Selena Gomez started 2020 feeling she has been “stepped back.” “I feel like, ‘All right, I’m back in the game a little bit,'” he told ET at the January 2020 premiere of his film, Dolittle.
The 28-year-old singer was discussing returning to music with her new album, Rare, five years after her last record, Revival. (Gomez’s first ever Spanish album, Revelación, dropped yesterday) But being “back in the game” described more than just her recovery on the Billboard charts. Over the past year, Gomez has also had success in film, (Dolittle, A Rainy Day in New York) and Television (Living Undocumented, Selena + Chef) – while also making headlines and making an impact for her incredible charitable ventures and its advocacy. Gomez’s new connection with her community seems to be the common thread that ties it all together.
Named after late Tejano icon Selena Quintanilla, Gomez was born in Grand Prairie, Texas, in 1992, to a 16-year-old Italian mother, Mandy, and a 17-year-old Mexican father, Rick. Her parents split up when she was five, after which she spent most of her time with her mother, but she still felt a connection with her Mexican roots. “I’m a proud third-generation Mexican-American,” the performer said in May, via Define American. “When my family came here from Mexico, they started my American story, as well as them. My family’s journey and their sacrifices helped me get to where I am today. ”
Gomez shared her family’s “courage and sacrifice” in a moving Time magazine piece last October, recalling how her aunt and grandparents bravely crossed the Mexican-American border “in the back of a truck.” Her family story – described as filled with “shame, uncertainty and fear” but also “hope, optimism and patriotism” – is one that many immigrants can relate to, and the reason it was for producing the docuseries Living Undocumented.
The project, which showcases eight US immigrant families from different backgrounds, debuted on Netflix last fall. Like many viewers, Gomez felt moved by the heartbreaking, real-life struggles that immigrant families experience in reaching for the American dream. She felt inspired to do more with her platform.
“Undocumented immigration is an issue I think about every day, and I never forget how wonderful it is to be born in this country thanks to my family and the grace of the circumstance. But when I read the news headlines or saw arguments about immigration rabies on social media, I feel scared for those in similar situations, ”Gomez wrote in her essay for Time. “I feel scared for my country.”
While the actress and activist would like to approach America’s immigration crisis less politically and more of a place of humanity, empathy and compassion, she knows how policy is shaped. Earlier this summer, Gomez was announced as co-chair of When We All Vote, a national, nonpartisan organization launched in 2018 to increase participation in all elections. She has used her social media presence to encourage supporters to register to vote, go to polls, and work for the change they want to see in the world.
Gomez has also used her platform to support the Black Lives Matter movement. “Educating ourselves is the first step if we hope to make any progress in ending systemic racism,” he wrote on Instagram on June 18. “As much as one might want to believe things have improved, we cannot deny that they have not done so any more. We must recognize that social, political and economic discrimination against Black communities still exists. ”
The “Wolves” singer loaned her 180 million-plus profile and followers to stars, political figures and activists like Kendrick Sampson, Stacey Abrams and Raquel Willis, offering them the opportunity to speak, educate and expand on important causes.
“I was so excited about how people were being treated, and having people in my life who have dealt with that for years, telling me stories they have never told me before,” Gomez said in an interview recent experience with Allure, during which she also noted that she had two memorable, personal experiences with discrimination during her early childhood, while with her father. “That’s why what I did with my social media was really important – getting all these different voices to share their experiences. I didn’t want to be someone who was just going to post something [or make a] gift. ”
Gomez’s advocacy of Black and brown communities has also intersected with her passion for mental health and her work as an entrepreneur. To celebrate its 28th anniversary in July, it announced that its beauty brand, Rare Beauty, will help connect under-maintained communities with access to mental health services.
From the first Rare Beauty product sold on, one percent of all sales, as well as money raised by partners, will be devoted to the Rare Impact Fund, as they hope to raise $ 100 million over the next 10 years to help address gaps in thinking. health services.
“Since establishing the brand, we wanted to find a way to give back to our community and further support people who needed access to mental health services, which has had a profound impact on my life,” Gomez said in a statement the Fund Rare Impact. “Rare Beauty focuses on helping people feel more connected to each other and less alone in the world.”
Even in the midst of her more lighthearted projects, like her HBO Max cooking show, Selena + Chef, Gomez makes a difference. In each episode of the series, which was renewed in August for season 2, Gomez joins celebrity chefs like Roy Choi, Antonia Lofaso and Nancy Silverton, for a truly refreshing cooking lesson, while also highlighting a charity related to food. Gomez donates $ 10,000 to each charity involved.
While discussing the charity of the Lofaso chef’s choice, Beit T’Shuvah, a drug and rehab facility in Los Angeles, on episode 2 of the series, Gomez opened up about her struggles with mental health.
“I also have bipolar, so I’m dealing with a lot of mental health issues and some of my family members are also addicted, so it’s something I’m very passionate about too,” Gomez shared. “I think there’s a lot of shame and guilt in it and then there’s also this pressure, you know, wanting to feel like you’re part of the crowd if you do this and do it. So I’m very grateful that I now know that’s something you do and people can look into it. “
As a UNICEF ambassador for over 10 years, advocacy has been an important part of Gomez’s life. Charity concerts she has held to support the organization have raised over $ 200,000, helping UNICEF provide life-saving therapeutic foods, clean water, medicines, immunizations and education to children worldwide.
She also recently provided support for children closer to home, visiting students at Danny Jones Middle School in Mansfield, Texas, who attended before her Disney career began as sixteen. “This area has grown a lot, and I’m really proud of that, just because it allowed many other children the opportunity to get a good education,” she said during her unexpected visit last September. “What I would tell them is that it’s very difficult, but it’s worth it.”
“I was not a straight-A student by any means, but I think it’s very important, and I think it’s also important to make sure you are kind to someone, and see them eating on your own as I was when I was here, just to say hi and just encourage them in their school work, ”Gomez added. “Anything is possible for them.”
Shortly after leaving Danny Jones Middle School, Gomez moved to Los Angeles with her mother, and became one of the first Latina actresses to lead the Disney Channel series with Wizards of Waverly Place. That was her “high school,” she told Allure, crediting her Disney days for building the career she has today. Since then Gomez has grown as a performer, producer and activist, giving back to her community and paving the way for others to follow in her footsteps, pushing into the “rare” mentality.
“[The word] has become my brand identity and who I want to be, ”says Gomez, recently named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in 2020,“ which shows people to be diverse and different , whatever was going on, I wanted. it feels like you’ve been included. ”(https://www.etonline.com)