#ItaliansUnknown: Selena Gomez Selena Marie Gomez was born on July 22, 1992, in Grand Prairie, Texas and is an American singer, actress and producer. Her father is of Mexican descent, while her mother, who was adopted, has Italian ancestry. As a teenager, she rose to prominence by starring as Alex Russo on the Disney Channel television series Wizards of Waverly Place. Gomez released three albums with her former band, all of which reached the top ten of the US Billboard 200. She has received various accolades and was named Billboard's Woman of the Year in 2017, and she also broke 15 Guinness World Records. Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2020. #SelenaGomez