Selena Marie Gomez was born in Grand Prairie, Texas,[3] to Ricardo Joel Gomez and former stage actress Amanda Dawn "Mandy" Cornett.[5][6][7] Gomez was named after Tejanosinger Selena, who died almost three years after Gomez was born.[8] Her father is of Mexican descent while her mother, who was adopted, has some Italian ancestry.[9][10][11]Regarding her Hispanic heritage, Gomez has stated, "My family does have Quinceañeras, and we go to the communion church. We do everything that's Catholic, but we don't really have anything traditional except [that we] go to the park and have barbecues on Sundays after church."[12] Her birth parents divorced when she was five years old, and she was raised as an only child by her working mother, who had her when she was 16.[5][13] This led to the family having financial troubles, with her mother struggling to provide for them.[14] On the situation, Gomez stated "I was frustrated that my parents weren't together, and never saw the light at the end of the tunnel where my mom was working hard to provide a better life for me. I'm terrified of what I would have become if I'd stayed [in Texas]."[15] On June 12, 2013, Mandy and her second husband Brian Teefey had a daughter named Gracie Elliot Teefey.[16][17]
Gomez met Demi Lovato while they were auditioning for Barney and Friends.[18] The two became close friends and would later participate in various roles together.[19][20] She earned a high school diploma through homeschooling in May 2010.[21] Gomez officially earned her first role in 2002 when she was selected to appear on the children's television series Barney and Friends as the recurring character Gianna.[22] She appeared in a total of sixteen episodes, with her final appearance being in 2004. Gomez later stated that her age had led to her departure from the show, with producers feeling she was getting too old.[23] In 2003, Gomez made a cameo in the film Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over, making it her film debut.[24] Following this, Gomez began appearing in various commercials. In 2005, she had a cameo role in the television film Walker, Texas Ranger: Trial by Fire as Julie. Gomez later guest starred in an episode of the Disney Channel series The Suite Life of Zack & Cody in 2006.[25]