selena

BIOGRAPHY

Sun, 24 Apr 2011 15:21:31 +0100

Selena Marie Gomez, born on July 22, 1992, is an American actress and singer best known for playing Alex Russo on the Disney Channel Original Series, Wizards Of Waverly Place. Selena, an only child, was born in Grand Prairie, Texas. Her father, Ricardo Gomez, is from Mexico and her mother, Mandy Teefey, is of half Italian descent. She was named after Tejano music singer Selena and has met her family. Her mother is a former stage actress. Gomez began her acting career at the age of seven, where she spent her birthday at an open casting call competing with thousands of others for a role in the hit children's television series Barney & Friends. She was cast as a recurring character named Gianna in seasons seven and eight. Gomez appeared in national commercials for several companies including Wal-Mart, Hasbro and T.G.I. Friday's. In 2003 she was cast in the movie Spy Kids 3D for a small role. She made a small appearance in Walker, Texas Ranger: Trial By Fire and played Emily Garcia in the movie, Brain Zapped.

In 2004 Gomez was discovered by Disney. She appeared in the Disney's The Suite Life of Zack & Cody as Gwen. Subsequently, she appeared in the second season of Disney's Hannah Montana as Hannah Montana's rival, Mikayla. In 2007, Gomez was cast in the lead role Alex Russo in the Disney Channel Original Series, Wizards of Waverly Place. A second season was ordered. In 2008, Gomez was involved in two feature films. The first, was a voice-over of the Mayor's 96 daughters, in the animated film, Horton Hears a Who!. The second was a sequel to A Cinderella Story, Another Cinderella Story. That same year, she was cast as Carter, an insecure tomboy in the upcoming Disney Channel Original Movie, Princess Protection Program alongside Demi Lovato. Gomez appeared in the third edition of the Disney Channel Games. Subsequently, she had hosted the second show of Studio DC: Almost Live. On October 30, 2008, TV Guide reported that Gomez had launched her own production company, July Moon Productions.

Gomez's music career began in 2006 when she had recorded the theme song for her first movie, Brain Zapped, the songs "Everything Is Not What It Seems" and "Make It Happen" in the episode Make it Happen (Plan B) for her Disney Channel's Wizards of Waverly Place. She contributed a cover of the classic song "Cruella de Vil" for the 101 Dalmatians platinum DVD; the song was also featured on DisneyMania 6. During 2008, she recorded three songs for the movie, Another Cinderella Story. The songs were "Tell Me Something I Don't Know", "Bang a Drum" and "New Classic". She had also recorded one for the animated film Tinker Bell, called "Fly to Your Heart". In 2008, she signed a record deal with Hollywood Records. She is currently recording songs for her debut album, which is set for release in 2009.

Gomez is close friends with fellow actress Demi Lovato, whom she has known since at the Barney & Friends auditions. After Gomez and Lovato posted a video on YouTube in March 2008, Miley Cyrus uploaded a parody of that video as part of the Miley & Mandy show, which caught the interest of entertainment media. Reports included the theory that Gomez and Cyrus were arguing over fellow Disney star Nick Jonas, or that Gomez and Lovato might replace Cyrus after Cyrus' Vanity Fair photo shoot. On the issue of replacing Cyrus, Gomez clarified, "I'm not interested in being anybody but myself, and I'm not here to replace anyone. I think that she's a wonderful performer, and of course it's a compliment. But I would like to take a different route." Gomez has teamed up with State Farm Insurance to make drivers aware about the importance of being a reliable driver. She is also teaming up with Island Dog and Do Something.org, to help dogs in Puerto Rico.

FACTS

Sun, 24 Apr 2011 15:20:52 +0100

-Selena played Gianna on Barney in 2002 and is best friends with her co-star, Demi Lovato.
-Selena sings the theme song to her new show on Disney Channel, "Wizards of Waverly Place".
-Selena was cast as Stevie Sanchez, Miranda's little sister on the Lizzie McGuire spinoff, but the show was never picked up.
-She was first discovered by Disney in a nation-wide casting call.
-Selena has the same agent as teen superstar, Miley Cyrus.
-Even though Selena played Steve Carrells daughter in Horton Hears A Who! she never got to meet him.
-Selena has a dog named Chip which she rescued from an animal shelter.
-Selena loves to surf and skateboard.
-Selena's favorite songs to sing are 'Rockstar' by Hannah Montana or songs by Paramore.
-Selena got into acting after watching her mom.
-Selena enjoys singing as well as acting. She recorded a song for the movie "Brainzapped" which she was in.

QUOTES

Sun, 24 Apr 2011 15:20:06 +0100

"I don't really like dressing up. Some people probably think actresses dress up everywhere they go. I'm in sweatpants half the time with my hair in a ponytail."
"I don't get in as much trouble as my character, Alex, but I am sassy!"
"I've done episodes on The Suite Life of Zack and Cody and Hannah Montana. On Hannah Montana everyone was so sweet, but I had to play a nasty girl. I'm not really that way - I love Miley!"
"My character[Alex] is spunky, outgoing, and adventurous. She's the only girl in the family so she's the one who's looking out for all you girls!"
"Wizards is about sibbling rivalry with magical powers. We're being taught wizardry by our father, but we're forbidden to do spells unsupervised...which my character tends to do!"
"Alex kind of has Dad around her finger, so she can work him a little bit."
"I'm not really a girly girl."
"Lady Sovereign! She's awsome. I'm obsessed with her! I found her a year before she came over here. I have her first album, Vertically Challenged, the one before Public Warning."
"I came to my mom and told her I wanted to do this."
"I can't count how many pairs of Converse shoes I own."
"Stuffing! That's my favorite food! I love getting a whole plate of stuffing, then a plate for everything else. All of our food is homemade."
"I love Cody[Linely], but I've known him since I was little - We're both from Dallas, Texas. He's like a brother to me!"