Selena Gomez rose to fame with her role on Disney Channel’s Wizards Of Waverly Place, which ran from 2007 to 2012, and, in a recent interview, opened up about how her time on the show shaped her as an actress.
“I was extremely blessed to get picked out of Texas and chosen to become a part of one of the biggest machines in the world — it was my high school,” Selena told Allure.\
“I think the female characters on Disney Channel have a lot of strength. And my comedic timing, my improv skills, everything I experienced made me a better actress,” she added.
“When I was 13, I did the pilot for Wizards of Waverly Place,” Selena continued. “I moved to L.A. when I was 14. [That] show went for about four and a half years. And I’m still trucking on.”
However, there was a time when she struggled with the pressures of fame that came with a wildly successful TV show.
“My personal life was out everywhere,” she recalls. “It felt very claustrophobic and… I felt very trapped.”
After her Disney stint, Selena made a successful foray into the music industry, releasing several albums – Stars Dance in 2013, Revival in 2015, and most recently, Rare – and with it came a different set of pressure.
“There was pressure to seem more adult on my album, Revival,” she says. “[I felt] the need to show skin… I really don’t think I was [that] person.”
She’s learned to live with the public scrutiny on her personal life over the years – but she’s not exactly immune to what’s being said about her. Selena, who’s been candid with fans about her mental health struggles, limits her use of social media – she’s known for taking breaks from time to time. She also takes steps to control what she sees online – like, not Googling herself.
“I haven’t done that in years. I honestly can’t,” she says. “I’m strong in a lot of ways, but I think I just have way too much of a sensitive heart.”
She’s worked long and hard in her career and impressively expanded her resume to include being a producer, an actress, a singer, a philanthropist, a home chef, an entrepreneur and more. She also takes pride in maintaining control on what goes on in her personal and professional life.
“I am in full control of my life and everything that I do, what is out there, everything,” she says. “So I would like to say, yes. I’m in charge of everything in my life.”
