with fellow artist Taylor Swift, whom she has described as a source of marriage advice. She has no publicly known children.

Net worth snapshot

Selena Gomez’s net worth is estimated at $700 million to $1.3 billion (October 2026). Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index placed her at $1.3 billion in September 2024, while Forbes’ May 2025 estimate was a more conservative ~$700 million — the gap comes down entirely to how each outlet values her roughly 51% stake in Rare Beauty. Read the full breakdown in Selena Gomez’s net worth.

Frequently asked questions

How old is Selena Gomez?

Selena Gomez is 34 years old. She was born on July 22, 1992, in Grand Prairie, Texas.

Is Selena Gomez married?

Yes. Selena Gomez married music producer Benny Blanco on September 27, 2025, in Santa Barbara, California; the couple celebrated their first wedding anniversary on September 27, 2026.

What is Selena Gomez known for?

Selena Gomez is known for starring as Alex Russo in Disney Channel’s Wizards of Waverly Place, as Mabel Mora in Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building, her solo music career, and founding the cosmetics brand Rare Beauty.

What happened at the Rare Impact Fund Benefit in 2026?

On October 14, 2026, Selena Gomez hosted the fourth annual Rare Impact Fund Benefit at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, announcing the fund had raised more than $30 million toward its $100 million goal for youth mental health.

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