Gomez began her career as a child actress, appearing on the children's television series Barney & Friends (2002–2004), and emerged as a teen idol for her leading role as Alex Russo on the Disney Channel sitcom Wizards of Waverly Place (2007–2012).

Gomez has starred in films such as Another Cinderella Story (2008), Monte Carlo (2011), Spring Breakers (2012), The Fundamentals of Caring (2016), The Dead Don't Die (2019), and Emilia Pérez (2024).

[62] Gomez continued to enjoy mainstream success throughout the following year, appearing as Alex Russo in a crossover episode of the Disney Channel series The Suite Life on Deck in 2009.

[109] Nick Schager from Slant Magazine found Gomez "cute, but too bland to lend the proceedings any vivid character, except for the few scenes that allow her to indulge her cold, sarcastic, nasty side as Cordelia".

[116][117] Gomez starred in the controversial exploitation Harmony Korine-directed Spring Breakers (2012), alongside James Franco, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Benson and Rachel Korine.

[139] Gomez incorporated choreographed dance routines into the album's music videos and her promotional live performances, having been inspired by artists such as Janet Jackson and Britney Spears.

[152] After performing in North America and Europe, Gomez canceled the Australian and Asian legs of the tour in December 2013, claiming that she would be taking a hiatus to spend time with her family.

[153] In January 2014, it was reported that Gomez had spent two weeks at Dawn at The Meadows, which is a treatment center in Wickenburg, Arizona, that specializes in treating addiction and trauma in young people.

[171] The Hollywood Reporter informed: "Selena's desire to find fresh handlers is part of a strategy to "move on into more adult-oriented fare in film and music"", and finally get rid of the image of the "Disney's Teen Idol".

[177] While working on her second studio album, Gomez collaborated with German DJ Zedd on "I Want You to Know", released in February 2015,[178] and debuted at number-seventeen in the U.S.[55] In May, she appeared in Taylor Swift's music video for "Bad Blood".

[183] Gomez later reprised the voice role of Mavis in Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015); the film was met with a positive critical reception and commercial success upon release,[184] grossing US$474 million worldwide.

[190] Writing for Rolling Stone, Brittany Spanos stated that "Revival is an audacious name for a 23-year-old singer's second album, but from start to finish, Gomez earns it," noting that "[t]his is the sound of a newly empowered pop artist growing into her strengths like never before.

[202] In 2016, Gomez starred as Dot, a young runaway hitchhiker, in the comedy-drama The Fundamentals of Caring with Paul Rudd,[203][204] which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January, and was released on Netflix five months later.

Gomez addressed the controversy, saying that "We stayed very true to the book and that's initially what [author] Jay Asher created was a beautifully tragic, complicated yet suspenseful story and I think that's what we wanted to do.

[262] Winston Cook-Wilson of Spin magazine found Gomez's vocals pristine and the track "charmingly weird", calling its lyrics and sample usage "harebrained but ultimately brilliant".

[291][292] Due to a resurgence of the 1992 sexual abuse allegation against Allen prompted by the MeToo movement, Gomez made a donation of over $1 million, exceeding her salary from the film, to the Time's Up initiative.

[302] In an op-ed for Time on October 1, 2019, Gomez wrote she was approached about the project in 2017 and decided to become involved after watching footage that captured "the shame, uncertainty, and fear I saw my own family struggle with.

[349] The EP received universal acclaim according to Metacritic, a website collecting reviews from professional music critics;[350] it was nominated for Best Latin Pop Album at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards.

[363] Ahead of the official premiere of the series, Gomez revealed that she was happy to have played a character that matched her current actual age, saying that she "signed [her] life away" to The Walt Disney Company at the start of her career and that she "did not know what she was doing".

[55][421] She played a supporting role as Jessi Del Monte, the title character's wife, in the Spanish-language musical crime comedy Emilia Pérez, directed by Jacques Audiard.

[475][476] In her first official field mission, Gomez traveled to Ghana in September 2009 for one week to witness first-hand the stark conditions of vulnerable children that lack vital necessities such as clean water, nourishment, education and healthcare.

[490][491] In April 2012, she advocated for the global "Sound the Alarm" campaign on Facebook and Twitter, and recorded a public announcement encouraging young people to donate $10 via text message to prevent the death of a million children from malnutrition in the Sahel Region of West and Central Africa.

[492] Gomez has conducted and organized three charity concerts (2010–2013) to help UNICEF provide children around the world with life-saving therapeutic foods, medicines, clean water, education, and immunization.

[497] A UNICEF ambassador since 2009, Gomez has played an active role in advocating for the world's "most vulnerable children" by participating in several campaigns, events, and initiatives on behalf of the organization.

[533] Both Gomez and Rare Beauty were heavily criticized for their misleading statement which implied solidarity with the people of Gaza, whilst they donated funds to Magen David Adom, which is an auxiliary service to the Israel Defense Forces.

Surgeon General Vice Admiral Vivek Murthy joined her at this event, he thanked Gomez for creating the Rare Impact Fund and for paving the way for self-acceptance, support and healing.

[564][565] It was announced on July 14, 2011, that Gomez had signed a license agreement with Adrenalina, an extreme sports and adventure-themed lifestyle brand, to develop, manufacture, and distribute her own fragrance.

[600] Initially a teen idol, she has been referred to as a pop icon,[601] as a "triple threat", owing to her successful singing, performing, and acting careers,[602] and as one of the most influential Latina in entertainment.

[606] Caroline Sullivan from The Guardian called Gomez the "Tween Queen", and "the biggest star attached to the Walt Disney Company", describing the Gomez phenomenon as a key figure in the influence of "billions of kids and, through them, their parents' wallets", bringing billions to the company through "her image, TV series, movies, music records, perfume and clothing ranges" being in the spotlight "all this means that tweens can barely avoid her".

[632] Gomez's work has inspired or influenced artists and entertainers such as Billie Eilish,[633] Hailee Steinfeld,[634] Vanessa Hudgens,[635] Miranda Hart,[636] Lady Gaga,[637] Britney Spears,[638] and the beginning of the careers of Jenna Ortega[639] and Joey King.