Alexandra Margarita "Alex" Russo[1] is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Disney Channel sitcom Wizards of Waverly Place, portrayed by Selena Gomez.

[4] The siblings reside in Manhattan's Greenwich Village with their parents Jerry (David DeLuise), a former wizard, and Theresa (Maria Canals Barrera), a mortal.

Throughout the rest of the first season are similar magical mishaps, most of which are intended to improve things, but typically end up backfiring and causing her to revert them.

Alex also has a relationship with another student named Riley, which ends quickly after he witnesses her eating large amounts of chocolate, but begins again when she convinces him that she is a good luck charm for their school's baseball team.

Another love interest of Alex's, Dean Moriarty, also makes his debut appearance in this episode, as a new student who is forced to help set up the Quiz Bowl.

One of the show's several working titles before becoming Wizards of Waverly Place was The Amazing O’Malleys,[13] during which time its main character was originally going to be called Julia, named after creator Todd J. Greenwald's own daughter,[14] and Brooke O'Malley.

[11] Before being cast as the lead character Wizards of Waverly Place,[17] Gomez's previous auditions for Disney Channel, who discovered the actress during a national talent search,[18] had earned her recurring roles on the network's sitcoms The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and Hannah Montana as Gwen and Mikayla, respectively.

[19][20] According to AllMusic biographer Matt Collar, these minor television roles eventually "paved the way for Gomez's own show".

[20] Being of Mexican and Italian descent herself, Gomez shares both of the ethnicities of her character,[15] the only main cast member to hold this distinction.

[24] Stone described Gomez's approach to executive producing as "not really that different, she has a little bit more say in what happens ... She has a great sense of humor about herself, so we give her tons of crap.

Plugged In's Paul Asay identified the character as "a Disney protagonist with a hint of rebellion—Cinderella with a yen for detention", demonstrated by her "slouching, too-cool-for-school vibe.

She is shown not to be the most apt student at both "wizarding" and high school, failing her Spanish midterm, her wizardry exam, and relying on the use of magic to pass several assignments.

Mary McNamara, writing for the Los Angeles Times, identified that Alex is driven "to become the family wizard, not so much for the power and prestige as the satisfaction of beating out her older brother Justin.

Gomez's performance as Alex garnered strong reviews, including positive comparisons to actress and singer Miley Cyrus, star of Hannah Montana.

Plugged In's Paul Asay wrote that Alex "has proven to be a less than ideal role model for her hordes of young Disneyfied fans" as a result of her personality, but concluded that the character "is still pretty good deep down" despite "her posturing".

[10] According to John M. Cunningham's entry on Gomez in Encyclopædia Britannica, the actress' role as Alex earned her "legions of young fans as [its] winsome star".