Selena Gomez is generally pretty open about her life, but there is always more to learn about the star. Most people are fully aware of the star's singing and acting talents and that she's been at it for quite some time. Selena is one of those people who has managed to seem pretty authentic and happy throughout her years in the entertainment industry without managing to get into too much trouble... despite the fact that she has had her fair share of emotional stuff to deal with. She seems to be a fan favorite because of all that, plus the fact that she really enjoys connecting with her fans and acknowledges their presence in her life. Some celebs try to keep it cool and separate, but Selena is always open to her people even when she's actively voicing her dislikes or asking for privacy and space. She took a bit of a time out last year to regain her strength, but she's back and better than ever. Here are 15 things that you never knew about the star.
15 She Was Named After Selena
Selena was named after the late Tejano singer Selena Quintanilla, which is pretty interesting since she obviously became a singer herself. Could they have known? Selena Gomez once said, "My dad and mom were huge fans. My name was going to be Priscilla but my cousin actually took the name...they actually loved Selena's music so they just named me after her." Selena Quintanilla was one of the most celebrated Mexican-American entertainers of the late 20th century, and she is considered one of the most influential Latin artists of all time for bringing her music style into the mainstream. In addition to being a singer, the original Selena was also a songwriter, spokesperson, actress, and fashion designer. Sadly the star was murdered. Luckily those kinds of tragedies do not happen too often. She is widely remembered for her contributions and Jennifer Lopez even portrayed her in a film. We just love this fact.
14 She Gets Star Struck
Like many other people in the world, Selena Gomez gets star struck. Celebrities are not immune from getting star struck since no matter how famous you are, other people are still famous too. It may sound like a pretty bizarre thing but it's true. Selena happens to be a huge fan of Rachel McAdams, and when she ran into the actress once at an acting class, she says that she totally froze. She seems to be as much a fan of Rachel's films as Rachel herself since Selena has also said that if Mean Girls ever turned into a play and was taken to Broadway that she would love to play the character of Regina George, who Rachel played in the film. She also at one point had a crush on Shia LaBeouf and asked him to come on Wizards of Waverly Place when she starred on the show, which proves that she can be a fan girl like the best of us.
13 She Was On 'Barney'
You might have known that Selena has been in the business since she was very young, but did you know that she got her start on Barney and Friends? Well she did at the ripe age of seven. She cut her teeth acting on this show and it's also where she met her buddy Demi Lovato. She has admitted that she was never popular at school and that she just tried to focus as much as possible. She seems to think that she would have gotten bullied if her cousin hadn't been the captain of the cheerleading squad and one of the popular kids. She has said, "I was never the popular kid at school. I had two friends, but I just sat at the back of the room and got on with my work. School is such an awkward time in your life. I was never confident in school." It's sort of hard to imagine that someone who is so comfortable on stage and on TV isn't comfortable interacting with her peers, but it's something that we hear pretty frequently from performers.
12 She And Demi Lovato Had A YouTube Show
Before they were super famous, Selena and Demi Lovato had a YouTube show called "The Demi and Selena Show." They showed off their secret handshake, danced to other people's songs, answered questions from fans, gave shoutouts, had family members as special guests, and so on. These two have known each other forever and have been really great friends, but they also tend to confuse people based on the fact that sometimes it seems like they aren't great friends. Demi supposedly unfollowed Selena on Twitter, that sort of thing. They don't tend to pose for photos together very often as adults. In 2010 Selena started hanging out with Taylor Swift, and at one point a paparazzi asked Demi how Selena was and she replied, "Ask Taylor." Yikes! Sounds like the two might have drifted off for a moment or two there. Who knows. What we do know is that they've known each other forever.
11 She's A UNICEF Ambassador
Selena is not only a UNICEF ambassador but she was actually the youngest person ever to be appointed when she was at the age of 17 in 2009. One of her missions was in Nepal, and she has talked about her time spent there. Some of that time was spent helping out at a birthing center. She said that "I got to go to the hospital to the birthing center, and that was actually really beautiful. They have women volunteers who go out and get women who are pregnant — who aren't in a healthy environment — and bring them to the birthing center. UNICEF provides all of the equipment and all of the immunizations; so then the women are essentially safe. They are now having a healthy birthing process." Of course seeing this first hand allowed her to bring back some perspective about things many of us take for granted, such as always having access to soap running water to keep our hands clean.
10 She Had Her First Kiss Onscreen
Selena's first kiss was with actor Dylan Sprouse when she co-starred with him on The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. Dylan is a twin and his brother Cole Sprouse actually provided the first onscreen kiss for Victoria Justice on the same show. Selena is in pretty good company when it comes to onscreen first kisses. Other celebrities who have had the same thing happen, like Dakota Fanning in the film Sweet Home Alabama, Ashley Benson as a 15-year-old on Days of Our Lives, Josh Hutcherson at the age of 11 on Little Manhattan, Danielle Fischel and Ben Savage sharing their first kisses on Boy Meets World, Kirsten Dunst kissing Brad Pitt onscreen when she was only 11, and Mila Kunis having her first kiss at the age of 15 with her future husband Ashton Kutcher. Of course, Mila and Ashton's situation is pretty epic and magical and unique, but it's still super cute.
9 She Really Likes Pickles
Selena is a big fan of pickles. She likes to eat popcorn with pickle juice on it and at one point she expressed her desire to make a pickle-flavored gum. She even keeps pickles backstage at her concerts and on her tour bus. But she also likes to keep around some hot Cheetos and chocolate on the tour bus, although her trainer doesn't seem to be super into that anymore. She has said, "I used to have chicken pot pie, Hot Cheetos, Gatorade, Red Bull if I needed a pep in my step. But nope, I can't do that. I've got to be a little more conscious. My trainer won't let me eat [junk] but I can still have my pot pies. Just not every day." She has also said that she loves to eat Thai food on tour, enjoys a plate of fried chicken and that she really loves french fries too. Besides the chocolate, it seems that Selena has a strong love for salty snacks. Sounds like she would have to work out all day with a diet like that at, but according to point number one that might not be true at all.
8 Her Instagram Account Is Worth A Lot
A report by a company called D’Marie Analytics estimated that Selena's Instagram posts could bring in upwards of $550,000. That's a lot... especially for not doing much besides being someone that people want to look at. And that was a few years ago. At the time of writing, Selena has 111 million followers which is pretty mind boggling. That means she gets five million likes on some of her photos. Selena updates pretty regularly which her fans tend to love, posting selfies, quotes, pictures from events, concert, and of her process of getting ready for both. She also posts photos of her newest magazine shoots, as well as photos of her friends, some of which might not be familiar since they're not the friends she's spotted with in the tabloids. Oh, there's also a lot of drool worthy fashion on there. Surely anyone would agree that she's a pretty interesting person to follow and attempt to keep up with.
7 She Turned Down 'High School Musical 3'
Selena was a Disney kid for many years but she turned down the opportunity to do High School Musical 3 because it was around the time that she was trying to start changing her image. In 2008, she said that “High School Musical 3 is cute, and I think it would be a great opportunity for someone else. But I passed on it because I didn’t want to do it. I plan to take other roles in acting that are challenging for me. After Disney, I want to be taken seriously as an actress for many years.” She did effectively change her image in the acting world, part of which was accomplished by her starring in James Franco's film Spring Breakers. The vibe was quite different so let's just say that it was no Disney film. Selena probably made the right choice in making both of those decisions, since she has effectively moved away from the whole Disney thing.
6 She's A Huge Fan Of 'Friends'
Selena is such a big fan of the show Friends that she has explained how it helps her feel less lonely when she's alone on the road. Makes sense. We can all relate to a feel good TV show making us feel good. It sounds like it can get pretty stressful on the road in general. It was actually the stress of being on her Revival Tour that made Selena's Lupus issues flare up which ultimately sent her to rehab. Some of the side effects of Lupus can be anxiety and depression related, and experiencing too much of those can, of course, lead back to other health issues. She certainly made the right choice when she ended up clearing her schedule to properly deal with the disease as well as the emotional effects of it. Selena took a hiatus from all work completely to recover, and when she stepped back into the spotlight she seemed to be doing fine and has seemed to be doing fine since. Hopefully she keeps everything in check.
5 She Doesn't Need A BFF
Despite having many friends, Selena has been quoted as saying that having a best one doesn't really matter: "I've gotten to the point where the label of 'best friend' is so ridiculous. If you have three people in your life that you can trust, you can consider yourself the luckiest person in the whole world." Although she has also mentioned that she wishes that Blake Lively was her bestie, so who knows. In an interview, she said that "I wish she was my friend, but she's not my friend. Blake Lively. I've never met her, but I just love her hair. I think she's got beautiful, effortless hair. I think she's super beachy." So beachy hair among other things is something that Selena looks for in a friendship. Whether or not she needs a best friend, she does seem to have a lot of good ones. Taylor Swift seems to be a pretty good one, as does a lot of the women who are a part of Taylor Swift's girl squad.
4 She Wasn't Planning On Being A Role Model
Selena has said that although she was not planning on being a role model for anyone, once the opportunity was in front of her she embraced it wholeheartedly. She has also openly discussed that it's impossible to make everyone else happy, so it mostly just matters how you feel about what you're doing...even if you're technically a role model of sorts. She has said, "If you are able to look yourself in the mirror every day with the decisions that you make, that's where power starts." Selena is not without her controversial moments, although they're pretty few and far between. This past year she was criticized for mentioning that women should post less of their naked bodies online and then not too long after posted a photo of herself on Instagram where her butt was showing. She didn't seem to have the same issue with it that other people did. It brings up some questions about why we expect so much out of celebrities.
3 She's Not A Fan Of Social Media
Despite the fact that Selena is one of the most followed people on Instagram and that she has had the most liked photo ever on the social platform, she also frequently talks about how she doesn't like it. She has expressed that she specifically hates Twitter, and she explained that when she went to rehab for anxiety related to her Lupus she took a social media break as well. She took a three-month break from social media, and when she returned she captioned a photo with "I have a lot to be thankful for this year...My year has been the hardest yet most rewarding one yet. I've finally fought the fight of not 'being enough. I have only wanted to reflect the love you guys have given me for years and show how important it is to take care of YOU. By grace through faith. Kindness always wins. I love you guys. God bless." She's back on her social media in full effect, although we wouldn't be surprised if she took a break again at some point in the future.
2 She Dates A Lot Of Musicians
Okay, so you might already be aware of this fact, but it's worth thinking about it anyway. Selena has dated Nick Jonas, Justin Bieber, Zedd, and The Weeknd. All extremely popular musicians. One of her newest songs with DJ Kygo called "It Ain't Me" seems to be about dating an alcoholic. Not that we're pointing any fingers but you have to wonder if the song was based on any real experiences. Many people were quick to assume that the song is about Justin Bieber who has gotten into his fair share of trouble over the years including getting a DUI. It's unlikely that Selena is going to go expose anyone, but leave it to the fans to come up with plenty of ideas. Just think about these lyrics: "Who's gonna walk you through the dark side of the morning? / Who's gonna rock you when the sun won't let you sleep? / Who's waking up to drive you home when you're drunk and all alone? / Who's gonna walk you through the dark side of the morning? / It ain't me."
1 She's Not Super Motivated To Work Out
Selena always seems to be in pretty good shape so might come as a surprise that she doesn't love her workouts. As she has said, "I'm horrible at discipline when it comes to working out. So I've been working with my trainer Amy Rosoff Davis for a year now, and when we started the tour, I really wanted to keep it up. I wanted to be healthy; I wanted to feel good. I just wanted to make sure I was the best I could be for the show and for my fans." Selena has gone to explain that she not only does workouts like hikes and pilates, but she also does something called a sweat bed. The sweat bed requires rolling up into a sweatsuit and laying in a hot bed for 45 minutes to sweat all the toxins out of the body. She explained that when you wash the sweat off it somehow makes your skin softer and that it has totally changed her skin as well as changed her body. She also avoids wearing makeup whenever possible so that she can let her skin breathe.
