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With an acting career that spans from child stardom to Cannes honors, Selena Gomez is inarguably one of Hollywood’s biggest, most successful stars. Even though Gomez has been gracing our screens since 2002 and has beauty empire to her name, her fame has seemed to skyrocket even higher within the past few years. While Zillennials may know her best from her time on the Disney Channel, her acting career started long before she was locking lips with Dylan Sprouse on The Suite Life of Zack and Cody and becoming the family wizard on Wizards of Waverly Place.
Selena Gomez at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival
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Gomez’s first role was way back in 2002 when she was cast on the hit children’s TV show Barney & Friends. At just ten years old, Selena cemented herself in the memories of children everywhere. Eventually, after a few smaller roles like “Water Park Girl” in Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over, she’d go on to find a home at the Disney Channel, appearing in The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and Hannah Montana, starring as teen mage Alex Russo in Wizards, and a slew of DCOMs in the second wave of the DCOM Golden Age. Nowadays, Gomez is experimenting with and exploring roles in front of and behind the camera with star and executive producer roles on Selena + Chef and Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building, and entering her prestige film era with the award-winning Emilia Pérez.
Below, we ranked 11 Selena Gomez roles on film and television from best to worst, from campy comedies to feel-good animated films and more. Keep reading to check out where your favorite of her roles landed on the list.
11. Behaving Badly (2014)
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Where to watch: Peacock
This raunchy film adaptation of Ric Browde’s autobiography While I’m Dead Feed the Dog follows the story of teenage Rick Stevens (Nat Wolff) who places a bet with a mobster’s son that he’ll hookup with his crush, Nina Pennington (played by Gomez), before Arbor Day. The R-rated film has a whopping 0% on Rotten Tomatoes and is as vulgar and hilariously terrible as you think it’s going to be — but that’s why we kinda love it. Nevertheless, it takes the bottom spot in this ranking.
10. Spring Breakers (2012)
Where to stream: Hulu
Spring Breakers didn’t win or earn nominations for any major awards when it came out in 2012, but it is a vital turning point in Gomez’s career. The A24 film helped her break out of the “good girl” image former Disney Channel actresses are often pigeonholed in. Gomez joined fellow former teen stars Ashley Benson, Vanessa Hudgens, James Franco, and more in this movie about four college students who rob a diner for money to fund their spring break trip. After being arrested, they’re bailed out by an aspiring rap artist and decide to join him in a life of crime and debauchery. It’s one of those things you have to see to believe.
9. Another Cinderella Story (2008)
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Where to stream: Prime Video
A standalone sequel to Hilary Duff’s A Cinderella Story (2004), this musical comedy is a modern retelling of the classic fairytale. Mary Santiago (Gomez) has dreams of becoming a dancer, but at home she’s mistreated instead of nurtured by her legal guardian and bullied by her evil stepsisters at school. When pop star Joey Parker (Drew Seeley) returns to high school to finish out his senior year, he’s on the hunt for a girl to fall in love with — and Mary might just be The One.
8. The Dead Don’t Die (2019)
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Where to stream: Prime Video, Apple TV
This horror comedy is as campy and unhinged as it gets. In the sleepy town of Centerville, the dead begin to rise and feast on its residents. It’s a battle of survival for the ones who’ve managed to escape the clutches of the zombies. The film is stacked with an ensemble cast: Bill Murray, Adam Driver, Tilda Swinton, Chloë Sevigny, Steve Buscemi, Danny Glover, Austin Butler, Luka Sabbat, Gomez herself, and more A-list stars.
7. Princess Protection Program (2009)
Where to stream: Hulu, Disney+
When her kingdom is threatened, Princess Rosalinda (Demi Lovato) must go into hiding and pretend to be a regular teenager. She’s assigned to the Princess Protection Program where a covert agent and his daughter (Gomez) must help her keep her secret or risk her enemies finding her. This one is a DCOM classic.
6. Ramona & Beezus (2010)
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Where to stream: Max
A live-action adaptation of the popular Beverly Cleary book of the same name, Ramona & Beezus has a star-studded cast, including Joey King, Ginnifer Goodwin, Sandra Oh, and more. In the family-friendly film, Selena plays big sister Beezus to Joey King’s Ramona. Together, the two girls work together to help their dad save their home after he loses his job — even if some of their plots fail miserably along the way.
5. Emilia Pérez (2024)
©Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection
Where to stream: Netflix
Part musical, part thriller, this film earned Gomez the award for Best Actress at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, which she shared with co-stars Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón, and Adriana Paz. In the film, Gomez plays her first Spanish-speaking role as Jessi Del Monte, the wife of a notorious cartel boss who makes the decision to retire, disappear, and transition into a woman. The film has been met with critical acclaim and earned ten 2025 Critics Choice Award nominations and ten 2025 Golden Globe Award nominations.
4. The Fundamentals of Caring (2016)
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Where to stream: Netflix
Based on the novel The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving by Jonathan Evison, this dramedy follows an out-of-work writer (Paul Rudd) who becomes a caregiver to a disabled teen (Craig Roberts). The two embark on an epic cross-country road trip where they meet a young girl (Gomez) hitchhiking to Denver, Colorado. The trio continue together, visiting various roadside attractions and slowly healing each other along the way.
3. Hotel Transylvania (2012)
©Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
Where to stream: Hulu
In the first in a series and franchise of adorable animated films, Gomez offers her voice to Maeve, a young vampire who’s overprotective dad, the Dracula, owns a hotel for monsters. Due to his fear of humans, Dracula doesn’t allow Maeve to leave the property. But that doesn’t mean she’s safe… at least not after a human enters their secluded residence. In order to protect his daughter, Dracula disguises the interloper and kid-friendly chaos ensues. Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, and more huge stars lent their voices to join the ensemble as hauntingly funny creatures.
2. Wizards of Waverly Place (2007)
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Where to stream: Disney+
The show that made Gomez the star we know and love, Wizards of Waverly Place cements itself as one of the actor’s top performances to date. In this four season sitcom, Gomez portrayed teen witch Alex Russo, who, alongside her two brothers, must learn the family magic while maintaining an ordinary non-magical high school life. The beloved Disney series was recently rebooted with a new cast, but don’t worry, Gomez makes a cameo in the first and season finale episodes of Wizards Beyond Waverly Place.
1. Only Murders in the Building (2021)
©Hulu/Courtesy Everett Collection
Where to stream: Hulu, Disney+
It’s only right that Only Murders in the Building lands at the top of this list, especially after earning Gomez four Emmy nominations for her role as Mabel Mora. When an unlikely murder brings three neighbors of a New York City apartment building together, the trio takes justice into their own hands by starting a true crime podcast that puts all of their lives in danger. Also starring Steve Martin and Martin Short, this Hulu comedy is already on its fourth season and was recently renewed for a fifth.
Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue
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