Selena Gomez has been in the entertainment industry since she was 9. In 2002, the Mexican-American actress landed a role in the popular kids’ show Barney & Friends, and her fame has grown exponentially from there. Although she grew up speaking Spanish, Selena recently opened up about taking language lessons to prepare for her role in Emilia Pérez.
More from MamásLatinas: Selena Gomez admits she ‘felt stunted’ by her child star days
To recap, the child actress, now 32, appeared in Hannah Montana and The Suite Life of Zack & Cody after Barney before snagging the life-changing role of Alex Russo in Wizards of Waverly Place. She went on to launch a successful music career and her own production company, July Moon Productions, while enjoying continued success in acting. Selena starred in films like Another Cinderella Story, Spring Breakers, the Hotel Transylvania movies, and the popular comedy-mystery-drama series Only Murders in the Building, among others.
Selena grew up speaking Spanish and English.
Selena’s father, Ricardo “Rick” Gomez, is originally from Mexico. He and Selena’s mom, Mandy Teefey, met in Texas; they were teenagers in high school when they learned they were expecting. Although Rick and Mandy married after the “Love You to Love Me” songstress was born in 1992, they split when their daughter—named after Selena Quintanilla—was 5. Growing up, Selena spoke both English and Spanish with her family.
However, she lost her Spanish fluency when she moved to California.
On November 19, Selena did an interview for NPR’s Fresh Air. She spoke about how she lost her fluency in Spanish after moving to California to pursue music and acting.
“I got my first job at 7, and most of my jobs from that point on were English,” Selena recalled. “And I just lost [my Spanish]. That’s kind of the case for a lot of people, especially Mexican American people.”
Selena opened up about taking Spanish lessons for 'Emilia Pérez.'
To prepare for Emilia Pérez, Selena took six months of Spanish language lessons to brush up on her skills.
“I wish I just knew a lot more than I do. But I think that’s why I try to honor my culture as much as possible,” she told Fresh Air. “And I don’t think it’ll be the last thing I do in Spanish.”
She also described her song in 'Emilia Pérez' as an 'emotional' experience.
Selena also spoke on NPR’s Fresh Air about the song “Mi Camino,” which she sings in Emilia Pérez.
“It was one of the most emotional songs that I got to record during the process of shooting this movie,” she recalled. “And I remember just singing it and thinking to myself: This could have been my song.”
Selena continued, “And this could have been a song on an album I would put out personally because it’s so well said and it feels very true to who I am, to where I am.”
Her dad was 'so proud' of her Spanish in the film.
In late September, Selena spoke with Extra about what speaking Spanish in Emilia Pérez meant to her father.
“It meant the world to me that [director Jacques Audiard] trusted me with that and it meant a lot to my family,” she explained. “I had coaches, yes, and we communicated every day in Spanish, but, yeah, my dad was even so proud.”
Selena added, “He was like, ‘You’re texting me, mija,’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah, I’m texting you in Spanish.'”
Selena put out a Spanish album in 2021.
Of course, Emilia Pérez wasn’t Selena’s first foray into a Spanish-language project. She released a Spanish EP titled Revelación in 2021. As Texas Monthly reported, Selena worked with a vocal coach and a translator so she could accurately portray the colloquialisms and slang.
