►◄Selena Marie Gomez (born July 22, 1992) [ 1 ] is an American actress and singer, best known for portraying Alex Russo in the Emmy Award -winning Disney Channel television series Wizards of Waverly Place . She subsequently ventured into feature films and has starred in the television movies Another Cinderella Story , Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie , and Princess Protection Program . She made her starring theatrical film debut in Ramona and Beezus . Her career has expanded into the music industry; Gomez is thelead singer and founder of the pop band Selena Gomez&the Scene , which has released two RIAA Gold certified studio albums , Kiss&Tell and A Year Without Rain . [ 2 ] The band has sold 1,354,000 albums in the United States. [ 3 ] Gomez has also contributed to the soundtracks of Tinker Bell , Another Cinderella Story and Wizards of Waverly Place after signing a record deal with Hollywood Records . In 2008, Selena Gomez was designated a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador [ 4 ] .►◄