From Barney to Disney Channel star and beyond! At a young age, Selena Gomez became a household name and continues to push the status quo in the entertainment industry as the years go by.
In the middle of her booming career, Gomez suffered a few personal setbacks including a lupus diagnosis, life-changing transplant surgery and a battle with mental health, but has never let any of that stop her. The Wizards of Waverly Place actress first opened up about her medical diagnosis in 2015 and it has allowed her to live her truth in the spotlight.
In 2018, Gomez put her work on the back burner as she sought mental health treatment at a psychiatric facility on the East Coast. The Spring Breakers actress took to Instagram in April 2019 to open up about her decision to put herself ahead of her career.
“I think that I needed a moment to myself because I do feel like I was growing and changing,” Gomez wrote before answering a fan’s question about the advice she’d give to her younger self.
“Gosh, if I knew what I know now,” she explained, “I am a believer of therapy. So, I think that I have had opportunities where I kind of reflect on the younger me, and I think that a lot of the times I wished that I could hug my younger self. I wish I could have done and experienced a lot of things, maybe, a little differently.”
She added: “I don’t really think people know my heart because I think that sometimes people may think that I politically say the right thing or I’m safe or I’ve been trained to speak this way. I don’t know how to be trained. Like, how on earth would someone be training me to speak things?”
Gomez has been a pioneer in her work to bring awareness to mental health as well as her career in the entertainment industry.
Scroll down to take a look back at Selena Gomez through the years!