From teen idol to global pop icon and Emmy nominated actress... Happy 30th birthday, Selena Gomez!

Selena Gomez burst onto TV screens at the age of eight as she starred alongside future fellow star Demi Lovato on children's TV. What followed were years of teen stardom as a teenage wizard on Disney Channel before going on to conquer the world of pop. In honor of Selena's 30th birthday, find out how she went from child star to major Hollywood player...

Selena Gomez was born on July 22, 1992 in Grand Prairie, Texas, to Ricardo Joel Gomez and former stage actress Mandy Teefey and became interested in acting when watching her mother rehearse. Despite being "incredibly shy", by the time she was eight, Selena had landed herself a role on 'Barney and Friends' and credits her experience on set as her acting education. She said: "I was very shy when I was little [...] I didn't know what 'camera right' was. I didn't know what blocking was. I learned everything from 'Barney'."

After appearing in a couple of episodes of 'Hannah Montana' opposite Miley Cyrus, Selena got her big break when she was cast in the leading role of feisty teenage wizard Alex Russo on Disney Channel sitcom 'Wizards of Waverly Place'. The show - which also starred Jake T. Austin and David Henrie - was a smash hit for the station and ran from 2007 until 2012. Selena recorded the theme song to the show and during her time at Disney had teamed up with fellow stars The Jonas Brothers to record music and even formed her own pop rock band.

Not content with having her own Disney series and starring in a string of teen movies such as 'Another Cinderella Story', in 2009 became the lead vocalist of pop rock band Selena Gomez and the Scene. Alongside Joey Clement, Dane Forrest, Greg Garman, Drew Taubenfeld, Ethan Roberts, Nick Foxer and Heather Marie, Selena released three top ten albums and won multiple awards for hits such as 'Love You Like a Love Song' and 'Hit the Lights' before disbanding in 2012. Reflecting on her time in the band, she said: "That to me was a very specific time in my life. I think if you're 14, 15, 16 and you're trying to sing about situations in life that you haven't experienced, I don't really know if that qualifies you as an artist, if I'm being honest with you."

Selena actually goes way back with fellow pop star Demi Lovato. The pair met on the set of 'Barney and Friends' as children and soon after Selena landed 'Wizards of Waverly Place' , Demi became a star on 'Camp Rock' and fellow Disney sitcom 'Sonny with a Chance.' The pair also starred together in the leading roles in 'Princess Protection Programme' in 2009. The pair have grown apart in recent years but Demi remarked: "When you grow up with somebody, you're always going to have love for them. But I'm not friends with her."

In 2012, Selena cast her final spell as Alex Russo and 'Wizards of Waverly Place' officially came to an end. Just a few short months later, Selena was storming the charts as a solo star. 'Come and Get It' was a Top 10 hit and in early 2013, her album 'Stars Dance' hit the top spot. Despite the success, Selena admitted it was hard to shake off her Disney kid image. She said: "I have slowly pushed through [Disney], and I'm really glad, but it was very frustrating. I felt like a joke, you know?"

Selena has dated a string of famous guys, but none more so prominent than fellow pop star Justin Bieber. From December 2010 to March 2018, the pair were in an on-again, off-again relationship. The pair called it quits for the final time in 2018 and Justin married model Hailey Baldwin later that year. Selena is currently single after having dated the likes of The Weeknd and Niall Horan, but later said of her relationship with Justin: "I'll forever support him and love him in a way that ... We grew up together. I think people want it to be different. We were so in love."

Selena has received a considerable amount of awards and accolades during her career and in 2022 she was nominated as a producer for Outstanding Comedy Series for Hulu crime caper 'Only Murders in the Building', in which she also starred. Selena has at time or another held 15 world records! Selena now holds 10 valid records in total. These include Most Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards blimps won (female), Most Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards blimps won by a female singer, Most likes for an actor on Facebook (female), First person with 100 million followers on Instagram, Most followers on Twitter for an actor (female), Most followed female chart-topper on Musical.ly, Most followers on Instagram for an actor (female) and Most Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards won by an individual.

In 2020, Selena was reported to be worth $75 million, but things weren't always that way. Selena remembered: "I remember my mom would run out of gas all of the time and we’d sit there and have to go through the car and get quarters and help her get gas. Her mother Mandy added: "Ya we might have run out of gas – we did have to walk to the dollar store to get dollar spaghetti and make it … so we always had food but if I knew she wanted to go to a concert I would save up for it. You do the best you can with what you’re given."

Selena received a kidney transplant in 2017 from her best friend, Francia Raisa. The singer's vital organs were failing due to complications from lupus, a disease that causes the body’s immune system to attack its own organs and tissues. Previously speaking about her condition - which she was diagnosed with in 2014 - Selena said: "My kidneys were just done. "That was it, and I didn’t want to ask a single person in my life. The thought of asking someone to do that was really difficult for me. Francia volunteered and did it. And let alone someone wanting to volunteer, it is incredibly difficult to find a match. The fact that she was a match, I mean, that’s unbelievable. That’s not real.”

From child star to teen idol to pop star and accalimed actress Selena has come a long way from that little girlin Texas who dreamed of being an actress like her mom. This year, the brunette beauty has returneed to acting in the hit Hulu series 'Only Murders in the Building' and admitted that she "loves" growing up as she appraoches her 30th birthday. She said: "I love growing up. When I was younger, I was scared of it, and I thought by now my life would look so different. But now I’m like, ‘Wow, this is not what I ever expected, and I couldn’t be more thrilled.’ I’ve stopped caring about what people have to say, and that’s been wonderful." Happy birthday, Selena!