Selena Marie Gomez (born July 22, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television producer. After appearing on the children's series Barney & Friends (2002–2004), she received wider recognition for her portrayal of Alex Russo on the Emmy Award-winning Disney Channel television series Wizards of Waverly Place, which aired from 2007 until 2012.
Gomez also starred in the films Another Cinderella Story (2008), Princess Protection Program (2009), Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie (2009), Ramona and Beezus (2010), and Monte Carlo (2011). Thereafter, she focused on more mature roles in Spring Breakers (2012), Getaway (2013), The Fundamentals of Caring (2016), and The Dead Don't Die (2019). She voices the character of Mavis in the Hotel Transylvania film franchise, and serves as an executive producer of the Netflix television drama series 13 Reasons Why (2017–present) and the Netflix documentary series Living Undocumented (2019).
Ellise Shafer “Emilia Pérez,” the latest Cannes-premiering film from French auteur Jaques Audiard, is many things at once: a gritty crime film, an ambitious musical and a spotlight on trans issues.
At the center of the Spanish-language movie are three women – Rita (Zoe Saldaña), Jessi (Selena Gomez) and the title character Emilia Pérez (Karla Sofía Gascón) — who become forever bonded by their traumatic experiences in Mexico City’s cartel-run underbelly.
The confounding elements of the film are what first attracted Saldaña to her role, an overworked lawyer who is kidnapped by a druglord (Gascón) and tasked with assisting her character on a mission to get gender-affirming surgery. “I knew it was going to stand out because of the story,” Saldaña tells Variety alongside her co-stars on the J.W.
Marriott rooftop in Cannes on Saturday, the day of the film’s premiere. “But I felt very excited because out of all the topics that Jacques could be making a film about, he chose this one.” Gomez says she was already a “huge fan” of “A Prophet” helmer Audiard, but became even more enthralled after reading the script. “It was captivating, it was heartbreaking, it was really moving to me,” she says.
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