Selena Gomez reveals how ‘Wizards of Waverly Place’ changed her life

Actress-singer Selena Gomez has shared how the TV sitcom Wizards of Waverly Place changed her life. The 33-year-old actress auditioned for a series of TV shows, including the spin-off of Lizzie McGuire, before she joined the cast of Wizards of Waverly Place. Selena said on the Therapuss with Jake Shane podcast: “It was actually a weird thing because I was on three pilots for the Disney channel. One was the spin-off of Lizzie McGuire. One was the spin-off of the Suite Life of Zach and Cody and the last one was Wizards. “So by then all of them didn’t get picked up and I was just kind of at my wits end, but not in a bad way just kind of thought ‘okay, well this is not going to work out’ and Wizards got picked up and my whole life changed after that.”

She still feels proud to be part of the “Disney high school experience”, reports femalefirst.co.uk. Gomez, who has also enjoyed huge success with her music, said: “It was an immediate feeling of oh I achieved my dream at that point in time. I was such a huge fan of the channel. I was a huge fan of what they did for our generation, and it was an honour. I wear it proudly.”

“I definitely am not ashamed of being part of the Disney high school experience ... It was all of us, all from the Jonas Brothers, to Miley (Cyrus) and Demi (Lovato), and then it was Zendaya. It was just so cool to see all the people you so ‘went to school with’ if you will. It’s good to see them all do their thing.” Despite her success, Gomez’s family tried to ensure that she remained grounded.

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). She signed with Hollywood Records in 2008 and formed the band Selena Gomez & the Scene, which released three albums: Kiss & Tell (2009), A Year Without Rain (2010), and When the Sun Goes Down (2011).

Gomez has released three solo studio albums, starting with the EDM-infused debut, Stars Dance (2013), which featured the top-ten single “Come & Get It”. She followed with Revival (2015), which included “Good for You”, “Same Old Love”, and “Hands to Myself”. Her third album, Rare (2020), produced her first Billboard Hot 100 number-one single “Lose You to Love Me”. She also released the Spanish EP Revelación (2021) and her fourth album I Said I Love You First (2025), with Benny Blanco. Gomez has collaborated on several singles, including “We Don’t Talk Anymore”, “It Ain’t Me”, “Wolves”, “Taki Taki”, and “Calm Down (Remix)”, the last of which is widely regarded as the most successful Afrobeats song of all time.

Agencies